#opinion Why Māori Cannot Trust Media – A Case Study

On or about 2 June 2024 a celebrated investigative journalist – Andrea Vance, broke a story alleging multiple wrong-doings at Manurewa Marae supported by Te Whānau o Waipareira and the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency. The allegation was that we rorted the 2023 Election in favour of Te Pāti Māori by corrupt practices.

Vance, the investigator, used whistleblowers. The trouble with those whilstleblowers, and Vance knew this, was that they were all associated with the Destiny Church and conspired to take over the Marae. In addition, all five of them had a gripe with the Marae over not being paid bonuses they thought they were entitled to. Vance knew they had motive to mislead but the story was too good in putting down people of colour. Te Pāti Māori and its now deceased Member of Parliament, Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp and all other Māori Agencies were deeply criticised.

To keep the story alive, Vance then wheeled out her so-called professional legal advocate, one Alan Halse, to provide continuity of her investigative trail. Mr Halse is not legally qualified. Mr Halse is known as a Shyster in and around Employment Contract matters. How do we know that? You search him up on Google.

Vance continued to ramp up her attack on matters Māori at Manurewa Marae by alleging the following.

The Marae as a Polling Booth did the following outrageous things:

They played Māori music, in particular a song called ‘Proud To Be Māori’ on the Marae. What Vance did not tell you is that, unlike New Zealand First being told by Chumbawamba, the most woke band on the Earth, to cease and desist from using their music without consent, and the National Party, like NZ First stealing somebody elses intellectual property as occurred with Eminem’s music. Marae and māori music goes hand in hand. Her argument is, somehow, our music psychologically impairs the ‘dumb Hori’s’ because the music forced them to vote for Te Pāti Māori.

She alleged that treating occurred, which is a conduct known as giving somebody something so that they can vote in a certain way. That treating consisted of free coffee/tea, ice creams for children and food at the Marae.

On the treating matter, what Vance as a first generation immigrant needs to know is that it is standard Māori protocol to provide coffee/tea and something to eat – it is something we call manaakitanga. To then suggest that this show of aroha (provided after the people had voted) was an incentive for them to vote Te Pāti Māori is innuendo at best.

Vance then alleges that Takutai Natasha Kemp, as Chief Executive of Manurewa Marae, had an advantage because of her status on that Marae. This leads Vance to inform us that, therefore, the ‘dumb Māori’ that are voting at polling booths on Manurewa Marae would have voted for the Chief Executive of it. Once again, speculation and innuendo. What’s more, Vance knew that the Polling booth at Manurewa Marae was administered by the Electoral Commission and clearly demarked from all other activities at the Marae in line with Electoral Commission direction.

Allegations of misuse of data and census data on Manurewa Marae, it was alleged, that that information was misused by Te Pāti Māori to ensure Te Pāti Māori’s win in Tāmaki Makaurau and elsewhere.

Manurewa Marae, Te Whānau o Waipareira and the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency became the most maligned groups solely on the basis of some first generation immigrant telling us what our Tīkanga must be and drawing inferences from very very shoddy sources.

None of these allegations were upheld by any Inquiry. That’s how good investigative journalism is.

This culminated in a Prime Ministerial KC Inquiry and a separate Department of Statistics Inquiry. It lead to us being turned over by no less than 14 Inquiry’s. A political hatchet job.

Now that the dust has settled on the 14 Inquiry’s in to us from Te Puni Kōkiri, and no wrong doing has been found anywhere, Vance and her friends in the Press have never apologised to the family of Takutai Tarsh Kemp, never apologised to Manurewa Marae, never apologised to Te Whānau o Waipareira and never apologised to the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency. She, like all of her mates, did not score a Native Head and have moved on to find another one.

The pile-on and white feeding frenzy on us is incredible.

Another journalist who piled in to this on the basis of supporting Vance was Bryce Edwards. He alleged we were corrupt with his friend, Sean Plunket.

Even TVNZ through Mr Jack Tame on Q&A alleged that Takutai Moana Tarsh Kemp misused a marae van to support her Election campaign. I advised his team that at no time had we ever breached the Electoral Commission Law. He knowingly failed to tell viewers that Winston Peters used a helicopter to ferry himself around, gifted by the Vela Family who were rewarded with tax breaks in the Horse & Blood Stock Industry. He did not tell you that David Seymour was gifted the use of a plane out of Napier by an American Billionaire, to conduct his electoral campaign.

By the way, the American Billionaire’s name is Sean Colgan and he bought his citizenship under the investor category, and we all know that rich people believe themselves to be above the law, to the extent that they actually buy the Law, by buying Politicians. TVNZ and Tame have yet to apologise to the Kemp Whānau for maligning their deceased.

The final of the 14th Inquiry against us found no wrong doing but even then, Media from Radio New Zealand through to Television New Zealand continued to say that we had breached Electoral Commission matters and had been referred there. They knew that the Commission had cleared any breach of anything we did in our Whānau Ora Māori Rollcall Campaign on Friday but continued to malign us on the Monday.

Radio New Zealand’s Morning Report, Monday 15 September, roasted the Prime Minister over the fact that we had used profit from business to drive a campaign that was supported by the Electoral Commission and that achieved more enrolments than any other Government campaign. Radio New Zealand knew that we were contracted to lift Māori participation in Local and Central Government politics by way of our Te Puni Kōkiri contract.

It gets worse. Both Stuff, owners of several mastheads, and NZME, owner of the New Zealand Herald, ZB and other Radio Stations, are now owned and dominated by foreign interests who have bought citizenships in Aotearoa under the Investor Category. These rich Oligarchs are used to buying anything and everything they want. Te Pāti Māori has news for them – Māori Sovereignty is not for sale.

The present Radio New Zealand and Television New Zealand Boards have been cleaned out and Board members appointed by the present Regime are now perverting editorial policy. You have Peters challenging the way a Radio New Zealand Journalist questions him and then threatens to withdraw their funding. This is what fascism looks like but it can only continue if honest people remain silent.

The feeding frenzy continues. Māori can’t win a thing in the eyes of any of these Inquiry’s or in regard to media reportage.

All Inquiry’s found that what Māori did very well is over-perform in all their Contracts. The Inquiry’s found that we are Māori all day every day whether they like it or not. In a free democracy, Māori are allowed to practice our politics without fear or without favour.

Guess what, at every turn we are singled out solely because of our race.

We need to rebuild bridges between one another rather than burn them.

We need to rejoice in our diversity, not wallow in our differences.

Join a Pāti that leaves no-one behind. Te Pāti Māori

Television NZ responds:

Q+A takes its broadcasting obligations seriously and stands by its reporting. It strongly refutes that it has maligned Takutai Moana Tarsh Kemp. 

In June 2024, Q+A responsibly reported that Takutai Kemp used a Manurewa Marae van for her political campaign and did not declare it as an expense in her electoral returns. Both Takutai Kemp and John Tamihere were given a fair and reasonable opportunity to respond to TVNZ’s questions prior to broadcast – no explanation was provided and Q+A was pointed to unrelated parts of Election NZ’s Candidate Handbook. 

In August 2024, it was confirmed the use of the van was not declared in the original electoral returns. The Electoral Commission said it had looked at the issue and worked with Takutai Kemp and Te Pāti Māori. Takutai Kemp agreed to amend the return to declare the use of the van as an election expense.

We respect Mr Tamihere’s right to provide his opinion but it’s important factual statements are accurate. Mr Tamihere’s statements about Q+A’s reporting are untrue, as he should know.