OPINION
Brian Tamaki
It’s culling time!
Did you notice MP Karen Chhour, and Oranga Tamariki’s choice of words this week as they explained the 330 service contracts axed and $139 million in funding cuts...
This is their tempered language publicly...
· “Cash cow”...
· “Under-delivery”...
· “Change in prioritised need”...
· “Under-performance”...
· “Under-utilisation”...
· “Funding recovery process”...
This is their ‘watered-down’, ‘PC’ language.
Really, the minister is saying OT has become one big cash cow of corruption!
With the massive drive in recent years for OT to fund Kaupapa Māori or Section 7AA partners, a huge amount of OT money has been given to iwi or Māori providers.
Is this why the minister refers to OT having become a cash cow?
Is this why the coalition government are so intent on urgently repealing Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act? The timing is no coincidence.
What does the minister know that she’s not letting on?
Many of us have seen firsthand and heard the reports of Māori elites creaming taxpayers’ money, driving flash cars, expensive trips overseas, expensive property purchases, gambling, drugs and frequent social outings with copious amounts of alcohol.
Has Oranga Tamariki been the creme de la creme of this cash cow?
When you look closer at who is responsible and who have been in decision-maker roles, a whole lot of familiar names pop up...
· Kelvin Davis – Former Labour MP and Minister of Children from 2020–2023
· Tracey Martin – Former NZ First MP and Minister of Children from 2017–2020
· Matthew Tukaki – Former chair of the Oranga Tamariki Ministerial Advisory Board (est 2021)
· Dame Naida Glavish – Board member of the Oranga Tamariki Ministerial Advisory Board
· Sir Mark Solomon – Current chair of the Oranga Tamariki Ministerial Advisory Board
· Chappie Te Kani – Current CEO of Oranga Tamariki since 2021. Prior he worked in PM Jacinda’s office as head of System Assurance and Continuous Improvement – Covid Group.
· John Tamihere – CEO of Te Whānau o Waipareira, with a Strategic Partnership and Outcomes agreement with Oranga Tamariki under Section 7AA, and self-professed “gatekeeper” of all Māori funding across the Tāmaki Makaurau metropolis.
· Plus many more...
Who amongst them needs to be held responsible? They know who they are!
This is public money... taxpayers’ money... that we are talking about, where there has been overpayment, under-delivery and under-performance, and now the new government is on a funding recovery mission.
It’s evident there has been a lot of failure at the grassroots level when it comes to dealing with children and youth, over many years. In their reports, they can spin the facts and figures whichever which way they like, but we all know the cold harsh truth: in our communities that things have got worse... much worse. New Zealand is no longer the country it used to be.
I’m talking from a position of fact, not fiction. Our Man Up and Legacy coordinators encounter families in the Oranga Tamariki system every day. Many of our coordinators support individuals in family group conferences and courtrooms and we are well known by Oranga Tamariki staff for the assistance and support we provide.
The difference is, though, we are funded with ZERO taxpayer dollars.
We help people purely because we have a heart.
So, it brasses me off to see so many providers with little genuine intent, but their hand out, extorting millions from the government in funding for their NGOs, to provide inadequate services that do not help Māori and Kiwis out.
We know these Māori elites are fudging the facts for their funding and just ticking the boxes, as our volunteers are the ones in touch on the ground, doing the real work, and in the homes helping out these dysfunctional families. They are reporting the raw facts and firsthand accounts back to me.
The kaupapa Māori rhetoric has been a massive rort in funding circles.
From 2018 OT have gone from funding $54.5m to iwi/Māori providers, to $158.6m in 2023. Plus there are many add-ons. There’s even more money across other government departments. Yet, with all the additional funding, Māori continue to be massively over-represented in every negative statistic.
The current section 7AA strategic partners with Oranga Tamariki are:
1. Te Whānau o Waipareira (Sep 2022)
2. Te Rūnanga o Te Āti Awa ki te Upolo o te Ika a Māui and Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira (Dec 2020)
3. Te Rūnanga-Ā-Iwi-Ō-Ngāpuhi (Dec 2018)
4. Te Kahu Oranga Whānau (Mar 2021)
5. Waikato-Tainui (May 2019)
6. Ngāi Tūhoe (Aug 2019)
7. Te Rōpū Wāhine Māori Toko I te Ora (MWWL) (Aug 2020)
8. The Eastern Bay of Plenty Provider Alliance (Sept 2020)
9. Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated (Apr 2021)
10. Te Rūnanga o Ngai Tahu (Nov 2018)
Now, I’m not saying all of the above are bad, but there is so much evidence of very questionable activities that some are undertaking. Within my church, I have members across every iwi throughout the country and I’ve heard many shocking firsthand reports.
I believe funding should be RESULTS BASED, not RACE BASED!
The playing of the Māori race card needs to stop! Just stop it!
I am a longstanding Māori leader who gets long-lasting results in transforming lives, particularly Māori lives, so I have authority to call out this big rort. I’m sick and tired of Māori that scratch other Māori backs... do each other favours... give each other mates’ rates... funnelling taxpayer money to their ex-colleagues that have moved into NGOs... turning a blind eye to those splashing taxpayer cash on luxury items... and covering up the corruption. As you look closer you can see that many of the current and previous contractors with NGOs have links to left-leaning MPs and senior government officials. How does their mantra go... ‘It’s not what you know, but who you know!’
Anyone who dares to stand up to the corruption is accused of not being ‘Māori enough’. Well, good luck trying that one with me.
It’s time to get rid of the Māori elite tinny houses that they’re currently operating across this country. This is a massive abuse of taxpayer money like we’ve never seen. Reminds me of the cartel.
It’s time to clean it all up! Get rid of this cash cow of corruption!
