John Tamihere
John Henry Tamihere is a New Zealand politician, media personality, and political commentator. He was a member of Parliament from 1999 to 2005, including serving as a Cabinet minister in the Labour Party from August 2002 to November 2004. Tamihere ran unsuccessfully for Auckland mayor in the 2019 election. He joined Te Pāti Māori in 2020 and from April to October 2020 was the party's co-leader. He became president of Te Pāti Māori in June 2022.
Early life
Tamihere was born in Auckland on 8 February 1959, the 11th of 13 children of John Hamil Tamihere and Ruby Elaine Tamihere. Of Māori descent through his father, he affiliates to the Ngāti Porou ki Hauraki and Whakatohea iwi. His mother was from an Irish Catholic family, who ostracised her when she married his Māori father. He is a brother to convicted murderer David Tamihere.John Tamihere attended St Mary's School in Avondale and St Peter's College where teacher Tom Weal, deputy leader of the Social Credit Political League 1970–1972, had a strong influence on him. Tamihere rated Weal as his most influential teacher, and said that Weal would link things to politics, in particular, to New Zealand's agricultural policies. Weal would emphasise that grass was the most important New Zealand crop, as it was the basis of the wool, meat, and dairy industries. Weal alerted Tamihere to the impact that Britain's joining the European Common market would have on New Zealand's economy and society. According to Weal, New Zealand would have to wake up quickly to the loss of the relationship with Britain, find new markets and new ways of doing things, and back itself. "The way Mr Weal brought education to life gave me a strong interest in what I call the Kiwi-isation of our society", wrote Tamihere.
Tamihere gained arts and law degrees from the University of Auckland, being the first person in his family to attend university. After graduating, he became a lawyer, eventually working for the Māori Land Court and the Department of Māori Affairs. In 1991, Tamihere became the chief executive of the Waipareira Trust, a trust that provides health and education services to Māori in the Auckland region. He also served as chairman of the New Zealand Māori Rugby League Board. Tamihere had a relatively high profile before entering politics, having been selected as Person of the Year by The Sunday Star-Times, New Zealander of the Year by North & South magazine, and Man of the Year by Metro magazine.
Member of Parliament
Election and roles
In the 1999 election, Tamihere stood as the Labour Party's candidate for the Māori electorate of Hauraki. He won the seat with 60 percent of the vote; his nearest rival gained only 15 percent. He became chairman of the Māori Affairs Select Committee and also served on the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee.In the 2002 election, Tamihere contested the newly formed Tāmaki Makaurau electorate, which he won with 73 percent of the vote. He gained the second-highest majority in a Māori electorate, exceeded only by that of Parekura Horomia, the Minister of Māori Affairs. Tamihere was appointed to Cabinet in 2002. He served as Minister of Small Business, Minister of Youth Affairs, Minister of Statistics, and Minister for Land Information, as well as functioning as Horomia's deputy as Associate Minister of Māori Affairs until 2004.
Journalist Vernon Small said that "in the mid-2000s Tamihere was seen as a rising star, and even a potential prime minister".
Foreshore and seabed controversy
The foreshore and seabed controversy of 2004–2005 put considerable strain on the Labour Party's Māori MPs, with many showing dissatisfaction with the party's policy. Two Labour MPs, Tariana Turia and Nanaia Mahuta, chose to vote against Labour's legislation, and Turia elected to leave the party. Tamihere, however, eventually voted in favour of the legislation, and defended it from its critics. Tamihere also criticised the new Māori Party established by Turia and her supporters, saying that it would ultimately fail. According to Tamihere, the party's leaders belonged "to a relatively wealthy, educated elite", and did not represent ordinary Maori.Resignation from Ministerial roles
In October 2004, Tamihere was accused of dishonest financial dealings, including accepting a "golden handshake" from the Waipareira Trust after stating that he would not take one, and failing to pay tax on this payment. On 15 October 2004, Tamihere requested leave from his Ministerial portfolios; he said that he had "done nothing to bring shame", but portrayed standing down from his Ministerial roles during the investigation as the "honourable" course. On 22 October, the Waipareira Trust accepted that it, not Tamihere, had the responsibility for tax on any payment, but other allegations relating to the financial management of the Trust persisted. On 3 November Tamihere resigned from his Ministerial portfolios, citing as untenable the retention of his responsibilities during on-going investigations. On 21 December, an official investigation cleared Tamihere of the tax charges, and on 14 March 2005, the Serious Fraud Office cleared him of the charges relating to his stewardship of the Waipareira Trust.Other political controversies while in office
On 4 April 2005, the magazine Investigate published an interview in which Tamihere insulted the Prime Minister and Cabinet ministers. About Prime Minister Helen Clark he said, "But she's no good with emotions. She goes to pieces. She'll fold on the emotional side and walk away or not turn up. She knows it's going to get emotional and it upsets her. We've never had a great relationship". Tamihere also made comments regarded as derogatory about other members of the Labour Party: Steve Maharey was called "smarmy" and lacking in substance, and Michael Cullen was depicted as cunning and manipulative. Women were referred to as "front-bums" and the party's homosexual MPs were also criticised.Tamihere denies that the interview he gave was on the record, a claim disputed by the journalist in question. Helen Clark speculated on Tamihere's having had a "liquid lunch", and indicated that a return to cabinet for Tamihere was no longer certain. Tamihere was advised to take leave to consider his position, and began attempting to mend relations with his colleagues.
A week later, however, more comments emerged from the interview. Tamihere was reported as being highly critical of women leaders, saying that they achieved their position through preferential treatment. He also stated that he was "sick and tired of hearing how many Jews got gassed" in the Holocaust, saying that while he found the Holocaust revolting, he believed that repeated mention of it was simply used to make people "feel guilty". He also alleged that Clayton Cosgrove, previously believed to be one of Tamihere's closest allies in the party, had conducted a "nasty" campaign of telephone harassment against Clark and her husband when Clark deposed Mike Moore as party leader in 1993. These latest revelations were regarded by many as the end of Tamihere's career within the Labour Party, and Clark indicated that she saw no chance of Tamihere being elected to Cabinet again. The revelation of these comments also ended talk of a potential move to another party, the National Party being frequently mentioned, and also ended attempts by opposition parties in New Zealand to portray Tamihere as a victim of the Labour Party and to use the comments to point out the flaws within the Labour Party. At the Labour Party caucus meeting on 12 April, Tamihere attended despite being placed on stress leave by Clark. He apologised for his comments and was censured by the meeting, but was not asked to resign from the party.
Loss of seat
In the 2005 election, Tamihere lost his electorate seat to Pita Sharples of the Māori Party and left Parliament. He had previously decided not to seek a list placement, stating that this decision was due to his desire to determine whether he had the "people's mandate."Career after Parliament
Return to Waipareira Trust
After his election loss, Tamihere sought re-election to the Waipareira Trust. He was voted back onto the board by members of the trust, but the board itself tried to remove him by changing the governance rules. This resulted in a legal case which Tamihere and the four other newly elected board members won. As of 2020 Tamihere is still chief executive of the trust.In late September 2022, Charities Services general manager Natasha Weight confirmed that the agency was investigating two charities headed by Tamihere, the Waipareira Trust and the National Urban Māori Authority, for financing his 2019 Auckland mayoral and 2020 general election campaigns. Under existing legislation, charities are banned from donating or endorsing political parties or candidates and allowing them to use their resources. According to the Charities Register, Te Whānau o Waipareira Trust Group had provided NZ$385,307 in interest free loans to support Tamihere's 2020 election campaign while the National Urban Māori Authority had paid NZ$70,833 to support his 2019 Auckland mayoral campaign and NZ$82,695 payment to support his 2020 election campaign and Māori Party aspirations. In response, Tamihere accused the Charities Services of discriminating against Māori causes and the Māori Party. Tamihere and the Māori Party also confirmed that they would litigate against the Charities Service if the agency ruled against them. In addition, Tamihere criticised The New Zealand Herald journalist Matt Nippert's coverage of the two charities' donations to his election campaigns, which he described as racist. He announced that the Māori Party would be boycotting The Herald.
In May 2023, the Waipareira Trust agreed to cease making political donations and recover funds it had made in interest free loans to its chief executive and Te Pāti Māori President Tamihere. By February 2024, Tamihere had repaid his loan to the Waipareira Trust. This loan had been used to fund his political campaigns. The Charities Service confirmed that it was still continuing its investigation into the Waipareira Trust's political donations.
In July 2024, the Charities Service concluded its four year investigation into the Waipareira Trust's donations into Tamihere's political campaigns and referred the case to the peak charities regulator, the Charities Registration Board.