Tama Potaka: Māori Development Minister on if Whānau Ora funding was used for Moana Pasifika

Concerns are being raised around the use of taxpayer money to fund Moana Pasifika. 

Our newsroom's revealed the Super Rugby franchise received some $8 million in taxpayer loans, grants, and funding. 

The Pasifika Medical Association —which took over ownership of the team last year— has received funding from Whānau Ora contracts. 

Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka told Mike Hosking there's some uncertainty about how that Whānau Ora money was spent. 

He wants to know it's being used for proper purpose and has asked for an explanation ASAP. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Right, Farnat or are not having a good week? Neither
seemingly is the taxpayer? Are they electioneering with this half
hour raid asking people to sign up for the Maray role?
And why is money for Mwana Pacifica the rugby team
part of their mandate? Allegedly Minister for Marie Development time
of Potarker is with us.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Morning to you, Hey kidle Mike, how you're doing very well?

Speaker 1 (00:17):
Indeed on a scale of one to ten of alarmism,
how alarmed are you?

Speaker 2 (00:22):
I'm seriously concerned. And it's not about Final Order. It's
about the use of public money. Final Order is actually
going through a changeover transition into Final Order two point
zero form new commission agencies and are they going to
go out and do the business? But the two incumbents,
two of the three, there's some issues and we need
to find out what's going on.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
What are you more alarmed about the Maori role or
Mulwana Pacifica.

Speaker 2 (00:46):
Well, just a bit of uncertainty around the use of
public money. So we just want to make sure that
they've been used for proper purpose. I'm not jumping to
any conclusions, but I have us Spenny Corksey look into it,
get an explanation and report back a set by today.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
Why well, good, Why aren't you jumping to conclusions? Because
I have, and I think most of the people listening
to this have, and I cannot for the life of
me unless you can offer me some sort of explanation.
See why public money should be supporting a professional rugby team.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
Well, public money has been used to support a whole
range of sporting and recreational initiatives over there, Mike might say,
for example, the Rugby World Cup, and.

Speaker 1 (01:26):
That's aism event. This is supposed to be uplifting the
Pacific or the Mari community in some way.

Speaker 2 (01:32):
Well, we don't know exactly what the facts are around
the use of public money is. That's why I've asked
to twenty quickly look into it, give an explanation, report back,
and now that I think liaising with the Office of
the Order to General to make sure that the lines
of inquiry appropriately.

Speaker 1 (01:44):
Are you not personally responsible for this? You hand out
the money to an agency who then hands it out
to somebody else. Is nobody paying attention to where that
money goes and how it's spent.

Speaker 2 (01:55):
I am the Minister responsible for Finner Order and that's
why I'm taking action to get to the bottom of it.
And then obviously we'll put that through to my my
bang up hitter, Christopher Laxan.

Speaker 1 (02:06):
Having said that, the broader issue race based funding, you
guys said the stops, how come it's still going well?

Speaker 2 (02:13):
I think that's a little bit adjacent to the Final
Order Copepper. The final orders actually for everyone, and it
helps deliver public services better than the government can do locally.
Centers are locally lid in Final Center. Now, that can
work in a variety of ways. But Fire Order is
not just for Mary Mike, It's for everyone who needs
totalal in that way.

Speaker 1 (02:31):
I don't understand what you just said. What's you literally
speaking the language I don't speak, Tarner, And I'm sorry.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
I'll give you an explanation. Total support. And you know
and I know that sometimes government delivery of government services
doesn't work well. Fire Order in many respects has work
very well to help move Farno into a better place.

Speaker 1 (02:52):
Right Well, when you say Fana, is it Mari or
is it anybody? Because what happened to the ministry dovetailing
with final Aura.

Speaker 2 (02:59):
Anyone can access Final Order and it's not just through
the farer order appropriation. That funding is given for these
types of types of activities and types of services.

Speaker 1 (03:09):
So you don't or in any way, shape or formance
race based funding.

Speaker 2 (03:14):
No, it's a different way of delivering public services, and
actually sometimes it's a better way. As you know, government
has not necessarily delivered public services effectively and so farner
order is a different way of delivering public services.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
Okay, when Marapekaakaa takes is Mari issues don't come to
the fore in major political parties. Is she correct?

Speaker 2 (03:36):
No? I don't think so. You look at all the.

Speaker 1 (03:38):
Words, what you see, and that's why she's funding EAT
and AD agencies for the tune of hundreds of thousands
of dollars to make a half hour ad. How do
you justify that?

Speaker 2 (03:46):
Well, I disagree with metapeka o color tape. For example,
Minister Goldsmuths doing huge amount of money to settle treat
Here's amount of money to settle treaty, claims Erica Stamford
doing huge amount of money to support Kuta Kopapper in
immersion schools. There's a lot of things that the government
is doing to ensure that we not only deal with

(04:06):
some of the socio and economic challenges that are facing
mighty but also with be outstanding historic treaty claims.

Speaker 1 (04:13):
Yeah, but when she says something like that to justify
what she's done with our money, you need to do
more than disagree with it, don't you. You need to do
something about it because she's wasting our money.

Speaker 2 (04:24):
Well, I think long he's on to pay text Mike,
and that's why I've been very firm with Sunny Corky
to explain to me what is happening lari aism with
the Office of the Order to General now, and I
expect an explanation, Aceip.

Speaker 1 (04:36):
If they don't give you an acceptable explanation, what are
you going to do?

Speaker 2 (04:41):
Well, Well, I expect them to give me an explanation,
and if that explanation is not consistent with our expectations,
then we'll take the matter further. But we'll not be yet.
We have to get the facts and find out what's
going on.

Speaker 1 (04:54):
When you're going to come back on this program and explain.

Speaker 2 (04:56):
It, well, well, I expect to get a report today.
But as you know, there are some other things going
on in the space with the parts of Maori leadership,
particularly with the recent parting of Titash Camp. So I
expected today and that's what I've asked for.

Speaker 1 (05:12):
What's I got to do with the Mary Party? You
lost me there? This is fun? At what's fun? I
don't understand what you just said.

Speaker 2 (05:19):
Well, the people that are involved with that particular ad
have also got an overlay with the party Mary. You
and I both know that.

Speaker 1 (05:29):
I'm sorry Roko takes a former party member. Yes, and
isn't that a conflict of interest in and of itself?

Speaker 2 (05:38):
Well, that's the matter that has to be explained to
me as well.

Speaker 1 (05:41):
But you knew that going in. Why wasn't explained previously?
Why does it take a problem like this for someone
to come back to you and explain? I mean, you
know who she is and where she's from and what
she thinks.

Speaker 2 (05:50):
Well, I thank you and I both know Mike that
the Public Services Commissioner is looking at a whole range
of matters to do with confidentiality and confidence of interest
and they are reporting back to then minister or on
a redial basis in relation to these whole range of
other manisters.

Speaker 1 (06:06):
Are you on top of your job?

Speaker 2 (06:08):
Yes?

Speaker 1 (06:09):
Okay, Well come back to me next week and we'll
talk some more. Hopefully tama Po Tarker, who is the
Minister of Maori Development.

Speaker 2 (06:15):
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