Matt Nippert: NZ Herald reporter on John Tamihere and the Waipareira Trust reaching their deadline to settle an outstanding loan - Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

West Auckland social services charity the Waipareira Trust and chief executive John Tamihere have reached their deadline to settle an outstanding loan.

$385,307 was taken from the Trust to pay for John Tamihere's mayoral campaign and Te Pāti Māori's general election campaign- in breach of the law.

NZ Herald reporter Matt Nippert says this investigation has been ongoing since the end of 2019- and Tamihere is running out of options.

"It's got the nuclear option- deregistration. Which effectively strips an entity of its charitable status and it has to pay tax again. They also get levied a tax across their net assets."

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