“The Parliamentary inquiry into Waipareira Trust can now proceed,” said ACT Leader Hon Richard Prebble.
“The findings of the Serious Fraud Office report released today, means that the allegations of misspending by the Trust
is an issue of governance rather than an issue for the Courts.
“Fresh allegations of extraordinary spending by the Trust are continuing to be made.
“Indeed today ACT received a letter from Mr Dennis Hansen, a former trustee, and one of the people defamed by Mr
Tamihere under Parliamentary Privilege as a drug addict, thief and a liar. The letter stated that the Trust, at Mr
Tamihere’s request, wrote off a mortgage for $100,000 owed by Mr Tamihere.
“Such an action would not be illegal, but it is very unusual, as the money certainly did originally come from the
taxpayer. It is another issue for MP’s to consider when examining whether the Waipareira Trust has in fact been
delivering services to Maori in a cost effective way.
“As Mr Hansen is one of the witnesses the Maori Affairs Select Committee is going to call, it should be a very
interesting inquiry,” said Hon Richard Prebble.
ENDS