Once again, Te Pāti Māori are spitting in the faces of hardworking taxpaying eN-Zedders, and this time, Labour’s along for the ride. As RNZ reports, both parties have failed to meet the legal deadline to file audited financial statements with the Electoral Commission — a requirement clearly set under the Electoral Act.
This is not a minor administrative hiccup. It’s a fundamental breach of transparency in a democratic system where parties are required by law to report how they get and spend their money.
And it’s not the first time.
Te Pāti Māori was already issued a formal police warning for failing to file a complete audited statement for 2023. Now, again, they’ve missed the 2024 deadline. Even worse, they still haven’t submitted last year’s audited accounts. Let that sink in.
According to RNZ, the Electoral Commission says Te Pāti Māori has “assured them” both years’ statements will be filed soon. “Soon”? That is not a legal timeframe. That is a shrug wrapped around a midfle finger.
Meanwhile, Labour is equally crooked (or maybe just incompetent) in its latest failure – claims their audit is “taking longer than expected” due to a transition to new accounting practices. But here’s the reality: every other party with the same due date — National, ACT, and others — managed to meet the deadline. If Labour’s new accounting system can’t comply with basic law, maybe it’s not the accounting that’s the problem, maybe it’s the culture of entitlement. Or simply an extension of their hopeless understand of money, accounts, budgets… as we saw from their six glory’filled years in Government.
The real rot, though, lies in the toothless response from our so-called politically unbiassed watchdogs. The Electoral Commission’s “follow-ups” are watered down weak tea, a shandy with extra lemonade. A “formal warning” from Police amounts to a friendly pat on the arse — apparently, if you ignore the rules long enough, the rules don’t apply to you snd your crooked gang.
The law is clear. Section 210J of the Electoral Act makes it a criminal offence to file financial statements late or fail to file them without a reasonable excuse. What’s Te Pāti Māori’s excuse this time? President John Tamihere declined to comment, no doubt confident that nothing will come of this — because, in eN-Zed, if you’re comfy cosy with the bureacrats, the rules don’t seem to apply. Just like in Russia and Belarus.
Let’s not forget: Te Pāti Māori are not a fringe movement anymore. They claim to speak for justice – although I think we all know by now that they only speak for the John Tamihere family allegedly 🙂 ) But how can a political party so cavalier about basic legal compliance be trusted to uphold justice for anyone? Are we living in eN-Zed? Or South Africa? Zimbabwe? Burkina Faso?
This is not just political negligence. It is contempt. Contempt for the law. Contempt for voters. Contempt for the democratic process. Contempt for every law abiding eN-Zedder!
We are watching a mockery unfold — and the longer these institutions do nothing, the clearer it becomes: the system protects the crooks, not the public.
Enough is enough. If any other organisation failed to submit legal financial statements for two consecutive years, there would be prosecutions. There would be penalties. There would be consequences. They’d not be allowed to contest an upcoming bye-election.
So here’s the real question: Why is Te Pāti Māori allowed to behave as if the rules don’t apply to them?
And why are our democratic institutions so utterly spineless in the face of repeated, brazen defiance? Did they not receive the ‘Get tough on crime’ memo?
Sources:
- RNZ. (15 July 2025). Police warn Te Pāti Māori over financial audit delay; Labour also fails to file audit.
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