TPM rorting charities again

The Herald reports:

MP Takutai Kemp was under investigation at the time of her death last year for funnelling thousands of dollars of charity money into Te Pāti Māori electoral campaigns, official documents show.

Details of the investigation by the Department of Internal Affairs into support provided in 2023 to Te Pāti Māori (TPM) by registered charity Manurewa Marae, for which Kemp served as chief executive at the time, were obtained by the Herald under the Official Information Act.

Kemp won the Tāmaki Makaurau seat at the general election in October that year by just 46 votes, and died in June 2025 of complications caused by kidney disease.

Regulator Charities Services (CS) has long maintained that case law prohibits using charity funds or resources to support political parties, candidates or campaigns.

The CS investigation, opened formally in July 2024, found Kemp authorised the use of Manurewa Marae funds to pay: $1500 for seats to a TPM candidate fundraiser in May; $8800 for a musket and korowai (cloak) at a TPM fundraising auction in June; and two payments totalling $1250 coded as “Te Paati Maori” on her Manurewa Marae credit card in October.

This is not surprising. Ion fact it iOS clear this is a feature, not a bug, when it comes to TPM. They regard any surplus charitable funds as suitable for furthering their political activities.