Trigger warning: this email is likely to upset you

This email is longer than usual, but important. It will likely see kickback from those who like to attack anyone who dares to criticise spending when it relates to indigenous matters.

The media won't touch it. But, frankly, unless we take on these sorts of rorts, New Zealand's reputation for accountable government won't last long.

I'm also emailing to ask for your support so the Taxpayers' Union can continue to name and shame Wellington's rorts and demand the Government actually rein in wasteful spending.

Remember when we told you about the whale music being played to trees to 'cure' Kauri dieback? 🐋🎶🌳

A few months ago the Taxpayers' Union went public exposing the taxpayer-funded "science" project our researchers uncovered to (and this is no joke) record whales, mixing those sounds with recordings from healthy Kauri forests, to take into unhealthy Kauri forests, play back the audio recordings and assess whether the whale music could be effective in 'soothing' Kauri trees and beating myrtle rust and Kauri dieback. 

You really couldn't make it up.

To recap, it was part of the "National Science Challenges" which are to bring together "the country's top scientists" and use "the best science to address the Challenge[s]".

One of the challenges relates to protecting New Zealand's biodiversity, including our iconic trees.

Recall that MBIE officials insisted that as part of the project, "matauranga Māori" (i.e. traditional Māori knowledge) must be on the same footing as "colonial science" (their description, not mine!).

MBIE's justification for this project is that according to Māori legend knowledge, sperm whales and kauri trees are brothers. 

The hypthosis taxpayers are forking out to test, is whether the whales have a "calming" effect on the trees, and therefore help the trees resist disease. (We're not making this up, it's literally on the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment website!)

They spent HOW MUCH?! 🤯

After we blew the whistle on the project, officials spent months playing games and refusing to answer our basic questions on the "Oranga (wellbeing) project".

It's all rather murky complex (the project is managed by MBIE, but the actual payments are from Landcare Research) and after much determination (i.e. staff time! 😠 ), James and the research team have finally got to the bottom of how much was spent on the Ngā Rakau Taketake project.

Officials are still refusing a line-by-line breakdown (I wonder why...) but, in total, this matauranga Māori-based "research" cost taxpayers $4,027,020.

FOUR MILLION DOLLARS to mix music for trees 🎧

That's right, four million (plus GST) was paid to investigate whether recording whale sounds, mixing them with recordings from healthy Kauri forests, and playing them to unhealthy Kauri forests and other nonsense such as "The language of the domain of Tāne" – all in the name of “healing” them and "science".

Here's what the four million paid for:

The whale song feeds into the first two points of the project, and the project was carried out by an organisation Te Tira Whakamātaki Limited (which received the funds).

So who is Te Tira Whakamātaki Limited? 🧐

As part of this investigation, we've uncovered that the "research" was outsourced to a private "not for profit" company: Te Tira Whakamātaki Limited.

And that's when we came to a stunning realisation – which now explains why the departments have been so cagey about giving us information on the project...

According to Te Tira Whakamātaki Ltd's website, its "Co-funder and Trustee" is Melanie Mark-Shadbolt.

And here's the startling thing: Ms Mark-Shadbolt is also the Co-Director of the very same BioHeritage Science Challenge Science – i.e. the Government initiative funding the project!

I had the team work through the finances and Charities Commission records of Ms Mark-Shadbolt's company. The company's costs are almost entirely salaries (surprise, surprise!), and its charitable purpose is merely "Provides advice, information, and advocacy".  

Nice work if you can get it.

Why aren't the media asking questions? 🚨

It's bad enough that this taxpayer money was spent in the first place to "research" what we all know is nothing more than a myth (whales being brothers of the Kauri, and that they're able to communicate with each other). 

But when the provider of these nonsense projects (playing music to trees) is also one of the two Co-directors of the overall "science challenge" what hope is there the taxpayer will get value for money or scientific knowledge will be advanced?

And here's the kicker: The project leaders openly admit that this isn’t even real research. They describe it as a way to give Māori knowledge equal footing with science, claiming it doesn’t need to meet scientific standards because it’s about “restoring mauri (life force)” rather than achieving measurable, effective results.

And yet, MBIE continues to call it “top science quality” while burning through millions of taxpayer dollars.

So, instead of putting resources toward actual science and solutions, this project uses public money to fund what can only be described as mystical performances in the forest.

Only the Taxpayers' Union are willing to call out this grift 📣 

In the ideal world, the media (and Opposition political parties) would be all over this. But no one likes calling-out government waste if it relates to indigenous projects. We will no doubt be labelled things even for sending this email.

Because it is Māori related wasteful spending, newsrooms fall over themselves not to cover it. We even get individual journalists contact us about some of our stories saying they'd love to pick them up, but their colleagues and editors would go berserk. 

We cannot buy into making apologies. If anything shows that the Taxpayers' Union continues to be needed to find, expose, and fight wasteful spending it's this. Will you support our work so we can continue to fight the War on Waste?

Will you back taxpayers in 2025? ✊

The Government has no money. Families are struggling. New Zealand is literally getting poorer. The Taxpayers' Union must continue to shine sunlight onto wasteful spending, no matter what the PC-brigade would rather we not talk about.

This is why we need your support: to use 2025 to take on these (at best) “feel-good” projects.

On this particular spend, we want to go to the Auditor General and ask him to investigate the process and prudence of paying millions to Te Tira Whakamātaki to play music to trees. But we need your support to dig deeper and uncover and prove exactly who approved what, and when.

>> Support the 2025 War on Waste <<

We are counting on your support to make Government waste a national issue this year and demand accountability for every dollar spent. Will you stand with us to get the job done?

Thank you for your support.

Jordan Williams Executive Director New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.

p.s. The Taxpayers' Union doesn't waste money playing whale music to trees. But to expose and embarrass Wellington to cut the waste, there is no polite way to put it: we can't do the work, if we can't keep the lights on.

Updated March 2025:

Ms Mark-Shadbolt has recently advised that she perceived there would be a conflict of interest if she was to be involved with the decision to appoint Te Tira Whakamataki Limited to its role, and therefore recused herself from that decision-making process.

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the CEO of Invercargill City Council to take responsibility for untraceable cash spending that occurred on a trip to China.

In late 2017, four Invercargill City Councillors visited the sister city of Suqan, China. The CEO withdrew $3,000NZD worth of Chinese yuan for expenses. At the end of the trip, $1,780.45 was returned.

This is not surprising. What is surprising is that when the Taxpayers’ Union asked for receipts, the Council said that none were collected. It is a core responsibility for any CEO to ensure that expenses are recorded. The fact the CEO was ready to untraceably spend up to $3000 is alarming.

When asked for further details about the trip, Invercargill City Council stated that “Chinese currency was purchased for incidentals” and that “no receipts were received.” When asked further, the Council stated the currency went towards taxis and trains.

Quite frankly, the Council’s explanations can never be satisfactory because ratepayers are forced to take them on their word. It’s standard for ratepayer money to be used on incidentals, including booze and entertainment, but without any receipts it’s left to our imagination just how much fun Councillors had on the ratepayer dime.

Most concerningly, the Council says this is standard practice for its sister city visits. Other Councils collect receipts for all travel expenses. We’re calling on the CEO to take responsibility for this basic failure of accountability, and to introduce better practices. In the meantime, ratepayers are left wondering whether this behaviour reflects a deeper culture of arrogance within the Council.

Attendees of the trip included Crs G Lewis, R Amundsen, L Soper and A Crackett. With them was CEO Richard King and a staff member. Venture Southland and Chamber of Commerce officials also attended but paid their own way.