> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # "They Called It Charity. The Family Collected $278 Million." - 11 October 2026 - URL: https://www.themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz/they-called-it-charity-the-family-collected-278-million-11-october-2026/ - Published: 2026-10-11T02:22:48.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-11T02:25:57.000Z - Description: Whānau Pay The Fees, The Crown Pays The Subsidy, The Wright Family Collects The Cheque — And Tamariki Get A Regulator Told To Be Gentle - Author: Ivor Jones The Māori Green Lantern ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b1/cd/b1cd2cb0-95e8-4ee7-ad91-84123e3121bd/content/images/2026/10/Unmasking_the_Charity_Machine_-_Slide_1.png) Kia ora e te whānau. I am Ivor Jones. Imagine a cash machine bolted to the wall of a kindergarten. Parents feed it $115 million in fees. The Crown feeds it $317 million in subsidy. A charity logo is stuck on the front. Every year a slot at the bottom pays out to a family trust, and no one in the queue is allowed to ask who owns the machine. [Best Start charity has paid founders $287m tax-freeThe charity-owned childcare giant pays another $36m to its rich-lister founders.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b1/cd/b1cd2cb0-95e8-4ee7-ad91-84123e3121bd/content/images/icon/favicon-d02997f5-4d54-41b8-a4f1-3a408cbe0169.png)The New Zealand HeraldMatt Nippert![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b1/cd/b1cd2cb0-95e8-4ee7-ad91-84123e3121bd/content/images/thumbnail/O7SZ7OWGUZNMTAG34HWFKXVY5U-acf6120a-a8f8-4946-a651-489b9df891a5.jpg)](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/best-starts-323m-related-party-loan-falls-to-539m-after-a-decade-of-repayments/premium/CIPYKHRYNFCTLBA72UCADPSU6U/?ref=themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz) That is my reading of how BestStart's money flows. The facts come from the [NZ Herald's analysis of the Wright Family Charity Group's 2026 accounts](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/best-starts-323m-related-party-loan-falls-to-539m-after-a-decade-of-repayments/premium/CIPYKHRYNFCTLBA72UCADPSU6U/?ref=themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz). The machine analogy is mine. I cover six things, in order: 1. The BestStart money trail, including the $332 million vendor loan and the rents. 2. The family's purchase of a political megaphone, The Platform. 3. The hidden connections between the family, National, ACT and the ECE deregulation agenda. 4. A tika, pono and tikanga test of the whole system. 5. Three examples for the Western mind, each with quantified harm, a refused solution and the damage to tikanga. 6. Why I will not vote for this Coalition on 7 November, and why I will vote Green. The Māori Green Lantern would love you to click through and stay. This essay holds a wealth of information you can use in your daily life. An audio podcast sets out this kaupapa in detail. A short video explains it simply. For long-form readers, there is a 3,000-word cited essay waiting for you. This is a repository for our mokopuna. When they look back, they will see that the Māori Green Lantern, among a few, was warning us. --- ## Background: How A Childcare Business Became A Charity ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b1/cd/b1cd2cb0-95e8-4ee7-ad91-84123e3121bd/content/images/2026/10/Unmasking_the_Charity_Machine_-_Slide_2.png) Wayne and Chloe Wright founded the business in 1996\. In January 2015 they sold it to their own charity, the Wright Family Foundation, according to [the foundation's own history page](https://wrightfamilyfoundation.org.nz/en-us/Our-Story/Our-History?ref=themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz). The Herald reports the price as a $332 million vendor-finance loan, meaning the family became the lender to the charity that bought the family's business. The Herald now reports that the loan has fallen to $53.9 million. The family trust has received about $278 million in "tax-free payments," and the loan clears within "a couple of years." Tony Ryall joined as chief executive in 2018\. He had been National's Minister of Health from 2008 to 2014, as the [Scoop announcement](https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED1807/S00053/beststart-educare-names-tony-ryall-as-new-chief-executive.htm?ref=themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz) and the [Herald's 2020 profile](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/former-mp-tony-ryall-on-life-after-politics/IOYPFDXYHZZSWHDDSY5M6E7MPU/?ref=themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz) record. Wayne Wright stayed on as chairman then. --- ## Deconstructing The Mātauranga Of "Charity" ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b1/cd/b1cd2cb0-95e8-4ee7-ad91-84123e3121bd/content/images/2026/10/Childcare_Revenue_and_Cashflows_Infographic.png) In te ao Māori, a koha flows toward the mana of the people receiving it. Under my own tikanga lens, the BestStart flow runs the other way. Here is the flow for the year to March 2026, from the Herald: - **Income:** $433 million, up 3%. Of that, $317 million (73.2%) is government funding, and $115 million (26.6%) is parent fees. - **Surplus:** $42 million, or 9.7% of revenue. - **Where the surplus went:** $28.8 million (68.6%) went to private Wright Family Trust interests to repay the loan. $10.4 million (24.8%) went to charitable donations. That is 2.77 times more to the family than to charity. - **Rent:** $16.7 million went to family trusts for "rents & reimbursements." About a third of BestStart's centres are leased from private Wright family interests. Add the loan repayment and the rent. That is $45.5 million to family interests, against $10.4 million in donations, a ratio of 4.4 to 1\. Wayne Wright defended the arrangement in 2020: "Everything we've done is open and legit, and done with the knowledge of IRD." The Herald also reports that the final repayment will free more than $30 million a year for charitable use. I give both points their full weight. > My opinion, based on those figures: a "charity" that sends 2.77 times more to its founders than to donations has changed the meaning of the word. "Lawful" and "tika" are different tests. I do not allege that any law was broken. --- ## Analysis: The Hidden Connections ### 1\. The Wright Family Bought A Megaphone ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b1/cd/b1cd2cb0-95e8-4ee7-ad91-84123e3121bd/content/images/2026/10/Unmasking_the_Charity_Machine_-_Slide_3--1-.png) [BusinessDesk](https://businessdesk.co.nz/article/editors-picks/the-platforms-secret-backer-revealed?ref=themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz) reported that the family's commercial arm took 75% of Sean Plunket's The Platform, while Plunket kept 25%. It also reported that Wayne Jr and Chloe Wright took board seats. Wayne Wright Jr told BusinessDesk the investment came from "subdivisions, retirement villages, and hospitality," and not from the "distinct and separate" charitable foundation. I give his explanation in full. Here is the irony. The Platform's September 2025 ownership statement boasted of an "unbiased non taxpayer funded new media enterprise." The [Spinoff quotes that statement](https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/05-09-2025/sean-plunket-now-stands-alone-on-his-platform?ref=themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz). The Herald says the family "can trace the bulk of their wealth to Best Start," where 73.2% of income is government funding. I do not claim a traced payment from BestStart to The Platform. > I claim an irony: an outlet that preached independence from the state was started by a family whose wealth the Herald traces to a subsidy-funded business. ### 2\. A Financier Who Says What He Thinks In the [Spinoff's 2022 interview](https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/20-08-2022/two-hours-with-the-secretive-rich-lister-bankrolling-sean-plunkets-the-platform?ref=themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz), Wayne Wright Jr said "Races of people are different, genders are different." He described racism as "people hanging up on burning crosses." He said Te Tiriti is "important" but not relevant to his vision of New Zealand. He objected to "extraordinary rights and privileges" for Māori "because they don't live as long." He added: "The fact that a group doesn't live as long… is not inherent racism." > My opinion: that is the worldview of the man who gave Plunket a studio. A person who defines racism as burning crosses cannot see the structural racism that Māori life expectancy figures record. That is not insight. It is a blind spot paid for in other people's lives. ### 3\. The Man He Funded Was Already Sanctioned he same Spinoff piece records a $3,000 Broadcasting Standards Authority fine against Plunket for an "offensive and harmful" interview with a Te Whānau ā Apanui spokesperson. The [2025 Spinoff report](https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/05-09-2025/sean-plunket-now-stands-alone-on-his-platform?ref=themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz) says he left MagicTalk after a successful BSA complaint that an interview "had the effect of reflecting and amplifying casual racism towards Māori." [My 13 May essay](https://www.themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz/the-same-war-two-hemispheres-how-the-global-far-right-dismantled-media-accountability-and-why-the-maori-green-lantern-exists-13-may-2026/) documented what followed. David Seymour spoke on The Platform about RNZ's leadership, and the Coalition later announced plans to abolish the BSA. ### 4\. The Donations The Herald's 2016 report records that Wayne Wright gave National two donations worth $32,450 (`30{,}000 + 2{,}450`). [Elections NZ lists the same donation](https://elections.nz/democracy-in-nz/political-parties-in-new-zealand/donations-exceeding-20000/donations-exceeding-30000?ref=themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz) in its records of donations over $30,000\. I found no evidence of a quid pro quo, and I allege none. The point is access. National is the party of the Coalition's Prime Minister. ### 5\. A Cabinet Minister At The Door Tony Ryall served in National's Cabinet until 2014 and became BestStart's chief executive in 2018\. The Herald now describes him as heading the Charity Group. That is the revolving door in its plainest form. I do not allege wrongdoing by Mr Ryall, and he should have a right of reply. ### 6\. The Deregulation Machine ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b1/cd/b1cd2cb0-95e8-4ee7-ad91-84123e3121bd/content/images/2026/10/Unmasking_the_Charity_Machine_-_Slide_4-1.png) David Seymour holds both the Regulation portfolio and the ECE brief. The OECE's [13 big changes](https://oece.nz/newsroom/stories/ece-reform-13-big-changes-government-has-made/?ref=themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz) records the following: - **Softer enforcement:** Enforcement powers are now discretionary, and "may" replaces "must." - **Unqualified staff:** Unqualified adults can fill certificated-teacher roles for up to 80 hours per funding period without losing funding. - **No network approval:** The network-approval requirement has been removed. - **Pay equity:** The ECE pay equity claim has been stopped. - **Regulator move:** Regulation moved to ERO on 1 September 2026, according to the [Beehive release](https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/minister-sets-clear-expectations-new-ece-regulator?ref=themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz). The OECE says the regulator shift is "expected to benefit larger multi-site ECE service providers." BestStart runs more than 250 centres. (*Corroborated. OECE is a specialist ECE advocacy newsroom, and this claim is its analysis.*) The OECE also reports that the minister's funding review group has [no members with ECE teaching qualifications](https://oece.nz/newsroom/announcements/ece-funding-review-questions-concerns-submission/?ref=themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz) and that three members operate or represent commercial providers. (*Corroborated as OECE reporting.*) > My opinion: I found no evidence of any improper arrangement between the Wrights and Mr Seymour. But when a family that backs your platform runs the largest provider in the sector you are deregulating, the public is entitled to ask who benefits. Cui bono is not an accusation. It is a question the Coalition has not answered. --- ## Tika, Pono And Tikanga: The Test ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b1/cd/b1cd2cb0-95e8-4ee7-ad91-84123e3121bd/content/images/2026/10/Unmasking_the_Charity_Machine_-_Slide_6.png) Tika asks whether the system is correct and accurate. Pono asks whether it is honest. Tikanga asks whether it builds mauri, which means: - preserving mana - recognising whakapapa - respecting wairua - involving whānau - returning people to wellbeing | Test | The System | Verdict (my opinion, with the facts above) | | ---------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | | **Tika** | A charity name over a private repayment stream | Fails: the label does not match the flow | | **Pono** | "Non-taxpayer-funded" media from wealth the Herald traces to subsidy | Fails: honest labelling is missing | | **Mana** | Racism defined only as burning crosses | Fails: Māori disadvantage is dismissed as a "privilege" | | **Whakapapa** | $278m flows with no public map of the trusts | Fails: whānau cannot trace where their fees go | | **Wairua** | A regulator told to prefer "warnings" over action | Mauri-depleting | | **Whānau voice** | A funding review with no parent or community-ECE voice | Fails: whānau are absent | | **Wellbeing** | Pay equity stopped and qualified staffing eroded | Mauri-depleting | By contrast, mauri-enhancing practice looks like Te Kōhanga Reo and community-owned ECE. Whānau govern those services, and the surplus stays in the kaupapa. --- ## Three Examples For The Western Mind ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b1/cd/b1cd2cb0-95e8-4ee7-ad91-84123e3121bd/content/images/2026/10/xoHxB-1Otu8RNIw0.png) ### Example 1: The Charity That Pays The Founders **Core claim:** The Herald reports that $28.8 million of a $42 million surplus went to the family trust, and $10.4 million went to donations. **Quantified harm:** That is 2.77 times more to the family than to charity. On top of that, $16.7 million went in rent to family trusts. Seen another way, the family flows total 4.4 times donations. **Solution:** Publish the trust deeds and a related-party register. Require independent valuation and ongoing public oversight of any related-party loan to a charity. **Impact on tikanga, explained for the Western mind:** In te ao Māori, wealth carries obligation. Koha moves toward the mana of the receiver. Here a subsidy intended for tamariki ends up paying down a founder's loan. The mana of the tamariki is not served, and the system has not shown whānau where their fees went. *Further reading:* My [Kaitiaki They Killed essay](https://www.themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz/the-kaitiaki-they-killed-how-a-white-supremacist-neoliberal-government-gutted-aotearoas-economy-and-sent-you-the-bill-20-september-2026/) maps the same extraction logic across thirty-three Coalition decisions. ### Example 2: The Megaphone And The Missing Referee **Core claim:** The Wright family took 75% of The Platform. Plunket, whom the BSA had sanctioned, ran the station. The Coalition then announced plans to scrap the BSA. **Quantified harm:** The BSA fine was $3,000\. Whānau had a free route to complain. The government's replacement is industry self-regulation, which I will not call accountability. **Solution:** Keep the BSA. Fund public-interest journalism without the Te Tiriti conditions the station objected to. Disclose media ownership and funders. **Impact on tikanga:** In te ao Māori, whakapapa and mana must be respected in public speech. When a platform mocks tikanga and the Crown removes the only free referee, whānau are left with no recourse. I mean no chance of redress, not just offence. *Further reading:* My [Same War, Two Hemispheres essay](https://www.themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz/the-same-war-two-hemispheres-how-the-global-far-right-dismantled-media-accountability-and-why-the-maori-green-lantern-exists-13-may-2026/) sets this out in full. ### Example 3: The Regulator Told To Be Gentle **Core claim:** Under this Coalition, ECE enforcement is discretionary and unqualified adults can stand in for certificated teachers. **Quantified harm:** Up to 80 hours per funding period of unqualified cover with no funding penalty. The OECE also reports that proposals under consideration would reduce or waive qualification requirements for services serving Māori and Pacific children. (*Corroborated. Proposals are not yet law.*) The funding review's own proposal to remove the 100% certificated-teacher band would cut funding to about 78% of kindergartens, per the MAG's figures as reported by OECE. **Solution:** Restore network approval, fund certificated teachers, and require per-centre financial accounts, which the funding review does not propose. **Impact on tikanga:** A tamaiti learns who they are through whakapapa and relationship. Rotating unqualified cover and lowering the bar for Māori-serving centres tells our mokopuna that their wairua is worth less. That is the opposite of mauri-enhancing. --- ## Implications: The Bill Added Up ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b1/cd/b1cd2cb0-95e8-4ee7-ad91-84123e3121bd/content/images/2026/10/Unmasking_the_Charity_Machine_-_Slide_5-1.png) - **ECE:** $317m of public money in one organisation's income, with 73.2% of its revenue public. (*Verified.*) - **Family flows:** $45.5m to family interests in one year. (*Calculation 11.*) - **Welfare:** My earlier essay recorded benefit sanctions rising 2.10 times, to 53,079\. (*Corroborated.*) - **Economy:** Real GDP per person is down $1,260, or 2.3%. (*Corroborated, Labour's claim as reported.*) My opinion on all of this: the same Coalition that sanctions the poor deregulates the sector in which a wealthy family collects. The pattern is cutting where whānau are weak and loosening where capital is strong. That is not a scandal in one place. It is a model. --- ## Rangatiratanga, And Why I Will Not Vote For This Coalition ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b1/cd/b1cd2cb0-95e8-4ee7-ad91-84123e3121bd/content/images/2026/10/Unmasking_the_Charity_Machine_-_Slide_8-1.png) On 7 November, in 27 days (voting opens 26 October, in 15 days), you decide whether the cash machine stays bolted to the wall. **Reasons not to vote this Coalition back in:** - It loosened the ECE regulator while the sector's largest provider sends the largest flows to its founders. - It has stopped the ECE pay equity claim, so the women who care for our tamariki stay underpaid. - It is moving to abolish the BSA, the one free referee whānau had. - Its record, set out in my [20 September essay](https://www.themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz/the-kaitiaki-they-killed-how-a-white-supremacist-neoliberal-government-gutted-aotearoas-economy-and-sent-you-the-bill-20-september-2026/), shows a pattern of cutting Māori institutions. That includes Te Aka Whai Ora, which was disestablished in eleven days. I describe this Coalition as a white supremacist, neoliberal government. That is my opinion. It rests on the Waitangi Tribunal's Hautupua finding on the Māori Health Authority as recorded in my earlier essay, and on the policy record above. **My opinion: vote Green.** Under its published ECE policy, the Greens would: - cap fees at $10 per day above the 20 free hours - make ECE free for 35 hours by 2029 - end subsidies to corporations and fund community and public centres instead (per the [Green Party](https://www.greens.org.nz/green%5Fbudget%5Fearly%5Fchildhood%5Feducation%5Ffor%5Feveryone?ref=themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz)) - secure long-term funding for kaupapa Māori providers and restore network management (per the [OECE's election guide](https://oece.nz/newsroom/politics/election-2026-early-childhood-education-policy-guide/?ref=themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz)) - cap political donations at $30,000, stop companies donating and set up a lobbyist register (per the Green Party's own announcements list) Two honest caveats: - BestStart is already a registered charity. A Green rule aimed at for-profit chains does not automatically touch a charity like BestStart, so voters should press the Greens on related-party payments. (*My analysis.*) - The OECE notes the Green plan is "not failproof" and leaves some community-organisation questions open. If I keep the pressure on, the Greens will have to close that gap. That is rangatiratanga. We support our own truth-tellers, and then we hold every party to account. Kia kaha, whānau. Stay vigilant. Stay connected. --- ## The Deep Dive Podcast Where BestStart Childcare Millions Really Go 0:00 /1378.359728 1× Listen to a lively conversation between two hosts, unpacking and connecting topics in the sources of this essay. I apologise in advance for the AI's very harsh pronounciation of reo. Please dont shoot me, :). ## Youtube Video Like video? Here is a short video suppporting the essay. Again, don't shoot the messenger please because of AI's pronounciation. :) --- ## Koha Consideration ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b1/cd/b1cd2cb0-95e8-4ee7-ad91-84123e3121bd/content/images/2026/10/generated-image--13--3.png) You might ask who is paying the Māori Green Lantern to trace $278 million out of a childcare charity, a megaphone bought with family wealth, and a regulator told to go easy. The answer is you do. The Māori Green Lantern is supported through koha and that is it. No corporates, no trusts and no ministry contracts support this mahi. Every koha signals that whānau are ready to support the accountability that Crown and corporate structures will not provide. It signals that rangatiratanga includes the power to support our own truth-tellers. Kia kaha, whānau. Stay vigilant. Stay connected. And if you are able, consider a koha to ensure this voice continues. If you are unable to koha, no worries! Subscribe or follow the Māori Green Lantern at [themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz](https://www.themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz/), kōrero and share with your whānau and friends. That is koha in itself. Four pathways exist: - **Koha:** [app.koha.kiwi](https://app.koha.kiwi/events/the-maori-green-lantern-fighting-misinformation-and-disinformation-ivor-jones?ref=themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz) - **Subscribe:** [themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz/#/portal/support](https://www.themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz/#/portal/support) - **Bank transfer:** Ivor Jones, account number 03-1395-0099387-000 - **Facebook:** [facebook.com/Themaorigreenlantern/subscribe](https://www.facebook.com/Themaorigreenlantern/subscribe/) --- *Disclaimer:* This essay is opinion on matters of public interest. Facts are cited, opinions are flagged, and no unlawful conduct is alleged. Named people are referenced in their public roles only. Corrections: themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz.