Hobson’s Pledge funding link to Heal the Nation raises transparency questions

Video: Corina Shields in a TikTok video denying Hobson’s Pledge funded her Heal the Nation travel prior to the tour. (File video / TikTok / @shubzlive video 1 / @auntyheihei7 video 2)

OPINION: Confirmation that Hobson’s Pledge funded vehicle hire linked to a Heal the Nation organiser raises serious questions about transparency and public messaging. Earlier suggestions of a connection were publicly dismissed, even as Southern Cross News editor Joe Trinder shared an image depicting the Heal the Nation hikoi as a Trojan horse bearing Hobson’s Pledge.

The central figures linked to the funding disclosure are former Reserve Bank Governor Don Brash, Heal the Nation organiser Corina Shields, known online as Aunty Heihei, and second organiser Martel Wikeepa, known as Shubz.

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Image: Leaked email from former Reserve Bank Governor Don Brash confirming Hobson’s Pledge contribution toward vehicle hire. (File image / Supplied)

On February 10, a leaked email from Brash, sent to the outlet thisquality, confirmed that Hobson’s Pledge made a financial contribution toward vehicle hire and travel after being approached by Shields.

The issue is not the size of the contribution, but the contradiction between public distancing and the later confirmation of financial support.

Shields was one of the main funding recipients for Heal the Nation’s Givealittle page and Brash wrote of her “intention to encourage greater Māori engagement … by visiting marae around the North Island.”

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While the email frames the contribution as limited, the issue is transparency. Hobson’s Pledge had publicly maintained it was not involved in Heal the Nation or its associated hikoi. The confirmation that it helped fund travel connected to a Heal the Nation organiser has led to questions about whether that messaging was complete.

The disclosure also draws attention to how earlier concerns were dismissed by followers of Shields and Wikeepa, who were gaining a growing audience while publicly criticising Māori Party President John Tamihere.

Image: Screenshot of a Facebook post by Southern Cross News editor Joe Trinder depicting the Heal the Nation hikoi as a Trojan horse labelled with Hobson’s Pledge. (Supplied / Facebook / Joe Trinder)

In a post on his Facebook page, Trinder shared an image portraying the Heal the Nation hikoi as a Trojan horse, explicitly naming Hobson’s Pledge on the graphic.

The leaked email confirmed Hobson’s Pledge provided financial assistance, challenging earlier dismissals of any connection. While it does not establish a formal partnership or sponsorship of the wider hikoi, it does confirm a financial contribution tied to travel undertaken by a central Heal the Nation organiser. That alone undermines earlier claims that concerns were unfounded.

Some people who attended Heal the Nation events have expressed concern in TikTok videos about the reputational impact of the disclosure, leading to mistrust in the organisation. Initially, Heal the Nation presented itself as a grassroots initiative, driven by community fundraising and independent mobilisation.

Image: Corina Shields appearing in a Hobson’s Pledge campaign video opposing Māori Wards. (Supplied / Facebook / Hobson’s Pledge)

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The revelation that travel costs were supported by Hobson’s Pledge now undermines that image of independence, raising questions about how separate the movement truly was.

Brash continues in the email, “… During Hobson’s Pledge’s campaign opposing separatist Māori Wards, Shields offered informal assistance because she shares our belief that, in a democracy, every citizen should have equal political status. She appeared in a limited number of social media posts relating to that campaign, which has since concluded.”

That prior collaboration now takes on greater significance in light of confirmed funding for travel promoting “legal equality.”

The email confirms an existing relationship between Hobson’s Pledge and Shields.

Brash rejected claims of broader coordination by writing, “Hobson’s Pledge has not sponsored, endorsed, or been involved in any wider campaign activity.”

Image: Corina Shields, also known as AuntyHeiHei (left), Martel Wikeepa, also known as Shubz (centre), inside the rental van funded for North Island travel. (@auntyheihei7 / TikTok)

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The disclosure undermines Shields’ previous public positioning of non-involvement.

For Heal the Nation and those associated with it, the revelation raises questions about independence and disclosure. And for those who dismissed suggestions of a link, the leaked email has given new weight to concerns that were previously dismissed.

The key issue is no longer whether support existed. It is why that support was not clearly disclosed earlier.

The leaked email does not prove formal coordination, however, it does confirm financial support where none had been publicly acknowledged prior.

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