The curious case of Oriini Kaipara’s ‘repossessed’ campaign truck
2025-10-29 · properly-fucked
A truck used in Te Pāti Māori MP Oriini Kaipara’s Tāmaki Makaurau by-election campaign was briefly listed for sale as a repossessed vehicle before being removed from Turners and Trade Me. Questions remain over the truck’s ownership and Kaipara’s connection to its late owner, former Head Hunters member Wynyard Anania.
In the ever-expanding museum of how New Zealand politics manages to get quietly, efficiently, and magnificently fucked, the Oriini Kaipara truck saga deserves its own wing. It began as a feel-good story: a candidate driving a big, blessed waka through Tāmaki Makaurau, wrapped in pride and poster vinyl. Then someone noticed that the same truck — still wearing her face — had popped up on Turners listed as “reposessed, sold on behalf of a finance company.” That’s when it started to smell properly, bureaucratically fucked.
Kaipara swore it wasn’t her truck. Fair enough, except she’d recently blessed it, dedicated her campaign to its late owner (a reformed Head Hunters member turned political aide), and posted a heartfelt tribute calling him “Koro Win.” Somewhere in the mix, the finance company reclaimed the truck, the auction listings vanished after Stuff asked questions, and everyone involved suddenly remembered they had absolutely no idea who owned what. The party treasurer said it was all above board, the party leader mourned the deceased, and the truck itself — a 1991 Isuzu with all the dignity of a damp pamphlet — just sat there, an accidental monument to paperwork gone spiritual.
The Ministry didn’t comment because it wasn’t their problem. Turners didn’t comment because it’s never their problem. Kaipara’s press secretary couldn’t comment because there wasn’t one. And so the country added another entry to its national ledger of things that are not technically crimes, just profoundly, systemically fucked.
Some nations have coups, others have scandals; we have trucks with campaign decals being repossessed by finance companies three months after the victory. In the end, it’ll all fade away like everything else here: not resolved, just politely towed. Because in New Zealand, nothing ever really unfucks — it just goes back on the lot.
Source: https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360869121/curious-case-oriini-kaiparas-repossessed-campaign-truck
What’s fucked
It’s messy on several levels. A campaign vehicle tied to a sitting MP turns out to have been financed, repossessed, and linked to a deceased former gang member—all while the MP publicly blessed it in his memory but later claimed no knowledge of its ownership. The rapid delisting and unclear accountability make the whole situation look opaque, poorly managed, and politically risky.
What might unfuck
They could unfuck it by coming clean fast. A simple, consistent explanation of who owned the truck, who authorised its use, and why it was repossessed would drain the drama. Owning the mistake publicly would make it look like miscommunication, not misconduct.
Odds of unfucking
29%
Source: https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360869121/curious-case-oriini-kaiparas-repossessed-campaign-truck