Tania Rangiheuea, Chief Executive of MUMA, and her
husband, Labour MP Willie Jackson.
During a candid interview with Cam Slater on the Goodoil Podcast, McCarten provided a detailed and disturbing picture of how Jackson allegedly inserted himself into an employment matter where he had no authority, no role, and no right to be involved.
Allegation One: Jackson appointed himself as his wife’s employment advocate
According to McCarten, the crisis unfolded when serious complaints were raised about Jackson’s wife, the CEO of MUMA. The complaints were related to staff mistreatment, bullying, and dismissals.
McCarten explained that when the MUMA chair sought his advice, he simply told him to get legal help. He said, “Get yourself a lawyer. Get the board to get a lawyer, just follow their advice.”
But everything escalated once the CEO brought Willie Jackson into the picture.
He repeated it for emphasis, as if still shocked by the audacity of it.
Allegation Two: Jackson demanded that the complaint report disappear
What came next is even more alarming. The chair travelled to Wellington to meet Jackson. McCarten says that during a private meeting of several hours, Jackson made his intentions very clear.
McCarten recounts the chair’s claim that “he was told that the whole thing is to disappear.”
Cam Slater clarified the situation bluntly. He said, “Willie Jackson… is acting as a representative for the CEO… and says this report’s to disappear.”
McCarten confirmed it, adding the shocking detail that Jackson had no authority whatsoever inside MUMA. “He’s not on the board. And officially he does not have a role within MUMA.”
Despite that, Jackson was allegedly making demands of the chair about how the organisation should handle a formal complaint against his own wife.
Allegation Three: Jackson insisted the chair apologise to his wife
According to McCarten, Jackson did not stop at making the report vanish. He allegedly demanded humiliating concessions from the chair.
McCarten stated, “The complaint’s got to be withdrawn. You are going to apologise to my wife. And you have got to apologise to the board. And you better be sure that my wife is going to accept your apology.”
This was not a mediation. This was not a negotiation. This was a senior Labour MP allegedly strong-arming a board chair into protecting his wife from legitimate scrutiny.
And the complaints, according to McCarten, were real and serious. He said, “These complaints have legitimacy. They are genuine complaints about her mistreatment of staff and bullying of staff. And people have lost their jobs.”
McCarten made a final point that exposes the astonishing hypocrisy of Jackson’s alleged conduct.
He said, “Willie Jackson used to be the employment minister and a senior trade unionist. And he voted for all the laws that entitle people to representation.”
Here he is, allegedly using his political power to suppress worker complaints and protect his wife from accountability.
Click all 4 images individually to view - The letter Matt McCarten sent Labour leader Chris Hipkins on the 5th of September, outlining his concerns regarding Willie Jackson.
These allegations are not minor. They are not teething problems. They are not misunderstandings.
They describe a sitting Labour MP inserting himself into an internal employment dispute at an organisation where he has no role, demanding that a complaint be withdrawn, demanding apologies to his wife, and trying to bury allegations of bullying and mistreatment of staff.
If true, this is an abuse of influence, an abuse of process, and a complete betrayal of the principles Jackson himself has spent years preaching.
The Labour Party cannot allow an MP to operate like this. New Zealanders cannot be expected to tolerate it.
If these allegations are accurate, Willie Jackson’s position in the Labour Party is untenable.
Matua Kahurangi is just a bloke sharing thoughts on New Zealand and the world beyond. No fluff, just honest takes. He blogs on https://matuakahurangi.com/ where this article was sourced.
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