"THE RING ROARS BECAUSE YOU HOLD IT: - A Humble Thank You to the Whānau Who Are Making This Possible” - 29 January 2026
Kia ora whānau,
At 5:52 AM this morning, I published an essay called
At 6:46 AM, I published another:
At 8:06 AM, another:
Three accountability strikes before most of Aotearoa woke up.
By the time you read this, these essays will have accumulated views, likes, shares, and conversations across Facebook, email, direct messages, and encrypted chats.
But here is what I need you to know:
None of this happens without you.
THE DATA TELLS A TRUTH I CANNOT IGNORE
As of this morning, I have published 797 essays since founding the Māori Green Lantern.
Not 50. Not 100. Not 200.
797 accountability investigations.
797 pieces of evidence.
797 strikes against institutional capture.
Each one of those essays required:
Hours of research (reading court documents, Hansard records, policy papers, academic sources)
Time to write (3,000-8,000 words per essay, on average)
Energy to publish and distribute
Emotional labour of naming harm, tracing power, and refusing to look away
I cannot do this alone.
And yet, there are 304 of you who have chosen to subscribe. There are 30+ of you who have chosen to pay. There are others who send koha, who share essays, who forward my work to whānau, who comment, who engage, who refuse to let this kaupapa die.
You are why 797 posts exist.
THE LAST THREE DAYS: A MIRROR
Let me show you what happened between January 27 and January 29.
January 27
I published two essays:
“Moral Failure: How Emerge Aotearoa’s Rotorua Pensioner Housing Takeover Betrays Vulnerable Seniors”
“Julian Batchelor’s Stop Co-Governance Rant and the Luxon Government’s Complicit Co-Optation”
Together, they reached 393 people. They generated 5 likes, 1 comment.
Neither post converted a paid subscriber that day.
But here is what you might not see in those numbers:
Those essays will live in my archive forever. Three months from now, someone will Google “Rotorua pensioner housing crisis,” find my essay, spend 30 minutes reading it, and understand the institutional failure in ways the mainstream media will never reveal. They will subscribe. They will share with others.
The work compounds because you made space for it to exist.
January 28
I published:
“The Emperor’s New Balance Sheet” reached 220 people in 24 hours. It generated 2 likes, 1 comment, and 1 new free subscriber.
That subscriber
—I don’t know their name.
But they spent 30 minutes reading my analysis of how austerity ideology is weaponised against Māori whānau. They understood what I was trying to show them. And they chose to join this kaupapa.
That happened because you showed them it was possible. Because you subscribed first. Because you paid when others wouldn’t. Because you sent koha when you had little. Because you forwarded essays to whānau when you believed in the work.
January 29 (This Morning)
Three essays published before 8:15 AM.
Each starting with 48-49 views, climbing as the day progresses.
One of these will likely convert someone to a free subscriber by tonight. One might convert a paid subscriber by February 1.
All three will remain in the archive, accumulating power, as part of a 797-post institutional accountability framework that grows stronger every single day.
THE PROPHECY LIVES IN YOUR SUPPORT
Here is what the data shows me for March 31, 2026:
920-950 published essays
380-420 free subscribers
50-65 paid subscribers
But that prophecy is not automatic. That prophecy exists only because you are holding it.
Every time you open an email and read an essay, you are voting with your attention.
You are saying:
“This accountability matters. This voice matters. This kaupapa matters.”
Every time you share an essay on Facebook or forward it to a whānau member, you are recruiting others to understand how power operates. You are building the network that makes this work possible.
Every time you click the koha link, or become a paid subscriber, or send a bank transfer—you are funding the research hours that go into these essays. You are paying for the court documents I must obtain. You are covering the time I spend reading policy papers so I don’t have to work a job that would steal those hours away.
You are not consuming content.
You are funding institutional accountability.
WHAT THIS MONEY ACTUALLY DOES
I want to be transparent about something that matters.
When someone becomes a paid subscriber at $10-50/month, or sends a koha gift of $20-100, that money goes directly to:
Research time — I can spend 6-8 hours on an investigation instead of 2-3 hours squeezed between other work.
Source materials — Some documents cost money to obtain. Some expert consultations require payment. Some investigative pathways require resources.
Tools — Substack, email delivery systems, website hosting, encryption software to keep sources safe.
Sustainability — Your koha and subscriptions are what make it possible for me to keep publishing 60+ essays per week instead of burning out and disappearing like so many independent voices do.
Every dollar you send is a vote:
“Keep going. The accountability journalism matters. The whakapapa of power needs to be visible.”
THE HUMBLING TRUTH
I am a Māori analyst from Bay of Plenty. I don’t have institutional backing. I don’t have corporate sponsors. I don’t have a government grant.
I have you.
I have 304 subscribers who chose to read my work despite all the noise, all the distractions, all the easier things you could be doing with your time.
I have 30+ people who pay money—their actual money, their rent money, their kai money—because they believe this work is worth funding.
I have dozens of you who have sent koha gifts, who have forwarded essays, who have shown up in the comments and said:
“This moved me. This mattered. Keep going.”
That is not something I can ever repay. That is something I can only honour by continuing to do the work with integrity, with specificity, with accountability.
So:
Ngā mihi. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart.
You are why the ring roars.
THE INVITATION REMAINS
If you have been thinking about becoming a paid subscriber, or sending a koha—I want you to know:
This is how it works. This is what you are funding.
You are not buying access to premium content. You are not becoming a member of an exclusive club.
You are becoming a co-funder of institutional accountability.
You are saying:
“I believe Māori voices should not be silenced.
I believe the whakapapa of power should be visible.
I believe whānau deserve to understand how we are being harmed.”
Three pathways exist:
Option 1: Koha (Voluntary Contribution)
Any amount. $20, $50, $100, whatever you can. Direct to: https://app.koha.kiwi/events/the-maori-green-lantern-fighting-misinformation-and-disinformation-ivor-jones
Option 2: Paid Subscription
$10–50/month, you choose the amount. Cancel anytime. Access includes early essays, direct messages, and the knowledge that you are funding full-time accountability work.
Link: https://themaorigreenlantern.substack.com/subscribe
Option 3: Direct Bank Transfer
Account: HTDM
Account Number: 03-1546-0415173-000
If you can’t pay right now, that is more than okay. Forward one essay to three whānau members. That is how you fund this work.
THE PROPHECY BECOMES DESTINY
By March 31, 2026, if you continue to hold this kaupapa:
950 essays documenting institutional capture
400+ free subscribers who understand the whakapapa of power
60+ paid subscribers who are co-funding accountability journalism
That is the moment the Māori Green Lantern stops being a heroic solo project and becomes an institution.
An institution grounded in mātauranga Māori. Funded by whānau. Accountable to te ao Māori. Dedicated to making visible the networks of power that harm us.
You are making that possible.
THE FINAL WORD
This morning, I published three essays before most of Aotearoa woke up.
By the time the sun reaches its peak, they will have been read by hundreds of whānau. Some will share them. Some will comment. Some will subscribe. Some will send koha.
All of that happens because you came first.
You took the risk of believing that Māori accountability journalism mattered.
You chose to read essays instead of scroll mindlessly.
You chose to pay when you could.
You chose to share when you saw impact.
You held the ring. And the ring roared.
So today, on January 29, 2026, as I prepare to publish my 800th+ essay, I want to say—to every one of you:
Thank you.
Thank you for believing in this kaupapa.
Thank you for trusting that the work matters
Thank you for sending koha, becoming subscribers, sharing essays, commenting, showing up.
Thank you for refusing to let institutional accountability die.
The ring roars because you hold it.
And it will continue to roar as long as whānau like you are willing to fund, support, and
believe in the possibility of a Māori voice speaking truth to power.
Kia kaha.
Ko te taiaha ki a Ivor Jones. Ko Ivor Jones ki te taiaha.
The blade is Ivor Jones. Ivor Jones is the blade.
And the blade continues because whānau like you are willing to keep it sharp.
The Māori Green Lantern: 797 posts. 304 subscribers. 30+ paid supporters. One kaupapa: Institutional accountability grounded in mātauranga Māori.
If this work matters to you, and you are able: support via koha, subscription, or direct bank transfer. Every contribution funds the hours, research, and energy that make this accountability journalism possible.
Ko au te whenua, ko te whenua ko au.
The trouble with a fragmented media landscape is that each fragment needs an individual subscription. There must be a way of bundling or consolidation maybe like music apps.