Kohanga reo faces eviction
A full Ma ori language immersion childcare centre is facing eviction from its New Plymouth premises after allegedly failing to pay about $23,000 in rent.
Te Kopae Tamariki Kia U Te Reo ko hanga reo is 19 months in rent arrears for land it occupies at the Rangiatea Campus in Spotswood, said Ngati Te Whiti Whenua Topu Trust spokesman Peter Moeahu.
He said the Trust, which owns the land, had been patient and tried to work out a deal with its tenants.
‘‘After 19 months our patience has run out,’’ he said.
‘‘An eviction notice will be served.’’
Moeahu expected there would be ‘‘significant furore’’ over the eviction of the ko hanga.
‘‘I expect myself and the Trust I represent will be blamed for it all.
‘‘But the facts of the matter are quite simple.
‘‘We feel for the children and their parents attending the ko¯hanga but it is the National Office and Te Ko pae management who are letting these children down.’’
The kohanga reo, an early childhood education and care centre where all education and instruction is delivered in te reo Ma ori, cares for children up to the age of five.
In 2014 there were 20 students at the centre.
It is not known how many attend now.
A spokeswoman for the ko hanga reo declined to comment on the matter.
Neither did the The Kohanga Reo National Trust, the government funded organisation that oversees hundreds of of ko hanga reo around the country, have anyone available able to comment.
A notice was given to ko hanga management about a month ago advising it had 30 days to pay the arrears but the Trust has not seen any money, Moeahu said.
He believed the centre was refusing to pay rent because it disagreed on the amount charged.
They considered it too high, Moeahu said.
‘‘We disagree with that.’’ While it was unclear whether it was the ko hanga or governmentfunded organisation Ko hanga Reo National Trust’s responsibility to pay the lease, Moeahu said he had been dealing with both parties to no avail.
‘‘These bodies receive tax payer funding to pay rent but for the past 19 months have paid nothing. It makes me wonder what they are doing with the money.
‘‘I think the Government should look into the ko hanga movement to see what is happening to their funding.’’
The matter was now with the Trust’s solicitor and Moeahu said he expected the eviction notice would be served within the week.
He believed the childcare centre would then need to move from the premises immediately.
It’s been a tumultuous year for the Ngati Te Whiti Whenua Topu Trust.
In July its former chief executive officer Shaun Joseph Keenan faced charges of stealing a significant amount of money from the Trust.
In August those charges were withdrawn but at the time Crown prosecutor Justin Marinovich said following the completion of a full forensic assessment of the trust’s accounts, further charges would be laid against Keenan.
As a result of the missing money, hapu members hijacked the Trust’s office after they became concerned it was not being transparent regarding its operations.
There are hundreds of ko hanga reo across the country, all of which are chartered to the Ko¯ hanga Reo National Trust and licensed by the Ministry of Education.