Wananga and UNITE

I think there is a story to be discovered and told by an investigative journalist on the full dealings between Te Wananga o Aotearoa and the UNITE Union.

I remember reading a while back that the wananga was providing free computer courses to UNITE members, no doubt fully funded by the taxpayer.

But now I read that UNITE President Matt McCarten is a member of the wananga governing council, and has been battling the independent managers put in by the crown.

Having McCarten both on the governing board, and as a major customer of the wananga is a huge conflict of interest. It goes against all the principles of good governance.

Now I’m not saying McCarten has personally done anything wrong, but I am saying that the public interest would be well served by someone revealing the full extent of dealings between the wananga and UNITE, including the financial value of services provided. This is taxpayer money involved.