Tamihere hires Awatere-Huata
John Tamihere has hired Donna Awatere-Huata to work for the Waipareira Trust. Good on Donna for getting back into work, but personally I’d not want to be the Financial Controller there 
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February 23rd, 2008 at 10:43 am
I’m trying to decide if Mr. T is stupid or very brave.
And as for Donna’s work with Te Kahui Manaaki Tamariki trust…. Well from all I’ve read lately, hasn’t she done a fabulous job?
Child abuse and family violence in Maori is well down I hear.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:53 am
Well, she did the crime, she did the time. Fact is she was a prodigy from a young age and is not short of smarts. If she has learned not to replicate her past experiences she will be an asset. It also reflects well on Tamihere who has had a lot of flak from maori who question his ‘right-on-ness’ credentials. So in a way this looks like a crawl from redemption for both parties.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:54 am
sorry – should read a ‘crawl TO redemption’ !!
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:30 am
I wouldn’t trust her to feed my cats.
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:02 pm
My eyes widened considerably to see that Donna Huata had been placed into a position with Waipareira Trust, but after the initial shock died down, it did seem reasonable. After all,
- Huata isn’t being let near the chequebook
- She’s researching education policy, a strength of hers
- She did the time for her crime, so she should get a fair go at restarting her life
- She’s an aggressive contrarian, and maybe that’s what Maori education needs
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Sushi Goblin
I do agree with what you have said, however it still sounds like he is putting a shark on life duty guard at the local swimming pool.
February 23rd, 2008 at 2:48 pm
re Sushi’s comment – bet she soon starts pestering the CEO for a business credit card.
February 23rd, 2008 at 3:57 pm
The real question will be:- Can John kick Wi in the balls hard enough and quick enough when Wi becomes troublesome?
February 23rd, 2008 at 4:35 pm
I would not wish to deny Ms. Awatere-Huata the opportunity to work and clearly she has some ability, experience and drive.
However, this kind of high-profile job offering is just too cosy for my liking. Its a bit like jobs for the boys, except this time its a girl, with the boy not far behind.
I wonder whether Mr Tamahere’s political interests help explain why he has made this job offer to Ms. Awatere-Huata.
There must be plenty of young, ambitious and capable Maori graduates available, with all of the qualifications and none of the criminal record, who could well do this work.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:21 pm
Awatere was only charged with the offences the Police were certain they would gain a conviction for, there were other charges they did not pursue because they did not not want to jepardise the whole case. It should be remembered she abused her position as as an MP when National was in power to secure funding for her reading programme. The Pipi foundation has since gone bust and its reading results have been discredited. Tamahere’s Trust is in Auckland and Awatere lives in Hawkes Bay – who will pay the cost of her travel? Most employees have to pay their own way to get to work. She has no credibility and accordingly anything she writes will have no credibility.
February 24th, 2008 at 7:57 am
I would love to be the chief financial officer there.
Huata has undoubted skills. So does Tamahere. What they have always needed is a hard nosed, superbly honest, hard talking bean counter to keep them in line, so that they can use their skills to the max for the good of their people.
The bean counter needs to be a bit like that shiny Trevor Mallard toilet paper;
Something that will take no shit from Maoris.
February 25th, 2008 at 9:26 am
Sushi Goblin “- She did the time for her crime, so she should get a fair go at restarting her life”
Lee C “Well, she did the crime, she did the time.”
Well actually, 5 minutes in an actual prison, couple of weeks in a resort-like facility and then home detention…I think I’ve done more time than she has living in my cold leaky flat