“Trust welcomes complaint to NZ Herald”

Acting CEO of the Te Kohanga Reo National Trust, Mr Ned Ihaka, welcomes the complaint sent to Martin Johnston (NZ Herald) by the Auckland Regional Public Health Service about misleading headlines on the front page of the Herald yesterday.

“I was furious when I read the article alleging that kohanga reo had banned a health inspector because she was Pakeha. I met with the woman concerned myself. She is not a health inspector. This was not a health and safety compliance issue. We were still negotiating with her when the story broke.”

“Everyone knows that lots of the inspectors who visit kohanga reo, such as Fire Service Officers and Ministry of Education staff are not Pakeha” Mr Ihaka said.

“The health, well being and safety of mokopuna and whanau is one of the four cornerstones of the kaupapa of the movement” he continued “which is why the false reporting yesterday hit so hard.”

“Ironically, just last week the Trust hosted a government delegation from Scotland, including the Minister of Education, such is the esteem the movement enjoys in some global circles.”

“Yesterday, our treatment bordered on derision.”

“We were front page bad news, along with the war in Iraq, because of the unsubstantiated, false accusation of one Pakeha woman” he continued.

ENDS

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