A Ngati Whatua leader has spoken out in support of the embattled director of the Auckland War Memorial Museum, who is at odds with the museum's board.
Since her appointment to the job in 2007, Vanda Vitali has been the subject of criticism over such matters as job restructuring, war memorial displays and items gifted to the museum by the late Sir Edmund Hillary.
But the chair of the Ngati Whatua runanga, Naida Glavish, says Ms Vitali has been responsible for a wide range of compelling activities that have brought the museum alive.
Mrs Glavish says the director is an agent for change, which does not make her popular, but controversial decisions are also the board's responsibility.
