30 Jul 2012

Wharewaka funding inquiry not warranted: Auditor General

7:04 pm on 30 July 2012

The Office of the Auditor General says it's satisfied that Crown funds used to build Wellington's Wharewaka have been spent correctly, and no further investigation is warranted.

In April this year, the office received a request to look into aspects of funding relating to Te Raukura, the wharewaka built on Wellington's waterfront.

Te Wharewaka o Poneke (Te Raukura) opened on Waitangi Day last year amid a lengthy dispute about a specially built waka.

The Wellington-based Taranaki tribal collective also argued the site lacked a cultural connection.

The Auditor General's Office says the information it received wasn't sufficient to carry out an inquiry of how well the $7 million worth of funding is being monitored and managed.

It says the Ministry of Maori Affairs took appropriate steps to ensure that the funding for the Wharewaka flowed to an appropriate legal entity.