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Senior reporter Rob Kidd found Caversham-based Te Kāika has breached its own constitution and Official Information Act requests have also revealed substandard reporting on delivery of government-funded social-service contracts and prolonged staffing issues.
Now the provider is being investigated by the Department of Internal Affairs over unsecured interest-free loans to board chairwoman Donna Matahaere-Atariki and her CEO son Matt Matahaere, which were revealed through an annual audit and flagged by the ODT.
Otakou Health Ltd, the charity behind Te Kāika, which boasts an annual revenue of $14 million and operates from its new Caversham Wellbeing Hub, now faces the potential of being deregistered.
A restructure following the elevation of Mr Matahare to the role of CEO is understood to have resulted in seven personal grievances through which outgoing staff were paid out.
One ex-staff member told the ODT they felt the restructure had “culled everyone [Mr Matahaere] couldn’t control”.
In a statement, Ms Matahaere-Atariki said she was “surprised” by questions around the finances and the general scrutiny on Te Kāika’s operations.
She described it as a high-performing organisation delivering excellent healthcare services to our community.
Numerous sources spoken to by the ODT - including former staff members - said they experienced an organisation where dysfunction was rife.
DIA starts investigation of charity over loans to chair, CEO
The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has launched a probe into the pioneering Dunedin health service over loans to Donna Matahaere-Atariki and Matt Matahaere.
Te Kāika’s most recent audit (for the year ending March 2024) was filed in April, a week after it was due.
While much of the documentation appeared unremarkable, the penultimate page raised eyebrows.
Under the heading ‘‘related parties’’, it noted OHL made an unsecured, interest-free loan of $92,253 to board chairwoman Donna Matahaere-Atariki.
‘‘The loan was made to allow her private home as partial security to the BNZ funding [of more than $10 million for construction of the Caversham hub],’’ the document said.
Business sources spoken to by the Otago Daily Times said such a payment seemed unusual but in a written response, Ms Matahaere-Atariki denied there was anything controversial about it.
‘‘We are surprised that ‘financial experts’ appointed by the ODT have failed to determine the obvious reason for this transaction. OHL undertook a refinance, and Ms Matahaere-Atariki allowed an OHL security holder to take security over her private home in support of OHL,’’ she said.
The audit also noted a similarly unsecured, interest-free loan Mr Matahaere of $5750 for ‘‘legal fees’’ and $2612 against his name in the debtors’ ledger.
The ODT asked for further details of what the sums were used for and the rationale for the chief executive borrowing from the charity. Ms Matahaere-Atariki did not elaborate.
‘‘These advances were approved by the board, short term in nature and repaid shortly after they occurred,’’ she wrote in response.
While Ms Matahaere-Atariki played down the significance of the transactions, the DIA took them more seriously.
Nearly a month after the ODT approached the department regarding the specifics of Te Kāika’s audit, it confirmed the organisation was under scrutiny.
‘‘The auditor’s opinion and the reported related party loans are of concern,’’ director charities services Charlotte Stanley said.
‘‘The department is looking into this matter and considering appropriate follow-up action.’’
A DIA spokeswoman said there were 29,000 charities nationwide which required an annual audit or review of their financial position.
The department reviewed 500 such reports a year, some of which were randomly selected, others based on ‘‘risk-based regulatory approach’’.
The DIA refused to discuss how the investigation would run as it was under ‘‘active consideration’’, and the timeframe would depend on what was revealed, it said.
OHL’s response, received last month, was now being assessed, it confirmed.
Follow-up action could include education, letters of expectation, warning letters and in the most serious cases a recommendation to the independent Charities Registration Board that a charity be deregistered and/or that its officers be disqualified.
After responding to the ODT’s initial written questions, Ms Matahaere-Atariki refused to comment further.
