Tauranga Boys’ College distances itself from teacher after Covid-19 ‘whistleblower’ email to Herald

A top boys’ college is distancing itself from a teacher who says a Te Whatu Ora worker charged over an alleged Covid-19 vaccination data leak “risked his career and his liberty”. The teacher says he intends to teach his class about the “whistleblower’s” case and a perceived media narrative.

Using a work email address for Tauranga Boys’ College, the teacher contacted the Herald in response to ongoing reports on Barry Young, the suspended Te Whatu Ora worker who allegedly leaked the data and spread misinformation online.

Young has spoken to high-profile conspiracy theorist Liz Gunn and American internet personality Alex Jones, claiming there have been thousands of deaths in New Zealand due to the Covid-19 vaccine - a claim debunked as patently untrue by medical experts.

In the email, the teacher referred to Young as a “whistleblower” and questioned Te Whatu Ora’s characterisation of Young’s using the data to spread “misinformation”.

“You don’t seem to have interviewed Barry Young himself when his opinion appears to be backed up by government data?

“Could you please let me know why Barry Young risked his career and his liberty to [allegedly] release government data?” he said.

The teacher also wrote: “As a teacher, I am planning to use your article as an exemplar for my classes to highlight the contrast between the well-written articles of previous generations and how modern newspapers seek to create narratives rather than discussion.”

Principal Andrew Turner thanked the Herald for bringing the correspondence to the school’s attention and said the college was “in no way associated with the email sent to you by [the teacher]”.

“These are his personal views and not [those] expressed by Tauranga Boys’ College. As such [they] are not part of the curriculum at the college,” he said.

The Herald asked the school if the teacher would face disciplinary action as a result of the email.

The school was yet to respond.

In a follow-up email, the Herald asked the teacher several questions about his views.

Responding from his gmail account, the man said he had apologised to his principal for the “careless use of my school email address” but accused the Herald of an “ethical breach” of his privacy by contacting his school.

“I have never and will never introduce an ongoing court case into a class discussion. Any lesson in which I used your article will take place many years into the future when all the issues surrounding it have been fully understood by society at large,” he said.

“I hope to never hear from you again.”

The Ministry of Education’s central region deputy secretary, Jocelyn Mikaere, said the ministry had contacted the school about the matter and offered it advice and support.

She also said the matter had now been put before the school board.

“The school has confirmed it has a plan in place to deal with this situation. As this is a matter for the board, it is inappropriate for us to comment further.”

The Teaching Council, meanwhile, which aims to protect the reputation of the profession, said it couldn’t disclose whether it had received any complaints about the teacher.

“High standards of ethical behaviour are expected of all teachers,” a spokeswoman said, “[and] as employers, boards [of trustees] are required by law to report any potential serious misconduct to us.”

The teacher also alluded to a woman who contacted the Herald after Young’s alleged leak. She told the Herald her parents died from comorbidities following vaccination, and she was concerned their deaths would be wrongfully attributed to the vaccine.

“It seems as though you have gone to some length to find someone offended by this release,” the teacher wrote.

Young, 56, appeared in the Wellington District Court twice last Monday, receiving a standing ovation from a full public gallery at his first procedural appearance.

Principal Andrew Turner thanked the Herald for bringing it to the school’s attention and said the college was "in no way associated with the email sent to you by [the teacher]". Photo / Andrew Warner

He was interviewed on a New Zealand conspiracy theory website a week earlier, in which he claimed he developed a database for the vaccine roll-out and quoted from it.

Despite this prior interview, Alex Jones’ website InfoWars headlined his most recent appearance as: “Whistleblower gives first interview, drops huge truth bombs!”

Te Whatu Ora chief executive Margie Apa reiterated vaccines were safe and effective: “The misinformation about vaccines that has been put in the public arena in relation to our data is completely wrong.”

Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.