Maori king's niece 'must repay kohanga'

King Tuheitia's niece will have to pay back thousands of dollars she took from a Huntly kohanga reo, the National Kohanga Reo Trust says.

However, Pomaikelani Paki-Maxwell, whose mother is King Tuheitia's sister, said she did not misappropriate any money. It's understood that Ms Paki-Maxwell worked at Kaitimu Te Kohanga Reo last year.

King Tuheitia, like his late mother Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu before him, is the trust's patron.

Sources told the Herald that kohanga staff became concerned at irregularities in the kohanga's books.

Trust chief executive Titoki Black said the kohanga brought the issue to the regional manager before it was passed on to the trust to deal with.

Ms Paki-Maxwell had been helpful in sorting out the situation and will "absolutely" have to pay the money back, Ms Black said.

Initially, the trust was unaware of the connection to the king and thought there might have been an error with the name.

Ms Black said it was her "call" not to take the issue to police because of the believed ill health of Ms Paki-Maxwell's husband.

"We've been more sensitive. This isn't about who she was, it was about her tane ... her husband is actually dying."

Asked how much money was taken without the kohanga's knowledge, Ms Black said it was "less than $20,000".

However, the money wasn't spent on anything to do with Ms Paki-Maxwell's husband's illness.

"I don't think it was stress. It was round about Christmas [when the money was taken]. I think it was used buying material things.

"We've been working on the issue and we've had hui with the whanau. What this shows is that [kohanga] have to stick to process so these sorts of things don't happen. It's about safety for our mokopuna and making sure we run good kohanga," Ms Black said.

Ms Paki-Maxwell, in a telephone interview last night, was adamant that the trust did not have the right person. She did not take any money, she said - someone else had.

"Oh, no you've got the wrong person. I didn't take the money. There are still some things that they need to go through."

She declined to say how the trust had got the situation wrong.

Yesterday, no one from the kohanga would comment on the situation. The Herald understands that marae trustees have been informed of the situation, although Kaitimutimu chairman Chas Paki stressed the kohanga was a separate entity.

A spokesman for Associate Education minister Dr Pita Sharples said more information was being sought from the ministry.