Wananga millions went on pub and hotel

The taxpayer-funded Te Wananga O Aotearoa owns a pub and a hotel in the Waikato.

The tertiary institution bought the Glenview International Hotel in Hamilton for $5 million and it also owns the Te Rapa Tavern.

When it bought the properties, the Te Awamutu-based wananga - under fire in Parliament this week for alleged rorts and accusations of conflict of interest - said it intended to convert both into facilities for its own use.

But the tavern and hotel remain open for public use.

The wananga also admitted yesterday that it owned a unit at Whangaparaoa's Gulf Harbour for visiting tutors and contractors, even though its closest campus is in South Auckland - more than an hour's drive away.

Staff at the tavern said yesterday that a 2003 decision to close the pub had been reconsidered and the management had a 10-year lease.

Hamilton City Council liquor licensing records show the licence, held by lease-holder The Sand Bar Ltd, was renewed in January last year and expires in December next year. The pub has 18 pokie machines.

Public records are unclear as to how much the wananga paid for the hotel site because it is part of a larger parcel of land that includes its Te Rapa operations. It originally bought in the area in 1994, then expanded its holding in December 1999, paying $1.1 million.

The Glenview Hotel, described by the company that managed the sale as a Hamilton icon for more than 30 years, was bought in July 2003. Its previous owner had just spent $1.6 million improving the building when he was approached by the wananga with an offer.

At the time, wananga staff said the existing kitchen and accommodation facilities would be used for management courses and the basement would be turned into a library and technology centre.

It said it intended keeping the tavern open, after a local backlash.

Some of the property has been converted for use by the wananga.

But it remains open for public business, too. The premises no longer have a liquor licence, although there are nine pokie machines.

This week, a staff member said they had 58 rooms available for booking, with twin rooms ranging in price from $112 to $180.

Revelations about the continuing ownership of the tavern and hotel come in the week when an email from wananga board-member Graeme McNally criticising financial controls and spending was made public.

Mr McNally raised serious questions about the institution's position for the 2004 financial year. According to him, operating expenditure was over budget by $15 million, and capital expenditure was $9 million over budget.

Education Minister Trevor Mallard declined to comment on the appropriateness of the wananga owning the hotels, saying the Audit Office was looking into issues of conflict of interest.