Former TVNZ presenter Kamahl Santamaria’s Remuera home fails to sell

Former TV host Kamahl Santamaria has failed to sell his multimillion-dollar Auckland home but says it will not stop him launching legal action against TVNZ.

Santamaria last year said he aimed to sell his Remuera home in part to fund his case against his former employer.

The Emmy-nominated former Breakfast host last year admitted his exit from the TVNZ followed a complaint that he inappropriately touched a colleague in the newsroom.

He lasted just 32 days on Breakfast before leaving the network last year. TVNZ originally said his departure was the result of a “family emergency”.

Kamahl Santamaria says he's pushing on with legal action against TVNZ despite failing to sell his Auckland home.

Santamaria has since claimed coverage of his departure from TVNZ was inaccurate and not fair.

That led him to list his home for sale with real estate agents Unlimited Potential to help raise cash.

NZME’s OneRoof estimates the house to be worth $3.06 million, while it last sold in 2020 for $2.5m.

However, after failing to sell at UP’s March 1 auction, Santamaria ended the advertising campaign for its sale, he told the Herald.

He said the lack of a sale would not affect his legal action against TVNZ - rather, it freed him to devote time and energy to it, he told the Herald.

“Anyone who’s put their house on the market knows it is a process which takes up both of those,” he said.

It comes after it was confirmed earlier this month mediation between Santamaria and TVNZ - which the Employment Relations Authority had directed them to take - had also failed to find a resolution.

He said he had been using the Privacy Act to request personal information which TVNZ holds about him.

The Emmy-winning presenter (left) was fired from TVNZ's Breakfast last year after 32 days on the job.

This had been “enlightening” and was the reason why he believed it was necessary to fight for “transparency and accountability” in how TVNZ handled his sacking, Santamaria said.

He also said recent job losses and cuts to news and current affairs programmes at TVNZ would not affect his legal action.

However, having worked at both TVNZ and Newshub, he sympathised with those losing their jobs, saying he appreciated the work they have done in “holding power to account”.

He also knew what it was like to be “publicly” out of a job, he said.

Talking to Duncan Garner for the podcast Duncan Garner: Editor-in-Chief last year, Santamaria discussed his interactions with former colleagues, his mental health and the impending legal action.

He had tried to find a new job but had only received a “generic email back saying a ‘Not at this time’ kind of thing”.

Santamaria said at the time he wanted to stay in the media industry but acknowledged he faced a challenge: “I do believe I’ve got plenty to offer, but in that sense, it’s not up to me.”