Unlock all articles by subscribing to this international offer

All Access Weekly

Herald Premium, Viva Premium, The Listener & BusinessDesk
Pay just
$15.75
$2
per week ongoing
See all offers
Already a subscriber? Sign in here
NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Married at First Sight star Mike Wilson loses realtor licence for not completing Māori cultural course

Jeremy Wilkinson
By Jeremy Wilkinson
Open Justice multimedia journalist, Palmerston North·NZ Herald·
24 Sep, 2024 05:00 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Mike Wilson appeared on Married at First Sight and is also a realtor. Photo / Supplied
Mike Wilson appeared on Married at First Sight and is also a realtor. Photo / Supplied

Mike Wilson appeared on Married at First Sight and is also a realtor. Photo / Supplied


A realtor and Married at First Sight contestant has had his real estate licence cancelled for failing to complete a controversial course on Māori culture and tikanga.

Michael Wilson claimed he could not complete the course, called Te Kākano (The Seed), because he was filming the reality television show over six weeks and could not check his emails.

The course drew headlines earlier this year when fellow realtor Janet Dickson challenged its validity and refused to complete it.

Unlock all articles by subscribing to this international offer

All Access Weekly

Herald Premium, Viva Premium, The Listener & BusinessDesk
Pay just
$15.75
$2
per week ongoing
See all offers
Already a subscriber? Sign in here
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Dickson has since taken the Real Estate Authority to the High Court - backed by Hobson’s Pledge - to seek a judicial review of whether the industry regulator has the power to force its members to complete compulsory training.

Dickson labelled the course “woke madness” in a Facebook post and said she was going to fight for her rights “to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else”.

Her refusal was based on concerns an industry body can force its members to complete training “on a subject that is only peripherally connected to their job under threat of losing their right to work”.

Discover more

  • Did a realtor know gang members lived next door to ...
  • 'Brain fade': Realtor accused of not disclosing multiple ...
  • Trespassed realtor threatened to sue tenant for 'every ...
  • Real estate agents guilty of multiple cases of unsatisfactory ...

While Dickson’s failure to complete the 90-minute course was motivated by her not seeing any value in it, Wilson claims he simply did not have the time giving his filming commitments.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A recent ruling from the Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal has upheld a ruling from the registrar of the Real Estate Authority to cancel Wilson’s licence for failing to complete the course in time.

A Facebook post made by Hobson's Pledge appealing for donations to help fund Dickson's legal fight. Photo / Facebook
A Facebook post made by Hobson's Pledge appealing for donations to help fund Dickson's legal fight. Photo / Facebook

However, Wilson told NZME he had no issue with the course, he simply did not realise he needed to complete it because he was off-grid for six weeks.

“I was just super busy with life and didn’t realise there was an extra course,” he said, “And then I was out filming.”

Wilson said he has since completed the course.

“The course was fine, it was just basic stuff you learn at school,” he said.

“It’s just disappointing they’re cancelling my licence when I’ve completed it.

“It’s just ridiculous.”

Do you have a justice story we should be covering?

Wilson said he hadn’t even heard of Janet Dickson, nor about her controversial decision not to complete the same course and then subsequently seek a judicial review.

Wilson appealed the registrar’s finding to cancel his licence, but in a recently released decision, the tribunal upheld cancellation despite late evidence he’d filed stating that he’d been filming and hadn’t seen his emails.

Enlisted real estate agents must complete 10 hours of compulsory training as well as 10 hours of training from a list of elective topics each year to retain their licence.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Mike Wilson and Kara Lester mutually decided to end their marriage on Married at First Sight. Photo / Warner Bros Discovery
Mike Wilson and Kara Lester mutually decided to end their marriage on Married at First Sight. Photo / Warner Bros Discovery

Te Kākano was one of the two compulsory topics for 2023 but has since moved into the elective category for 2024 - meaning it’s not compulsory for new real estate agents.

Wilson had completed 8.5 hours of his training by December 2023 but by March this year, the registrar sent an email saying his licence would be cancelled if he didn’t complete the remaining 1.5 hours.

Wilson said he did not realise Te Kākano was accessed through a third-party provider and was granted 10 days to complete it.

However, he did not complete the course and by May 9 the authority cancelled his licence.

Wilson then filed additional evidence that he had been away for six weeks filming the reality television show Married at First Sight and had been without a cell phone and laptop.

Upon his return, he completed the course and sent through proof, before pleading mercy to the registrar.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The Real Estate Authority submitted to the tribunal Wilson was simply too late and he could have told them about his filming commitments in March.

The tribunal sided with the authority and said Wilson was clearly advised of the requirement to complete the course in March.

“We are satisfied that the registrar made no error of law or fact and followed the correct process in cancelling the applicant’s licence following his failure to complete the required CPD,” its ruling reads.

Wilson told NZME that he was busy running another business but plans to reapply for his licence in future.

A spokesperson for the REA told NZME that all realtors must complete continuing professional development requirements each year, and if they don’t their licence must be cancelled.

“In this case the licensee was granted a deferral of time in which to complete the CPD requirements but did not complete the requirements in time, despite a number of reminders from the REA to do so,” their statement reads.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“The tribunal found that the act required that the REA Registrar must cancel the licence and further found that the Registrar followed the correct procedure in that case.”

Jeremy Wilkinson is an Open Justice reporter based in Manawatū covering courts and justice issues with an interest in tribunals. He has been a journalist for nearly a decade and has worked for NZME since 2022.




Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

'Avoid the area': Pedestrian injured after accident with car in Blenheim

08 Jul 06:30 AM
Crime

'Terrified': Father and daughter hostages speak of Nelson standoff ordeal

08 Jul 06:16 AM
New Zealand

Health NZ backs down on proposal to cut maternity and gynaecology beds

08 Jul 05:50 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Recommended for you
'Terrified': Father and daughter hostages speak of Nelson standoff ordeal
Crime

'Terrified': Father and daughter hostages speak of Nelson standoff ordeal

08 Jul 06:16 AM
‘Not happy’: Trump criticises Putin as US vows more arms for Ukraine
World

‘Not happy’: Trump criticises Putin as US vows more arms for Ukraine

08 Jul 06:12 AM
'Absolute tragedy': 21yo drove drunk and crashed into tree, killing younger brother
Crime

'Absolute tragedy': 21yo drove drunk and crashed into tree, killing younger brother

08 Jul 06:00 AM
Trump's tariff threats spark uncertainty, target key US allies
World

Trump's tariff threats spark uncertainty, target key US allies

08 Jul 05:51 AM
Health NZ backs down on proposal to cut maternity and gynaecology beds
New Zealand

Health NZ backs down on proposal to cut maternity and gynaecology beds

08 Jul 05:50 AM

Latest from New Zealand

'Avoid the area': Pedestrian injured after accident with car in Blenheim

'Avoid the area': Pedestrian injured after accident with car in Blenheim

08 Jul 06:30 AM

Emergency services were called to the scene about 4.40pm.

'Terrified': Father and daughter hostages speak of Nelson standoff ordeal

'Terrified': Father and daughter hostages speak of Nelson standoff ordeal

08 Jul 06:16 AM
Health NZ backs down on proposal to cut maternity and gynaecology beds

Health NZ backs down on proposal to cut maternity and gynaecology beds

08 Jul 05:50 AM
No, Jacinda Ardern hasn’t been asked to appear before the Covid Royal Commission

No, Jacinda Ardern hasn’t been asked to appear before the Covid Royal Commission

08 Jul 05:41 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
Unlock all articles by subscribing to this international offer

All Access Weekly

Herald Premium, Viva Premium, The Listener & BusinessDesk
Pay just
$15.75
$2
per week ongoing
See all offers
Already a subscriber? Sign in here
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search