It's been alleged Dame Iritana Tawhiwhirangi and her daughter in-law Lynda Tawhiwhirangi used about $10,000 on their company credit cards for non-business purposes. Photo / Stephen Parker
News can be a fickle thing and timing can be everything.
I've watched with interest, over the last few weeks, the saga unfolding around allegations of inappropriate spending from a subsidiary company of the Te Kohanga Reo National Trust Board.
It's been alleged Dame Iritana Tawhiwhirangi and her daughter in-law
Lynda Tawhiwhirangi, the managers of the trust's commercial subsidiary Te Pataka Ohanga, used about $10,000 on their company credit cards for non-business purposes.
Maori TV broke the story on its Native Affairs programme. However, that same week, Len Brown admitted to having an extra-marital affair, and John Banks resigned from Cabinet.
On any other week a story of an iconic institution having issues around allegedly inappropriate spending would lead the news. Unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, the story was overshadowed by the Brown and Banks sagas.
