Lake Alice abuse survivor battles Kāinga Ora over wagon tribute to grandson

Robyn Dandy's dream of keeping a wagon in memory of her grandson faces bureaucratic challenges. Photo / Jimmy Ellingham via RNZ

By Jimmy Ellingham of RNZ

A survivor of abuse in state care is heartbroken her long-held dream of buying a wagon to travel around in has run into a wall of bureaucracy.

As soon as Robyn Dandy received compensation this year for her torture at Lake Alice as a child and adolescent in the 1970s she bought a wagon, fulfilling a promise she made to her 6-year-old grandson Kahn Petch before he died in a house fire in November 2001.

Now, state housing provider Kāinga Ora says the wagon breaks its rules and must go.

The wagon, painted a bright blue and green, is a converted horse float.

Dandy had a graphic artist paint “Kahn’s Dream” on the front. A picture of him sits inside.

“When Kahn was a little toddler and I used to look after him we used to do gardening and things together, and I’d say to him, ‘One day Nana’s going to buy a bus and you and I will travel around the country together’.

“He used to get really excited and want to go there and then, but I didn’t have a wagon or a bus then,” Dandy said.

The pair never had the chance to travel together, but Dandy made a vow at Kahn’s tangi that she would buy a wagon and go on the road in her grandson’s memory – and three months ago she finally had the means to do so.

But, she said her tenancy manager turned up the week before last and said the wagon and a caravan then parked at her house must go, as well as chickens at the property.

Kāinga Ora has sent her a breach notice and said it will be back on June 20 to see if the wagon and chickens have gone.

“If this is not completed, we may apply to the Tenancy Tribunal for an order to have it fixed,” the notice said.

Dandy has moved the caravan and said she would part with the chickens if she had to, but the wagon was different.

“I’m not going to give my [travelling] wagon up because I go and sit in there, especially when I’m feeling down, and I feel my grandson in there,” she said.

Robyn Dandy argues the wagon has sentimental value and is refusing to remove it despite a breach notice from Kāinga Ora. Photo / Jimmy Ellingham via RNZ

“They’re just being horrible. I’m not giving it up. They’ll have to kick me out.”

She said it was only for camping and nobody would live in it.

Kāinga Ora regional director Graeme Broderick said tenants needed permission to add a dwelling to a property, and Dandy hadn’t sought this.

The wagon was considered a dwelling because of its size and because it had a toilet and a sleeping area.

“This additional dwelling and its placement so close to the house also breaches local council bylaws,” he said.

Checkpoint asked what bylaw was breached, but a spokesperson said it couldn’t say as the Whanganui District Council staff member who provided it with advice on dwellings was on leave.

The spokesperson also said Dandy had not mentioned the wagon’s sentimental value in her “numerous conversations” with frontline staff.

Dandy disagreed, saying she told her tenancy manager when the pair first discussed the matter.

“I pointed to the engraving I had put on front of the wagon in memory of my grandson and she was non-caring, absolutely non-caring in her attitude, and it really, really upset me,” Dandy said.

Broderick also said Dandy didn’t seek permission for her chickens. However, Dandy said she declared all her animals when interviewed by the Ministry for Social Development about the house.

“Despite multiple conversations with Mrs Dandy about the need for permissions for the chickens and the wagons, she has not requested these permissions,” Broderick said.

“If necessary we will use the tools available to us under the Residential Tenancies Act and apply for a work order to remove the wagon and chickens.”

Dandy said nothing was mentioned until recently.

Her backyard was last month decontaminated of rubbish left by previous tenants. The work left the yard a muddy mess.

Broderick said the chickens had scratched up waste, which required remediation.

Dandy said it was unfair to blame the chickens for the waste because the rubbish was there last October.

“I found syringe needles when I was out hanging washing up just after I moved in here. I informed Kāinga Ora straight away. It took them a while to get anyone to come around,” she said.

“The place was full of rubbish. They pretty much condemned the backyard, so I’ve had nowhere for my animals to go to the toilet.”

Dandy said the wagon stoush had left her feeling victimised.

She’s asked for a transfer to another area, because of security fears where she lives now, but her application isn’t considered a priority.

– RNZ