Ms Matahaere-Atariki described him as ‘‘a little bit of a letdown, because I guess he didn’t get the values that we got’’. Mr Laurence firmly rejected that characterisation and clarified that he departed Te Kaika because he believed the vision for the project was changing. Mr Laurence said it was clear he was part of the inception, but refused to get dragged into a war of words. Te Kaika has come under scrutiny recently for its consistently late filing of annual audits, which Ms Matahaere-Atariki conceded was ‘‘regrettable and ... embarrassing’’. Ms Matahaere-Atariki, though, denied Te Kaika was under investigation.

Source: Otago Daily Times March 26, 2026 16:40 UTC