Government agency boss asks for review of disgraced teacher's appointment

The boss of a government agency which hired a disgraced former teacher in a senior role has known his whānau for years, but had no involvement in him getting the job, the agency says.

However, Te Puni Kōkiri (TPK) Māori development secretary Dave Samuels acknowledges his relationship to Taurapa has "given rise to a perceived conflict of interest" and has asked the Public Service Commission to investigate the recruitment process which led to the appointment.

Taurapa, formerly Connor Taurapa Matthews, was struck off the teaching register in 2023 after the Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal found he'd had a sexual relationship with a student, and groomed another.

Earlier this month, Stuff revealed TPK, the government's principal policy advisor on Māori well-being and development, hired Taurapa as a senior advisor in its "Māori capability team" on a 12-month, fixed-term contract in December.

Since then, sources close to the agency have raised concerns about his appointment, and questioned whether Samuels had any involvement in Taurapa's hiring.

"This appointment has caused a lot of concern amongst TPK staff, but they are scared to raise issues because of the current environment," one source said.

Last week, in response to an array of questions from Stuff, a TPK spokesperson detailed the recruitment process Taurapa went through to secure the role - one of two new positions created to support the organisation's Te Māpurapura (Māori Capability Workplan) and its work in 2023 and 2024.

Eight people applied for the positions, which were advertised externally, and all eight were interviewed by a three-person panel that did not include Samuels, the spokesperson said.

"The panel agreed that Taurapa had the right skills, knowledge and experience for the role and he was identified as a preferred candidate to progress through the recruitment process."

It was only once the process was under way that Taurapa disclosed the Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal's serious misconduct finding.

The TPK spokesperson said the agency followed the recruitment process and advice from the Public Service Commission.

"Taurapa does not have any direct reports and will not be engaging with members of the community as part of his role.

"We also considered the two positive references provided for Taurapa. Both referees were external to Te Puni Kōkiri with one being his most recent employer."

The spokesperson said Samuels had known the Matthews whānau for "a number of years", but had no part to play in Taurapa getting the job.

"The Secretary for Māori Development is not involved in decision-making related to recruitment at this level of the organisation," they said.

On Thursday, in response to further questions from Stuff, a TPK spokesperson said Samuels knew the Matthews whānau through his time in the New Zealand Army.

They declined to say who the two previous employers were who had supplied Taurapa with references.

The spokesperson confirmed Samuels acknowledged the "perceived conflict of interest" and had asked the Public Service Commission to look into TPK's recruitment process regarding Taurapa.

Stuff understands the matter was formally referred to the public sector watchdog for review last Friday.

On Thursday, a spokesperson for the commission confirmed a review was under way.

TPK has briefed the Minister for Māori Development, Tama Potaka, on the "recent media interest" about Taurapa.

Potaka declined to answer a series of questions from Stuff last week, saying "ultimately, this is an operational matter".

Taurapa's serious misconduct as a teacher happened in Christchurch in 2018 and 2019 while he was a reo Māori teacher at Rangi Ruru Girls' School and a live-in house tutor at Christ's College.

Taurapa resigned from Rangi Ruru after complaints about his behaviour in March, 2019, but was allowed to continue working in the house tutor role at Christ's College where he allegedly intimidated the whistleblowers.

When he eventually left in December 2021, he is said to have made out he had a grievance with the boys' school, and suggested he'd been a victim of racism.

An independent investigation, commissioned by Christ's College and made public earlier this month, found the school mishandled allegations about the disgraced former teacher and failed to adequately protect the whistleblowers, while a Teaching Council review of all 27 cases of alleged inappropriate relationships it had on its books led to three teachers being asked to voluntarily stand down.

Taurapa's sexual relationship with 16-year-old Helena Dray - who waived name suppression to help hold him accountable - was exposed after the whistleblowers became suspicious of his behaviour, and one of them photographed his car parked outside her home late at night.

Taurapa also groomed a 17-year-old student, known as Ms Y, who worked at Christ's College part-time for a contractor, sending her various messages of concern via SnapChat.

After resigning from Rangi Ruru, he taught at two other schools, and was elected to one of their boards, before joining Stuff as a te reo translator in mid-2022. He no longer works for the media company.

The Teaching Council could have asked Taurapa to stand down from teaching in 2019 when it received a mandatory report about his behaviour, but chose not to - a decision it has since conceded was wrong.

At the time, Taurapa denied any wrongdoing. It wasn't until Dray provided an affidavit to the council in early 2023 that the full extent of their relationship became clear.

In her affidavit, Dray said that after messaging her privately via SnapChat, he bought her a 16th birthday present, gave her poetry and sent her messages almost every day, including naked videos and photos of himself, before they eventually performed sex acts on each other in his car one day as he drove her home from a school activity.

Previously Stuff's chief people officer Annamarie Jamieson wouldn't comment about what vetting was done when Taurapa was hired, other than to say that the company "has a comprehensive recruitment process".

"When new information relating to any employee comes to light, regardless of timing, we take swift and appropriate action."

This story was first published by Stuff.