Brian Tamaki in bid for legal aid to finance marae trustees challenge

Brian Tamaki. File photo / Mark Mitchell

Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki has admitted being part of a group that sought legal aid to oust his marae's trustees.

But Mr Tamaki says the group's bid was a whanau matter and was not linked to his church.

Mr Tamaki, who said he has "a mortgage like everyone else" and is "not a multi-millionaire", told the Herald he was representing a group of whanau members, who sought legal aid to depose his marae's trustees at Te Kopua, near Te Awamutu.

He did not know how much was sought to pay the group's legal costs. The application is being considered.

The request for legal aid was from the hapu - "it's not Brian Tamaki asking for this", he said.

"Destiny Church has no involvement in this, it is like me standing with my family and hapu being anonymous in the sense of this is their case ... I wanted to contribute and help somehow, I just want my marae to do well."

In October, a former financial administrator for Mr Tamaki and his wife revealed to the Weekend Herald that he received up to $500,000 a year from church donations on top of his six-figure salary.

The Maori Land Court rejected an attempt by Mr Tamaki, his tourism magnate brother Doug and a group of whanau and hapu members to depose the six Te Kopua trustees.

But Mr Tamaki, who said he grew up at the marae but has rarely been home since, was happy that Maori Land Court judge Stephanie Millroy is understood to have ordered that the marae trustees election be overseen by the court.

"The goal was to have at least a fair and open election for trustees, and it's all we ever asked ...," he said.

Mr Tamaki disputed claims that had the bid to oust the marae's trustees been successful, the marae would have been run like a commercial business.

He said discussions had taken place with the Waitomo District Council about starting work next month on a new marae called Ngawaero on a 4.8 ha block of whanau land not far from his ancestral marae.

"The marae is based for the whanau and hapu, but with my brothers and their tourism experience we are looking at the possibilities," said Mr Tamaki.

"We are looking at what we could do to help employ the locals and some of the families in that area.

"It wasn't proposed to put it up as a tourism venture alone but it has that ability."