KEY POINTS:
Concerns had been raised by kohanga reo staff about the safety of a heavy steel gate at Auckland's Hoani Waititi Marae just days before it fell and crushed to death a three-year-old boy.
Louis Schmidt-Peke was killed after being struck by the falling metal gate shortly after noon on Friday while waiting to be collected from the kohanga by his older sister. People who saw the accident rushed to his aid and emergency services were called but could do nothing to help.
Police and the Department of Labour are investigating the death, and yesterday weren't prepared to speculate on how the gate may have come off its rails and fallen on the boy.
However, a Department of Labour notice attached to the gate identified an absence of backstops as the reason for the accident.
It also emerged yesterday that kohanga staff had complained about the safety of the gate in the days leading up to the tragedy.
Denise Peke, the aunt of the dead boy, told the Herald on Sunday kohanga staff were concerned the gate "was wobbling" and had asked the Hoani Waititi Marae Trust for repairs to be carried out. The kohanga reo is at Parrs Park and comes under the trust's direct control.
"It is really sad that this has happened - it is a safety issue that we are talking about," Peke said.
She expected some serious questions would be asked in the coming days about why repairs had not been carried out as requested.
"I would be looking for blood if I was the parents but I know (the boy's parents) Helen and Louis (Schmidt-Peke) are so forgiving."
A source close to the kohanga reo yesterday described the boy's death as a "terrible tragedy" and said "someone's head will roll over this".
Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples, who started the first kura kaupapa Maori at the marae in 1985 and remains a director of programmes at Hoani Waititi, said it was not the time to be laying blame.
The marae had given an undertaking not to comment until after the boy's tangi about the cause of the accident, or why concerns about the gate's safety had not been addressed.
However, this is not the first time there have been issues about health and safety practices at the marae complex in Glen Eden.
A September 2006 Education Review Office report into the kohanga identified several areas for improvement, including a need to replace fencing at the back of the kohanga.
Sharples said that work had been carried out and the kohanga was now meeting all its licensing requirements.
"This is a brand new facility. We've got a new building, new grounds, new fences - this is not about money at all," Sharples said.
Yesterday dozens of mourners gathered at the Schmidt-Peke home to perform an emotionally-charged haka before the boy's body was returned to the family's marae in Paeroa.
One of the boy's aunts told the Herald on Sunday her nephew was a huge fan of the character Shrek and had a "smile that lit up the room".
"He was always so happy. He was supposed to be going to the third Shrek movie today, actually," she said.
Hoani Waititi Marae kaumatua "Papa" Barry Renata said the entire marae was grieving over the death.
He also refused to speculate on whether the gate was unsafe.
"That's something we're talking to the police about. It's a terrible accident, and we are grieving together. Those kids are like our own kids, we love them."
The officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Sergeant Hyland-Mills, said he was not in a position to talk about concerns over the safety of the gate because police were still carrying out a scene examination.
