Tainui board freezes legal spending ahead of review

Tainui's executive has put the brakes on legal spending after lawyers' bills helped create last year's $400,000 budget blowout.

Tekaumaarua (the executive) passed a resolution yesterday to freeze Waikato Raupatu Lands Trust's access to tribal lawyers after members expressed concerns about the costs of litigation.

Leaked 2003-2004 financial records showed the trust's $284,383 spending on legal services was three times the budget.

Trust chief executive Hemi Rau's personal grievance case cost the tribe more than $50,000 in the last financial year.

Auckland Law Society was to review a $122,074 Russell McVeagh bill, incurred when the tribe employed a team of legal staff to fight a court battle with former board member Haydn Solomon in April last year.

Mr Rau said he would not comment on how the block on legal spending would affect tribal administration.

Tekaumaarua chairman Kingi Porima said the freeze was likely to be an interim measure, giving the board time to address the issues.

He said a move to set up a legal auditing committee to review the tendering process for the tribe's lawyers showed the board was working to resolve matters.

At last night's meeting, newly elected members Shane Solomon and Patience Te Ao were appointed to supervise a review of executive honorariums and fees by tribal auditor Bruce Taylor, from Deloitte.

- NZPA