Kaitaia ineligible for Pub Charity grants

Kaitaia 64 Squadron ATC parades at Waipapakauri every year for the Battle of Britain commemoration, but is not eligible for Pub Charity funding from the hotel in the background. Picture / Peter Jackson

Pub Charity CEO Martin Cheer has declined to tell the Northland Age if organisations in Kaitaia are eligible for funding.

Rob Bamber, who lodged an unsuccessful application on behalf of Kaitaia, had been "rightly directed" to the complaints process, and had been invited to contact Mr Cheer, but had stated that he was not prepared to waste his time.

If Mr Bamber wished to have the outcome of his application reviewed it would be by way of the complaints process, and not in the pages of the Northland Age," he added.

Mr Cheer noted that in the last year Pub Charity had made 154 donations benefiting the Far North, including the gifting of fully-equipped Gen 3 ambulances to the communities of Kaitaia and Kawakawa, at a cost of $468,343.

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Pub Charity has declined a funding application from Kaitaia No 64 Squadron ATC, because Kaitaia does not have gaming machines that contribute to it.

The squadron has disputed that, without success, pointing out that the Waipapakauri Hotel, 12km north of Kaitaia, and the Mangonui Hotel are both affiliated to Pub Charity.

An unnamed representative of Pub Charity advised the squadron by email that its application had been declined, under the policy that funds were returned to the communities in which they were raised.

"I don't know where exactly your organisation operates, but sadly we are only able to offer funding to areas that have Pub Charity machines, so you might have mistaken another trust's venue for one of ours," he/she added.

"My suggestion would be to look into which trusts offer funding to your area and apply to them, as there are a number of trusts similar to Pub Charity Ltd, and one of them might be able to sort you out with your project and the projects of the other organisations in your area."

The Northland Age understands that applications from the Kaitaia Tennis and Squash Racquets Club, Kaitaia Abundant Life School, the Kaitaia Basketball Association and the Aupouri Rugby Football and Sports Club were also declined because they were not in an area with Pub Charity-affiliated outlets.

Rob Bamber, who lodged the ATC application, pointed out that the Waipapakauri Hotel had gaming machines, which contributed to Pub Charity, and wanted to know who could apply for funding from those machines if Kaitaia didn't qualify.

"Waipapakauri is not a town," he said.

"The pub is the only shop. There are no schools, but there is one rugby club. Most of the people who live at Waipapakauri work here in Kaitaia.

"How are you distributing the money you gain from this pub? What clubs from the Far North are now able to have their grant applications approved?"

He also noted that the ATC Squadron parades at the RNZAF memorial immediately adjacent to the Waipapakauri Hotel at the annual Battle of Britain commemoration.

The response was that the range for funding in the Far North was limited, and "unfortunately" did not extend to Kaitaia.

"We previously did have some venues that covered the Kaitaia area, but they have since switched to operating under the Oxford Sports Charitable Trust, so your organisation and others in Kaitaia may have more success applying to them," the response added.

Apart from the Waipapakauri and Mangonui hotels, the Far North's contributors to Pub Charity are the Klondike Ale House (Kawakawa), Klondikes Seafood cafe and Tavern (Moerewa), the Opononi Hotel and the Paihia Sports Bar.

Kaitaia's Collard Tavern was once affiliated but is now part of the Oxford Trust.