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August 25, 2025
Christchurch Kura Left Behind in Rebuild Programme, Founder Calls Out Systemic Discrimination
Atereano Mateariki
Posted On August 25, 2025
Download AudioTe Pā o Rākaihautū founder Rangimarie Parata-Takurua says her kura-ā-iwi is still operating in unsafe conditions—more than a decade after opening.
Despite being located in East Christchurch, one of the hardest-hit areas during the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes, the school was excluded from the Christchurch Schools Rebuild Programme, which supported 115 other schools.
Parata-Takurua says the Ministry of Education has offered only “band-aid” fixes for buildings that should have been demolished, calling it systemic discrimination
“Our experience with the Ministry demonstrates why there aren’t more kura like us in the South. For a decade, we’ve had to battle for everything, every lick of paint, just to achieve equality. I know it’s not popular under this government to talk about equity, but just equality would be a good goal,” says Parata-Takurua.
Parata-Takurua says the school is now advocating for a permanent home in Te Waipapa Diamond Harbour, on land approved for sale to Ngāti Wheke. However, the Ministry has pulled the funding, so they remain in the former intermediate school, which was supposed to be temporary.
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