Judy Gill
Timeline:
Early June 2025 – I filed a complaint with the Ministry of Education.
22 July 2025 – I received a reply.
1 August 2025 – I escalated the matter to the Ombudsman. No reply.
30 September 2025 – I followed up again.
1 October 2025 – The Ombudsman finally responded.
Phonecall with the Ombudsman:
It appeared they had not even read my complaint. After all, I had already complained to the Ministry of Education and received a response. But apparently, that was not the ‘right person’.
The Ombudsman told me a complaint must be lodged at the highest level of the ministry, otherwise no action would be taken by the Ombudsman’s office – this, two months after I had filed my complaint to them.
What the Ombudsman wrote:
“You can contact the Tāmaki Herenga Manawa Director, Mr Jason Swann, through email at Enquiries.Manawa@education.govt.nz…”
What happened next:
I asked: “What is Manawa?”
The officer admitted she did not know. She googled it while I was on the call and told me it was “a gifted name for the Ministry of Education, Central and East Auckland”. She also googled Jason Swann’s role: director of education, Tāmaki Herenga Manawa (Central and East Auckland).
From my earlier analysis of the growth of the Te Reo dictionary since 1767, each new word has cost taxpayers about $21,800. How much did this one cost, freshly invented in 2025? This was almost certainly a more expensive ‘gift’.
I asked her for his direct email address, not a generic one from the website. She admitted she did not have one. She pointed me back to the same generic enquiries address – the ones that usually bounce. Her advice? “Best thing is just to try.”
So I did. I wrote another long, detailed complaint. And of course: it bounced.
What this shows in 2025:
The Ombudsman directed me to complain at the ‘highest level’ two months late.
Staff quoted “Manawa” in official letters without knowing what it meant.
They admitted on the phone they had to google the name of a government department.
There was no direct email address for the very official they told me to contact.
But there is always time for:
– pōwhiri
– karakia at the beginning and end of meetings
– lunchtime waiata
That’s not a department. That’s a multi-headed te reo gabbling chook.
