Kia ora Catherine

 

Official information request regarding He Whenua Taurikura

 

I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your official information request
dated 21 September 2024.

 

We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible and in
any event no later than 18 October 2024, being 20 working days after the
day your request was received.

 

If any additional factors come to light which are relevant to your
request, please do not hesitate to contact me so that these can be taken
into account.

 

Ngâ mihi,

 

Blair Doherty

Senior Advisor, Official Information and Privacy

Legal Services

Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington

[1]www.wgtn.ac.nz 

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: WGJ <[FOI #28468 email]>
Sent: Saturday, September 21, 2024 3:13 PM
To: OIA Requests <[VUW request email]>
Subject: Official Information request - HWT Enquiry

 

Dear Victoria University of Wellington,

 

A final submission of Questions relating to HWT

 

1: 13th August OIA response states the roles at the centre. Which are ALL
sourced internally and not advertised. And subject to Victoria Collective
agreement. You referred to documents for bands without disclosing what
bands apply to what roles.

 

1.1 What bands and $ amounts are the following roles on?

Director, Project Manager, Research Fellows x 2, Research Assistant x 1,
Centre Manager x 1

1.2 Are these roles fulltime?

1.3 Part time roles: Are they employed in other roles at the University
and get a separate pay for those. (Double Dipping or two separate work
agreements? )

 

2: Further to the two Postgraduates that were selected without a formal
process:

2.1 What are their degrees in ? From BA to Post grad please.

2.2 If new to this area of a study What engagement have, they done to
ensure they understand the field of Violent extremism and terrorism?
Security? Policing ? talked to police for example. Sought out those
academics for discussions? To ensure objectivity and not just write to an
agenda.

 

The claim that topics for investigation can span across disciplines is
true but still need to have a understanding of the field security
terrorism eyc  that is clear even to a layperson. It appears that HWT and
Victoria are completely ignoring this fact and deflecting, not being
diverse and not being inclusive.

 

2.3 Depending on the degrees above:  preventing radicalisation is a major
academic field of its own– anyone can see that in a google search and it
clearly needs specialist field expertise. What are these two Post grads
doing to ensure they obtain that ?

 

3: The Centre’s research Committee assess applications as per the previous
OIA. Can you provide a link to that as this is not clear on the website as
to who this panel is?

3.1: Do research associates attend meetings or gather together. If so, do
they get travel and accommodation paid for?

3.2  if yes please provide a breakdown of costs – NOT personal details.

 

4: Your response mentioned that “policy briefs” will be prepared.

4.1 Who for ?

4.2 Are these prepared by the HWT centre staff?

4.3 If not the HWT staff then who ?

4.4 If not the HWT staff then is it another body at Victoria University ?

4.5 If another body such as Victoria University, then what measures are
taken to include other universities and experts?

4.6 If including other experts and academics and run by Victoria
University will Victoria dictate the research others work with?

4.7 If assigned to Victoria University who made that decision and why is
it still siloed to one university or one place?

 

5 In the last OIA the response says that the “research assistant” is
funded to be a editor of a [questionable]  journal .

5.1 Is it not true that assistant is actually a Victoria University
Professor with a new focus on these areas and a history in crime only ?

 

6) The handpicked postgraduates are they funded or paid? The Budget
reflects there are three of them and all are Victoria university personal

6.1 Will they get additional qualifications from this?

6.2 If yes to the above what are their fees being covered? Total fees.

6.3 if fees are covered why is this not subject to the same application
process as Phds and Masters ?

 

7 What is the cost of the Koroareka Writing Retreat for the centre staff ?

7.1 Is this something provided to all students or just the Victoria
University Post Grads?

 

8: Is the Summer Scholarships referred to in the budget sheets active?

8.1 if so who selects those students

 

Just my Observations. No response needed.

The DPMC reporting documents say this is a independent National Centre of
Research Excellence . Just want to point out that HWT advertises it is E
WHENUA TAURIKURA IS AN INDEPENDENT NATIONAL CENTRE OF RESEARCH EXCELLENCE
HOSTED BY VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF WELLINGTON. That Does  Not Appear to Be
The Case

 

While I am not opposed to this centre in anyway and I dislike racism but I
also dislike the way this is playing out., I was hoping that these
responses would allay my fears. Instead, they have made me more worried,
and it is obvious that the Royal Commission Inquiry's recommendations were
changed to further individual goals, which will not advance social
cohesion or create a peaceful nation. HWT promotes variety, yet it only
seems to attract friends who have been authorised, ignoring industries and
specialisations in what looks to be an intellectual haughtiness and
self-interest. Even worse, HWT launched the Mosque attacks as a marketing
ploy and to defend the academic isolation and lack of diversity. And it
seems make false claims about their own expertise and ignore others.

 

1 August 2024 OIA response claimed that Victoria University did not get
additional benefit from hosting the HWT apart from a payment and yet the
positions are all internally advertised and there is a team collated by
the university and put into the centre taking a wage from the HWT funds.
How does this not benefit Victoria University – this is nepotism.

 

It shows a real issue is happening unintentionally or intentionally. There
appears to be no real clear lines, and it is allowing for questionable
silo without any self-reflection: 

•              Appointments of research fellows by the Co-Directors
recommendation and no advertisement. Allowing for personal agendas and
providing further benefit to Victoria University as they are already
connected to the university. “Internal recruitment” also repeatedly
mentioned in OIA responses.

•              In response to five staff members rationale the response
said that “the five staff members referred to are employed by the
University to facilitate and carry out research on PVCE’. This is again
clearly Victoria and Director/s taking advantage of being the host and
goes AGAINST the intent of the centre documents, DPMC information, DPMC
reporting information and the Royal Commission.

•              24 Scholarships awarded across universities – the only sign
of diversity

•              The only work advertised on the site is that of the staff
themselves or the academics and associates they agree with.

•              Two postgrads with good intentions but no grounding
understanding in the actual work of preventing extremism and
radicalisation, or terrorism, extremism or security. “This is not quality
research based in on Aotearoa New Zealand Experience”.

•              No formal screening process to research associates –
personal invites from directors who hold their own biases and openly
anti-state anti-colonial views. There is no way this reflects diversity,
and all the disciplines needed to address these issues for NZ.

•              It is also clear that no one has any credentials in areas
that actually know about terrorism, policing, security, and extremism and
preventing radicalisation but claim expertise – its not the issue but
actively ignoring the fields is seriously concerning. VERY CONCERNING
especially if wanting to write policy.

•              Does not look like the students outside of Victoria with
scholarships get much support at all from HWT maybe that is a good thing
given the clear issues.

•              It is MOST concerning that the HWT board, funder and
Victoria University have not appear to recognise the limitations in the
approaches disclosed so far and on the website. Perhaps we need a new
board too.

 

Reports from DPMC HWT is supposed to be collaborative and have a goal
outside vic uni, yet it seems focused on its own benefits and perceptions.
I'm worried that HWT and Victoria University are unaware of the issues
that will invalidate their work and claims. NZ, DPMC, and the Royal
Commission should be disturbed that they are evidently going to be
“preparing policy briefs” that chills and scares me since the scales have
tipped and are not appropriate to a varied society. Policy papers with
significant exclusions are likely in this form. I was disappointed since
the Royal Commission had wonderful vision, but these facts demonstrate
severe weaknesses and intellectual egotism in recent years.

 

Please be courageous and address these issues for NZ and the centre. FAST.
In this state you are just giving your critics and the extremists fodder.
I look forward to my last set of answers, my other questions will be for
DPMC  and thank you for your time.

Catherine.

 

WGJ

 

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