Source: Radio New Zealand
Billy Macfarlane stands outside Kohuora Auckland South Corrections Facility, a SERCO run high security men’s prison located at Wiri, in Auckland. RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Corrections has terminated its contract with a prisoner reintegration service run by a former drug lord following what it described as “serious sexual allegations”.
RNZ can reveal that Tikanga Aroro Charitable Trust general manager and founder of the Pūwhakamua rehabilitation service Billy Macfarlane faces allegations in relation to a woman who was on bail.
Macfarlane told RNZ he had a sexual encounter with the woman on one occasion, but said it was consensual and there was “nothing inappropriate about anything going on”.
Corrections, which contracted the trust to operate Pūwhakamua, has confirmed to RNZ it has terminated the contract.
Corrections began funding the service in November 2022. Since then, it had contributed around $3.9 million in ongoing funding, with a current agreement to fund $800k per year until 2027. About $880,000 of the $3.9m was part of a conditional grant for infrastructure upgrades.
Do you know more? Email sam.sherwood@rnz.co.nz
In a statement to RNZ on Monday, Corrections deputy chief executive of communities, partnerships and pathways Juanita Ryan said it “terminated” its contract with the reintegration service on Friday.
“As soon as we became aware of the serious sexual allegations made against a Pūwhakamua staff member on Monday 16 March 2026, we requested that the staff member be stood down and replaced immediately.
“Given the sexual nature of the allegations and the potential conflict of interest in delivering a rehabilitation service, we urgently sought further information and assurances from the Tikanga Aroro Charitable Trust (TACT), who is contracted to deliver the service.”
Ryan said Corrections had not received these assurances, nor confirmation on whether the trust stood down the staff member.
“Corrections is committed to ensuring the men who currently use this reintegration service have safe, suitable accommodation and our focus remains on ensuring public safety is upheld.
“We are working to finalise alternative approved accommodation for each of these seven men, and we will be working with them in the coming days to safely relocate them to their new addresses.”
Ryan said Corrections valued “trusted relationships” with their partners.
“We work alongside them to deliver programmes in our community that support the people we manage to make meaningful change and lead them towards a life free from crime.
“These trusted relationships are critical to reduce reoffending and ensure the safety of our communities. Therefore, the integrity of our programmes, and the programmes delivered on our behalf, is paramount.”
Billy Macfarlane works with prisoners at Auckland South Corrections Facility in 2022. RNZ / Sam Olley
Macfarlane, who was jailed for 14 years after being caught running a large methamphetamine operation, denied any allegations of wrongdoing when contacted by RNZ on Friday.
He said there had been a “crusade” against him that had lasted for about two years.
“There’s a whole lot of lies that have started up about this whole episode. There’s been allegations of grooming, all this sort of shit. And it’s not at the stage where the newspaper should be reporting on it.
“It should be in the hands of the police first to sort out the truth from the lies. I’ve got a whole lot of proof around this whole thing but I’m not prepared to play it out on media and then some of it needs to go into the courts…”
When approached for comment on Monday, Macfarlane said he had sex with the woman, who had been released on bail to a property in Auckland, on one occasion.
“It was just two consenting adults, and it had nothing to do with Corrections…”
He said he had consulted a lawyer to see whether he had broken any rules, and that it appeared he had not. He said the property the woman was bailed to was a “private address” where two others had also been bailed to.
He said the property was not associated with the Tikanga Aroro Charitable Trust or the Pūwhakamua rehabilitation service.
“My organisation has had their funding stopped due to somebody’s false allegations.”
He believed Corrections was “just looking for any excuse to stop our contract”.
“We’re not the only ones who had their contract stopped … I’ve working in the correctional space for 14 years now, and no one even had the decency to talk to me. No one from Corrections asked me what happened. They’ve just taken it off social media post. That’s really unprofessional. No one’s asked me for the truth.”
Macfarlane said before he went to visit the woman in prison he met with the prison director “to declare my conflict of interest, if there was any…”.
“The prison director told me I need to come in either professional visitor or personal visitor. I can’t do both. I can’t blur the lines… so I chose to go in there as a personal visitor and visit her in the visiting room with other inmates.”
He said it was not a sexual relationship at that time.
“I slept with her one night following her release…”
He said he “categorically” denied any serious sexual allegations.
He said he was “offended” that Corrections had terminated the contract.
“In any normal space… if I thought I’d done something wrong, it would be me resigning. But they’ve resigned the whole kaupapa. They’ve resigned 14 years of hard work,” he said.
He said he had been stood down from the trust.
“There is an independent investigation going on now, so the truth will be discovered. But you know that will never repair my relationship with the Department of Corrections if they’re going to treat me like this…”
Macfarlane said the ceasing of funding from Corrections would not stop him from doing the work.
“It just means I’m going to stop getting funded by Corrections. I’m going to continue to try and help my people in a justice space as long as I can for those who appreciate me.”
However, he said the loss of funding would have a “huge impact”.
“All the people we provide custodial support for, and everything is going to go out the door. And I just think Corrections is managing this, excuse my language, really piss poorly, and it’s just because they don’t care.
“They never have appeared to care. And you know, you know, I’m ready to up and walk away… if this is how I get treated for something that I’ve put my heart and soul into.”
He said he would go to Māori organisations to support him.
RNZ also spoke to the chairman of the Tikanga Aroro Charitable Trust Doug Macredie.
Tikanga Aroro Charitable Trust Doug Macredie. Supplied/Doug Macredie/Te Araroa
He said Corrections had informed the trust that it was a “suspension” not a termination.
“They’ve done this before, probably three times since I’ve been involved with this, where they say one word that means something completely different to the formal letter that they’ve sent us.”
Asked about Corrections’ comments that they had not had assurances about Macfarlane being stood down, Macredie said that was because they had not picked up the phone or listened to voice messages.
“The assurances were given to them immediately by voice message and by text, and as Billy probably confirmed, he’s stood down. So you need to understand that when you’re dealing with Corrections, you are dealing with a hideously kerfuddled organisation where the left hand often doesn’t know what the right hand is doing.”
He said Corrections had “pretty much told us nothing”.
“They’ve told us exactly what you’ve said, which is somewhere out there in the Great Blue Yonder, there’s an allegation. And I said, ‘well, who? where? from who and how does it relate to the programme?
“So unless you can tell me an allegation that relates to the men, the eight men that are currently on our programme I’m not sure if you want me to comment on someone’s personal life and innuendo and social media pages. I’m not going to.”
Macredie said there were no women on the programme and that he did not know of any serious sexual allegation.
On Wednesday, a police spokesperson confirmed a complaint had been received “which is in the early stages of investigation by the Counties Manukau Adult Sexual Assault Team”.
Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell. RNZ / Mark Papalii
Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell said in a statement to RNZ any contractual decisions were a matter for Corrections.
“I encourage anyone with allegations of this nature to report them to Police.”
According to its website, which appeared to now be offline, Pūwhakamua was a tikanga Māori reintegration service for people who “require support to return and readapt into the community”.
“The Tikanga Aroro Charitable Trust, endorsed by Te Arawa elders, sponsors the Pūwhakamua concept which has been providing a pathway for men released to the community by the New Zealand Parole Board.
“These men observe stringent parole conditions alongside our own rigorous set of site rules, with high levels of accountability for the duration of their stay.”
Pūwhakamua provided a live-in residential programme in Rotorua.
“It has garnered support from key public agencies including the New Zealand Police, The Department of Corrections and the Ministry of Social Development,” the website said.
Macfarlane founded Pūwhakamua in 2018.
The website said the programme had “grown from strength to strength under his leadership and unique vision to offer an alternative pathway for men released from prison. Billy continues to deliver cognitive wānanga and te reo Māori lessons in both prison and community settings”.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
