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He Whakatauākī

E kore e taea e te whenu kotahi

ki te raranga i te whāriki

kia mōhio tātou kiā tātou.

Mā te mahi tahi ō ngā whenu,

mā te mahi tahi ō ngā kairaranga,

ka oti tēnei whāriki.

I te otinga

me titiro tātou ki ngā mea pai ka puta mai.

Ā tana wā,

me titiro hoki

ki ngā raranga i makere

nā te mea, he kōrero ano kei reira.

The tapestry of understanding

can not be woven 

by one strand alone. 

Only by the working together of strands 

and the working together of weavers 

will such a tapestry be completed. 

With its completion 

let us look at the good that comes from it.

And, in time 

we should also look 

at those stitches which have been dropped, 

because they also have a message. 

 Kūkupa Tirikatene 

What we do

We address the areas of greatest educational needs from early childhood to life-long learning in your community. We identify significant hurdles and work with the education sector and others to change the system to create more equitable learning pathways for all. We currently lead six main campaigns. 

Our mission is to drive systems change to make education and skills more effective and equitable. Our vision is Tino rangatiratanga for everyone, through lifelong learning. 

We are an Auckland Council-controlled organisation and a not-for-profit. Charity Registration: CC48407

Our Values

Whanaungatanga: At COMET, we build relationships, collaborate and partner. 

ManaakitangaAt COMET, we care, respect & embrace the diversity and mana of our team and our communities. 

Mana MotuhakeAt COMET, we affirm and work towards all people having control of their future through learning.

Annual Report 2022-2023 and Statement of Intent 2023/24 to 2025/26

Our Amohau

Our Amohau were chosen for their deep knowledge of tikanga, history, and te reo. They support us to challenge that the mana of the whānau, hapū, and iwi are maintained, and that our work is effective for Māori learners.

Tame Te Rangi

(Ngāti Whātua / Ngāpuhi)

Rereata ‘Ral’ Makiha

(Te Mahurehure, Te Arawa)

Our Trustees

Strong governance is vital to any organisation. The Te Hononga Akoranga COMET board unites a diverse talent from the sectors of education, finance, business and community development.

Our Team

Our mission is driving systems change to make education and skills more effective and equitable.

Our vision is tino rangatiratanga for everyone, through lifelong learning.

Katheren Leitner
Chief Executive

Linda Hu
Director of Finance

Avni Jain
Administrator

Noah Meggitt
Kaitūhono Māori

Dr Rajshree Krishnan
Data and Evidence Manager

Dr Sneh Patel
WeSTEM Project Manager

Ying Yang
STEM Project Manager

Jonathan Longstaff
Operations & Communications Officer

Priyal Vidanage
Finance Administrator

Waka Project

Our History

Our former organisation, the City of Manukau Education Trust was born out of the commitment of the Mayor and Councillors to better education provision in Manukau City, and was formally established as a Charitable Trust in October 1999. We resettled in 2012 with an Auckland-wide remit.

Under the provisions of the Local Government Act 2002, COMET became a Council Controlled Organisation (CCO), which means that Council appoints our Board of Trustees and contracts with us for some of our work.

COMET