Helping Wairoa residents get back on their feet is the first big ticket spend of the Red Cross New Zealand Disaster Fund.

Of the nearly $18 million raised, $1.9 million or just under 11 percent, has been spent since Cyclone Gabrielle hit early last month.

It includes a $1.1 million contribution to the Wairoa District Council to help those living in yellow-stickered homes to restore them.

Six weeks into the recovery effort and it seems the money raised by generous Kiwis is not getting spent as we thought it would.

In a Newsroom piece, South Auckland community leader Dave Letele says he asked three different marae whether they had received support from the Red Cross fund.

They hadn't. He is now questioning the transparency of the Red Cross.

Dave Letele joined Kerre Woodham.

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