Police Minister wants greater powers following boy racer incident, recession driving business sales boom and man loses life savings in today's NZ Herald headlines.
The government is facing calls to launch an independent wide-ranging inquiry into claims that Manurewa Marae misused census data to help Te Pāti Māori’s election campaign.
The Sunday Star Times was the first to report the accounts of ex-marae workers who collected census forms last year.
They claim private data from the forms was photocopied and entered into a database which they believe was then used to target voters in the Tāmaki Makaurau electorate.
Stats NZ has launched an investigation into the claims. Police have also confimed they received a complaint last week.
Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere strongly denied the allegations, calling for anyone to produce “hard evidence” and describing “unsubstantiated sources” as unhelpful.
In a statement, Stats NZ chief executive Mark Sowden said the agency had brought in an external party to investigate after receiving the allegations late last week.
“We are taking these allegations very seriously,” Sowden said.
“It is paramount that the information collected via census forms or any Stats NZ survey is kept private, secure, and confidential, and that it is only used for the purposes [for] which it is collected.”
A spokesperson for Te Pāti Māori said Kemp continued to have the party’s “full support and confidence” to continue serving her electorate.
Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere denies the allegations. Photo / Mike Scott
“We unequivocally refute these allegations ... they are baseless and simply untrue,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“As the matter is live before an employment court process, and on legal advice given, no further comment will be made.”
The Sunday Star Times also reported that attempts to alert both Stats NZ and the Ministry of Social Development were not followed up.
Statistics Minister Andrew Bayly told RNZ the outcome of the agency’s external inquiry would inform “appropriate next steps.”
”I am aware of the serious allegations around the inappropriate use of census forms collected at Manurewa Marae,” Bayly told the Herald.
”The Government Statistician is taking the matter very seriously and has appointed an independent party to investigate. The outcome of the investigation will inform appropriate next steps.
”It is vital the public’s information is kept private, secure and confidential, and as such there are high standards and protections in place. The information collected via census forms is protected by the Data and Statistics Act 2022 and the Privacy Act 2020.”
Takutai Moana Kemp was chief executive of Manurewa Marae at the time. Photo / Michael Craig
Employment advocate Allan Halse represents a group of ex-marae staff and a whistleblower at the Ministry of Social Development.
He said there needed to be a multi-party inquiry into the entire process “from beginning to end” including the role of government departments.
“All of it could have been avoided,” Halse said.
“If the authorities, when they learned what was taking place, had acted, they could’ve prevented this from continuing.”
Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Jordan Williams said the government must hold a public inquiry with the power to compel witnesses and take evidence on oath.
