Suppliers to supermarkets have pushed up prices on thousands of products, and a deadly weekend on the water puts safety concerns in the spotlight. Video / NZ Herald
But it is expected the findings will “impact all of the public service” and some matters relating to the investigation will “require referral to other authorities for further consideration”.
It’s another delay after the Public Service Commission (PSC) initially gave an indicative reporting date of September 16. The investigation was launched in June after direction from Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Public Service Minister Nicola Willis.
The investigation was sparked by allegations that Census data and Covid-19 vaccination information collected at Manurewa Marae in Auckland had been misused for Te Pāti Māori’s election campaign. The marae was also a voting site.
Takutai Tarsh Kemp, the party’s candidate in the local Tāmaki Makaurau electorate who went on to win, was the marae’s chief executive at the time. Te Pāti Māori has strongly rejected the allegations and welcomed investigations. President John Tamihere called for “hard evidence” to substantiate claims.
The PSC investigation, which was specifically into whether the personal information provided to government agencies as part of Census 2023 and for Covid-19 vaccination purposes had been misused, was one of many inquiries launched at the time.
In a statement on Monday afternoon, the PSC confirmed it had received the final report of the inquiry led by Michael Heron KC and Pania Gray.
Deputy Public Service Commissioner Heather Baggott said “careful consideration” of the findings was needed and it would “take time to work through”.
The inquiry was “complex”, Baggott said, involving six agencies, third-party providers and “findings that will impact all of the public service”.
“Some matters will also require referral to other authorities for further consideration.”
She said the findings require a “thorough response” and the commission “intends” to release them and its response “at the end of January”.
“The protection of personal information is paramount and it’s important we get the response right.”
Sir Brian Roche was appointed Public Service Commissioner this year. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Agencies in the scope of the inquiry included Statistics NZ, the Ministry of Health, Health NZ, Te Puni Kōkiri, Oranga Tamariki, the Ministry of Social Development. The third party providers within scope included the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency, Te Whānau o Waipareira Trust and Manurewa Marae Trust Board.
Willis told the Herald: “The report goes to public trust and confidence in the public service, so the Public Service Commission needs to have utmost confidence in their findings, conclusions, and next steps.
“I have been advised that the Public Service Commission wants more time to ensure both that natural justice processes are completed satisfactorily, and that they can respond effectively to the findings in the report.”
Stats NZ’s inquiry has been looking into the management and handling of Census forms and the data contained within them.
The agency had last year partnered with the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency to lift low census responses from Māori. Collection operations were then led by Whānau Ora’s Te Pae Herenga o Tāmaki collective, of which Manurewa Marae is a part of, Stats NZ said.
It was initially expected that the investigation would be concluded “no later than” the end of July, but in an update on its website last month, Stats NZ said this timeline had been extended to an unconfirmed date.
“The investigation team is now working through the natural justice process which allows those who have been interviewed to check the facts documented in the report.”
It said its report would be released alongside the Public Service Commission inquiry.
Police and the Privacy Commissioner have also been looking into concerns. As of earlier this month, the Electoral Commission, which made referrals to police, said it had no ongoing inquiries.
“I don’t think the perception of a conflict in there could’ve been managed in the way that we set out to do it.”
Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub Press Gallery office.
