Manurewa Marae data misuse claims: Investigation to report back soon on ‘sensitive issue’

Sir Brian Roche expects report findings soon - but not before Christmas. Photo / Marty Melville

• The Public Service Commissioner expects a report on the Manurewa Marae data misuse inquiry soon.
• The inquiry, launched in June, has faced delays but is nearing completion, says Sir Brian Roche.
• Te Pāti Māori, whose candidate Takutai Tarsh Kemp was the marae’s CEO at the time, denies the allegations and welcomes investigations.

The Public Service Commissioner expects an investigation launched after allegations of the misuse of personal data at Manurewa Marae in favour of Te Pāti Māori’s election campaign will report back shortly.

After being launched in June, the commission’s inquiry had an indicative reporting date of September 16, but that has come and gone. The Herald has been asking for updates since and been told the inquiry was ongoing.

Public Service Minister Nicola Willis told the Herald on Monday she was happy with the pace of work, saying the commission needs to have confidence in its findings and that they will “live through the scrutiny of a significant amount of public challenge”.

Appearing before a select committee in Parliament, Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche said the inquiry was “nearing completion” and, subject to final review, it was hoped a report would be released in the next few weeks.

However, he wouldn’t commit to that happening prior to Christmas.

Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche says the inquiry is drawing to a close. Photo / Marty Melville

Asked by Upper Harbour MP Cameron Brewer why it was taking so long, he said it had been a “very complicated, sensitive issue” meaning it was “worthy of the time spent to make sure we get the answer right”.

“It’s complex. There are a number of voices to be listened to. We have gone through this methodically. We remain confident in our ability to deliver in the not-too-distant future.”

It had been alleged Census data and Covid-19 vaccination information collected at Manurewa Marae in Auckland had been misused for Te Pāti Māori’s election campaign.

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.

Takutai Tarsh Kemp was chief executive of the marae. Photo / Mike Scott

A number of public agencies looked into concerns, including Statistics NZ, the Electoral Commission, Police, the Privacy Commissioner and the Public Service Commission.

Following direction from the Prime Minister and Public Services Minister, the Public Service Commission launched an inquiry in June led by Michael Heron KC and Pania Gray.

The Public Service Commission’s inquiry was intended to look at what safeguards government agencies had in place to ensure the appropriate use of personal information by third parties, what information was shared, what concerns were raised with the agencies prior to media reporting and what was done in relation to those concerns.

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.

Speaking to the Herald after Roche’s comments, Willis said she was happy with the inquiry’s speed as it was important the commission “ensure that it has a full natural justice process so that its finding can be held up robustly”. She said government agencies had been “co-operative”.

Willis said she would have loved to have seen the report come out earlier, but it was more important for the commission to be right than early.

“It’s been my expectation that the commission conduct its work as efficiently and effectively as possible, but also that it be thorough,” she said.

“When these issues go to public trust and confidence, they need to have utmost confidence in their findings and conclusions, and they need to live through the scrutiny of a significant amount of public challenge.”

Public Service Minister Nicola Willis is happy with the speed of the inquiry. Photo / Mark Mitchell

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.

The Herald contacted Te Pāti Māori for comment on Monday, including about whether it was involved in the natural justice process and if any adverse findings had been presented to it. It didn’t provide a response by publication time.

Police, which received referrals from the Electoral Commission, simply told the Herald the “matter is still ongoing”. The Electoral Commission said it didn’t have any ongoing inquiries.

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.