Manurewa Marae: Inquiry findings delayed hours after press conference called

Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche says the delay in releasing a report stemming from allegations of misuse of data at Manurewa Marae is “unfortunate”. Photo / Marty Melville

The Public Service Commission has delayed the release of its report stemming from allegations of misuse of data at Manurewa Marae just hours after advising media of a press conference on it next Monday.

In a statement issued on Friday evening, the PSC said the findings of the inquiry would no longer be released next Monday as the commission’s response required more time following feedback from some agencies.

Sir Brian Roche, the Public Service Commissioner, said it was “unfortunate”, but the commission needed to get the response right.

“The inquiry has been complex, involving six agencies, third-party service providers and findings that will impact all of the public service. Some matters will also require referral to other authorities for further consideration,” the statement said.

This is the latest delay for what is an eagerly awaited report.

A few hours before the delay was announced, the commission advised journalists an embargoed briefing and media conference would be held on Monday ahead of the release that day.

The inquiry was led by Michael Heron, KC, and Pania Gray. It was commissioned by the Prime Minister and Public Service Minister in June last year after allegations 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.

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

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.

Appearing before a select committee in Parliament in December, Roche said the inquiry was “nearing completion” and, subject to final review, it was hoped a report would be released before Christmas.

However, a couple of weeks later, the Public Service Commission said it wouldn’t be released until at least the end of January.

Nicola Willis, the Public Service Minister at the time, told the Herald in December: “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.”

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.