Kerre Woodham: We need a definitive answer to if data was misused

I don't think this counts as breaking news, does it?  

An inquiry ordered by the Prime Minister has identified significant failures with public agencies’ protection of New Zealanders’ personal information and management of conflict of interests. The investigation, which focused on public agencies actions, was sparked by allegations last year that data provided to health and social services providers at Manurewa Marae for the census and for Covid-19 vaccinations was misused. Those murmurings were rumbling for some time before the investigation was sparked.  

It was claimed personal information was improperly used to favour Te Pati Māori and the Māori electorate of Tamaki Makaurau. The allegations have been denied, but the Government wanted assurances that Kiwis’ data had been properly safeguarded.  

Spoiler alert, it wasn't. Among the findings of the report is that the Ministry of Health and Health New Zealand did not have control over data once it was downloaded by providers, had no means for ensuring providers were meeting contractual expectations, and had no safeguards for managing potential conflicts of interest. This really doesn't come as any surprise to me at all. Stats New Zealand was found to have insufficient arrangements to protect the shared data. The findings are so serious for Stats NZ that chief executive Mark Sowden has fallen on his sword and will leave at the end of his current term, something public services Commissioner Sir Brian Roche says is the right thing to do.  

Waipareira Trust chief executive and president of Te Pati Māori John Tamihere on the other hand, is defending the use of data at Manurewa Marae, saying there's no evidence of any wrongdoing. He says they're being targeted for being Māori, a Māori organisation attracting extra scrutiny over suspicions that Māori were somehow crooked. He said whistle blowers had not been able to provide evidence that data was actually misused. He said every political party used data and Waipareira Trust, which had existed for 40 years, had built up huge data sets. He denied that the census data from government agencies that had been shared with the Manurewa Marae was then handed over to Te Pati Māori.  

Labour leader Chris Hipkins on Three News last night seemed to suggest that he himself had raised eyebrows but would wait the findings of the police investigation.  

“I've certainly felt that the election in that seat was unfair and the result in that seat was unfair. I think the fact that our polling booth was held at the Manurewa Marae with very active Māori party presence really did draw into question the result there. It was such a close result.” 

Just to remind you of the result in the electorate of Tamaki Makaurau, Maurewa Marae CEO and Te Pāti Māori's representative Takutai Tarsh Kemp took the seat from Labour's Peeni Henare by four votes, just four. On recount, that went to 42 votes, because naturally, Peeni Henare said “I’ve held that seat since 2014. I find it very hard to believe I could have lost it. Oh, hang on a minute, no I don't.”  

Should there be a by-election? If Te Pati Māori believes they won the seat fair and square, that Labour was being rolled in plenty of other long held seats, would their member be willing to put it to the test in a by-election? Where there’s absolutely no hint of wrongdoing on behalf of her party, that here we are fair and square, let's go mano o mano, go head-to-head and let's see who wins at this time. I mean, I suppose the horses bolted.  

If the data has been misused, and at the moment there are no individuals you can point the didgeridoo at and say they misused that information, but there is a police investigation ongoing. There is no clear evidence that could go before a court, that the data was misused. But if it looks like a rat, smells like a rat, and it's got a long tail like a rat, it does make you raise your eyebrows. You need a definitive answer: was the data misused or not? At the moment we have suspicions, we have rumblings. And while those rumblings continue, then it puts the whole judicial process and the whole electoral process in doubt. 

I mean, you look at the CEO of Manurewa Marae winning the seat and you think really, did she? Was it fair and square? I don't know. Labour was being rolled left, right and centre. She might just have got lucky. I smell rats.   

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