The prime minister has directed the Public Service Commission to investigate what safeguards government agencies have to prevent the misuse of data they hold, as well as how they manage conflicts of interest.
The probe follows allegations by ex-Manurewa Marae workers that Te Pāti Māori used data collected for the 2023 census to target voters in Tāmaki Makaurau at the general election.
The party’s leaders and president have repeatedly denied the claims, and asked police to launch an investigation into their origin.
Party president John Tamihere is also the chief executive of Waipareira Trust, which is alleged to own the database where the information was stored.
Further complicating matters, Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp was the chief executive of Manurewa Marae at the time, and she went on to win the Tāmaki Makaurau seat by a narrow 42-seat margin.
At the post-cabinet press conference this afternoon, Christopher Luxon said a series of investigations had already been launched by various agencies but that one agency needed to oversee all of the reviews and their findings.
“Public confidence in the response to these allegations is absolutely paramount. There must be independent oversight of the whole picture of government agency activity.”
Investigations by Police, Stats NZ and the Privacy Commissioner are already underway, and Luxon said the inquiry would look into Statistics NZ, the Ministry of Health, Health NZ, Te Puni Kokiri, Oranga Tamariki, and the Ministry of Social Development.’
He also said the commission would have scope to expand the number of agencies it investigates as the commissioner deemed necessary.
Addressing the allegations, Luxon said it was, “critical that New Zealanders can trust that when their personal information is given to government agencies, it is held securely and used only for proper purposes.”
Terms of reference for the investigation, as well as a lead investigator, are yet to be finalised.
‘Māori used as a scapegoat’
In an explosive statement posted to social media last week, Tamihere called the treatment of the party scapegoating.
“The fact of the matter is, as usual, Māori are being used as a scapegoat to cover up and deflect from what is really going on in this country.
“This coalition government has been brought hook, line and sinker by cigarette and tobacco barons; by pharmaceutical barons; by landlords and by mining barons through fast-tracked legislation and, more importantly, it continues its constant attack on all matters Māori all of the time,” he said.
Tamihere said his party faced endless attacks, saying the issue had been unfairly turned into a racial debate.
“We are the real opposition to this government. We are a rights-based pāti, not a race-based. Racism was imported by colonisers. We consented to colonisers by signing a treaty.”