NZ Stats CEO Steps Down After COVID, Census Data Improperly Shared

Personal data on thousands of people was given to an organisation with links to the Māori Party and may have been used for campaigning, an inquiry has found.

In this photo illustration a vaccine pass is displayed on a phone for entry into a cafe in Auckland, New Zealand, on Dec. 03, 2021. Photo Illustration by Phil Walter/Getty Images

Two New Zealand government agencies handed sensitive personal data on thousands of people to a local Māori organisation linked to the Māori Party, an inquiry by the Public Service Commission has found.

Health New Zealand was found to have handed over COVID-19 data, while Statistics New Zealand Census handed over Census data, to the “Manurewa Marae,” a local Maori group as a way to increase Census collection numbers.

Similarly, both bodies handed over COVID-19 vaccination status information to the Marae in the hope that it could increase vaccination uptake among Māori people.

The findings have forced Stats NZ CEO Mark Sowden to stand down.

“[Stats NZ] failed to implement the safeguards in the contract for services, allowing the potential for Census data to be mishandled,” the report says.

“Risks of conflicts, privacy breaches and poor process were identified and not dealt with,” and nor were the “serious concerns” raised by staff.

In the case of the health data there were “no safeguards in place for addressing the possibility of conflicts of interest arising from the sharing of personal health information with the relevant service providers.”

Links Between Marae and Māori Party

The flawed processes came to light after some Manurewa Marae staff went public with claims, while highlighting the close links between the organisation and the Māori Party—the CEO had been one of its election candidates.

Concerns were also raised that the data may have been leveraged for political campaign purposes.

That investigation is still ongoing, but the initial results—showing there were no checks and balances on how the information was used or on the Marae’s performance—have already claimed the career of government statistician and Stats NZ CEO Sowden, who will stand down next month.

Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche said the report “makes for very sobering reading.”

“It raises a number of issues that go to the core of the confidence and trust required to maintain the integrity and sanctity of information entrusted to government agencies.

“The system has failed, and that isn’t acceptable—and it must be, and will be, remedied.”

At one point, nine agencies were running separate investigations into various aspects of the matter.

They include Stats NZ, the Ministry of Health and Health NZ, the Ministry of Social Development, the Ministry of Justice, the Department of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Māori Development, the Ministry for Children, and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Police and the Electoral Commission were monitoring the outcomes of those investigations.

“While we don’t know if personal information was improperly used, the gate was left open. It will be for other authorities, with the appropriate regulatory and investigative tools, to determine whether personal data was misused,” Roche said.

Most of the referrals are to the privacy commissioner, though the Ministry of Justice and the Electoral Commission are to be asked to consider the issue of the Marae using incentives to encourage voters to switch to the Māori roll, which would then enable them to vote for Māori Party candidates.

The findings of the full report into allegations against the Marae and the Party were due to be released two weeks ago but were delayed because the Public Service Commission said more time was needed following feedback from some of the agencies involved.