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.