Māori Party MP Alleged to Have Misused Census Data for Campaigning

The allegations suggest pork barrelling involving the Indigenous vote.

Maori Party co-leader Jahn Tamihere (L) and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters (R) share a joke during Newshub Nation's Powerbrokers Debate in Auckland, New Zealand on Oct. 1, 2020. Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

Māori Party (Te Pāti Māori) MP, Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp, has been accused of misusing private information, collected during the census, for political campaigning.

The issue is now part of an official investigation by Stats NZ after a whistleblower from the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) made the allegations, and also reported it to police last week.