Manurewa Marae data inquiry

The story so far

Allegations arose that personal Census and Covid-19 vaccination data from Manurewa Marae was misused during the 2023 election, and the Public Service Commission said its inquiry identified issues needing further investigation by other authorities.^{28 Jan 2025} An inquiry led by Sir Brian Roche found that Stats NZ and the Ministry of Health lacked sufficient safeguards to prevent misuse, and three service providers were temporarily suspended from new government contracts.^{18 Feb 2025} Stats NZ chief executive Mark Sowden said he would not seek reappointment, while another report says he has resigned.^{18 Feb 2025} Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere admitted census forms were photocopied at Manurewa Marae but denies any data was used for election purposes, and the Privacy Commissioner is investigating whether the data aided a political campaign.^{19 Feb 2025} Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi called the inquiry a political hatch job and said the party had been exonerated. Later, an inquiry found Health New Zealand lacked the contractual power to monitor misuse of sensitive health information.^{19, 21 Feb 2025}

Latest

Health New Zealand has been found to have lacked contractual power to monitor misuse of sensitive health information, and it is now working to fix its contracts.^{21 Feb 2025}

What's next

The Public Service Commission said issues identified by its inquiry require further investigation by other authorities.^{28 Jan 2025} Health New Zealand is working to fix the contracts identified in the inquiry.^{21 Feb 2025}

Key moments

1. 28 Jan 2025Public Service Commission report on Manurewa Marae data misuse claims due next week.
2. 18 Feb 2025Stats NZ chief Mark Sowden will not seek reappointment; three providers suspended.
3. 18 Feb 2025Roche inquiry finds Stats NZ and Ministry of Health lacked sufficient data safeguards.
4. 19 Feb 2025Tamihere admits census forms were photocopied but denies election misuse.
5. 19 Feb 2025Privacy Commissioner investigating whether data aided a political campaign.
6. 19 Feb 2025Te Pāti Māori calls the Manurewa Marae inquiry a political hatch job.
7. 21 Feb 2025Inquiry finds Health NZ lacked contractual power to monitor sensitive data misuse.

Written from the stories below; each sentence links to its sources.