Marae whistle-blower: Wellness QR code crafted to ‘clandestinely’ collect census data
Sunday, 11 August 2024
A wellness QR code aimed at Māori was used to enter census information into a Manurewa Marae database, two new whistle-blowers claim.
The marae is at the centre of a government inquiry and a number of investigations into allegations that vaccination, census and enrolment data was misused to help Te Pāti Māori’s election campaign. Former staff and a whistle-blower for the Ministry of Social Development came forward with the claims earlier this year.
Te Pāti Māori has strenuously denied the allegations. The marae has refused to comment.
Now, the new whistle-blowers have raised further concerns that involve the marae’s ‘Winter Wellness’ programme, which was designed to help prevent and battle colds, flu and Covid in the South Auckland community.
Participants were offered health checks, and a pack containing medicine, remedies and hot water bottles, then encouraged to complete the census and enrolment forms for voters to change from the general to the Māori roll, the whistle-blowers said. They spoke to the Sunday Star-Times on condition of anonymity.
The whistle-blowers described an “intricately organised and flawlessly executed” procedure that involved staff transferring participants’ census information into the marae’s own databases via a QR code — which would be a breach of strict census data regulations.
The process was allegedly implemented by a data project manager who previously worked for the Waipareira Trust and the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency. Both are headed by Te Pāti Māori's president John Tamihere.
The QR code was designated as the “Manurewa Marae Winter Wellness Data Collection Form”.
“The Winter Wellness Campaign was crafted to clandestinely collect information from census participants, all while portraying the initiative as a benevolent act for the community,” one whistle-blower said.
Internal emails provided to the Star-Times showed once the data collection was complete, marae staff were allowed to hand out $100 supermarket vouchers to participants. Staff were also incentivised, being paid $100 for each completed census form, the whistle-blowers claimed.
Once all steps were finished, staff submitted the census and voting forms and check-lists to the marae’s data project manager. The whistle-blowers claimed staff were instructed to leave envelopes unsealed.
The QR code currently takes users to a Microsoft Form that displays the message: “Kia ora, These forms have now been shut down as the census mahi has finished. Ngā mihi.”
Stats NZ confirmed the QR code was not an official Stats NZ or 2023 Census QR code.
Stats NZ launched its own data misuse investigation in June, led by independent investigator and former deputy state services commissioner Doug Craig.
As the QR code was within the scope of this investigation, the agency could not comment further, a spokesperson said.
The time-frame for Craig’s inquiry was extended by a month until the end of August “due to the large amount of documentation being reviewed and interviews required”.
The marae did not respond to a request for comment.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon directed the Public Service Commission to conduct an independent inquiry after the allegations were first reported by the Sunday Star-Times in June.
Former solicitor-general Michael Heron, KC and consultant Pania Gray were appointed to head the probe.
A group of former workers previously told the Star-Times private data from census forms was photocopied and entered into a database. They believed it was then used to target voters in the Tāmaki Makaurau electorate.
Later, it emerged Labour had made a complaint following the election about the alleged misuse of cellphone numbers collected during a Covid-19 immunisation drive. The Electoral Commission did not act on the information.
The police and the privacy commissioner are also looking into the data misuse allegations.
“Police can confirm it is making enquiries into matters relating to Te Pati Māori,” a spokesperson said. “While that work is ongoing, Police is not in a position to provide any further detail.”
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) said there was no one ‘lead agency’ for the various inquiries underway.
“These inquiries include the independent Inquiry commissioned by the Public Service Commission, the independent investigation commissioned by Statistics NZ and our own preliminary information gathering,” a spokesperson said.
“These actions are ongoing. Any privacy concerns identified by agencies other than OPC will be referred to OPC at their completion.”
If the OPC’s work uncovers issues most appropriately pursued by other bodies, such as the police, it will “refer them accordingly”.
“We will continue to keep in regular contact with the whistle-blowers as our work progresses,” the spokesperson added.
Last week, the Sunday Star-Times revealed the Electoral Commission and police were alerted to the allegations of misuse of census data before the election.
Chief Electoral Officer Karl Le Quesne mentioned the complaint to Government Statistician Mark Sowden in a regular meeting over coffee on November 24.
But neither the agency, nor police, will say what — if anything — they did in response, citing ongoing investigations.
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