In a statement provided to ZB Plus this afternoon, Stats NZ has confirmed that is has appointed Doug Craig of the RDC Group to investigate allegations around the misuse of census data.

Stats NZ has confirmed that Minister Andrew Bayly is aware of the investigation and that the findings of Craig’s investigation will be shared with Police who are also investigating.

In a statement this afternoon, Government Statistician and Chief Executive of Stats NZ, Mark Sowden said, “Mr Craig is an experienced public sector leader and a former State Services Deputy Commissioner, with a background in law, accounting, and strategy. He has significant experience in implementing large and complex projects and has advised on and led many organisational wide responses to critical incidents of a similar nature. Mr Craig is a member of the Public Service Commission’s panel of independent reviewers.

His appointment follows Stats NZ’s Office of the Chief Executive being alerted to the allegations on Wednesday, 29 May 2024. As you’ll appreciate, there is a process to follow in appointing an independent external investigator. We immediately started gathering information, and I contacted Mr Craig late last week. We are now in the process of finalising the contract and terms of the investigation. 

It is paramount that the information collected via census forms or any Stats NZ survey is kept private, secure, and confidential, and that it is only used for the purposes in which it is collected. The security of this information is so important it is protected by the Data and Statistics Act 2022 and the Privacy Act 2020."

It follows from revelations yesterday that former Cabinet minister Peeni Henare is actively considering his options and may complain to the Electoral Commission. 

A Sunday Star Times article said a whistleblower from the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) had come forward with a series of allegations about the marae and claims that private information collected during the Census was used for political campaigning. 

Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp was the CEO of the marae until she stood down after narrowly beating Henare, the incumbent Labour MP, by only 42 votes in the 2023 general election's Tāmaki Makaurau race. 

Kemp was also a director of the Whanau Ora Commissioning Agency (Te Pou Matakana Limited) until she resigned from the board on December 31, 2023. 

The Waipareira Trust is a minority shareholder in the Whanau Ora Commissioning Agency (WOCA), and Te Pati Māori president, John Tamihere, is CEO of the trust and WOCA. 

Kemp was number 6 on the Te Pati Māori candidate list for last year's election. The chair of WOCA, Merepeka Raukawa-Tait was number 8 and fellow director, Lady Tureiti Moxon was 21 on the list. Tamihere was 28.