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Delayed Release Of Manurewa Marae Inquiry Report Criticised
The chairpeople of Te Whānau o Waipareira and the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency have criticised the delayed release of a report into whether personal data collected at Manurewa Marae was misused for election purposes.
The findings were due to be released last week but were delayed - with the Public Service Commission saying the findings required more time following feedback from some agencies.
In a joint statement Raymond Hall the chairperson of Te Whānau o Waipareira and the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency chairperson Merepeka Raukawa-Tait said an embargoed copy of the report, led by Michael Heron KC and Pania Gray, had been in their hands since 31 January 2025.
"We have been comfortable with the release of the embargoed copy and cannot understand why the procrastination has taken place. We are concerned that regulators under this regime are being weaponised politically," the statement read.
The statement said they expected a professional release of the embargoed copies.
"When the Inquiry was announced by the prime minister there was a report back date for September 2024. This was then pushed out to November and then, again, December.
"It was then to be announced and released in January 2025, again we were told it would be released 4th February and now the 18th February 2025. The embargoed copy has been in our hands for over two weeks, and we want to know why it has taken the Public Service and Prime Minister's Office this long to align their stories."
In Monday's post-Cabinet briefing Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the Public Service Commissioner would release the report when he was ready.
"It's important that we take time and do the analysis properly and importantly if there's any findings coming through that we actually make sure that we've got an action plan that is implemented."
In a statement the Public Service Commission reiterated its previous comments that the inquiry has been "complex, involving six agencies, third-party service providers and findings that will impact all of the public service".
"More important than the timing is that we get the response right. The commission's response to the findings will be released when it's ready."
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