Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
So more allegations against the Maori Party over the misuse
of private information to influence their election campaign. As it stands,
the accusation as they misused both census and COVID vaccine
data to target voters. The party denied all stats and
z's investigating the officer of the Privacy Commissioners involved. They
passed a complaint onto police. The labor parties talked to
the police. Ellen Hults is an employment advocate representing six
(00:21):
former Maria staff and one MSD worker who laid these complaints,
and he's with us Hellen morning to.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
You, Good morning, right.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
So your role in this is what just for clarifications sake,
you're representing these people.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
I'm representing them and helping them potentially declare their names
because at the times these events were taking place last year,
they were raising their concerns with their employers, and the
employers being the MARII and also with mist now in
(00:56):
the and what happened to them. A number of the
six Marie workers were falsely accused by the chief executive
of things that hadn't been done, and basically those people
left and a number of their team left with them
because they were implicated in these false allegations. And the
(01:18):
MASD worker who was a cocation officer based at the Marai,
she was taken off the site BYMSD because of a
complaint from the chief executive. So the people that were
raising concerns were targeted and suffered retaliation. So my role
(01:39):
is to try and help them firstly clear the names
and then secondly address the unjustified disadvantagement experienced.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
All right, just also for clarifications sake, the allegations from
the Mariah towards your clients, if you want to call
them that, are they suggesting that the so called wrongs
that we're talking about, the information, the distribution, the collection
of information, are they accusing them of that or something.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Different something similar. They basically have accused our clients of
what they were actually doing themselves. So it was to
spare their name to discredit them. And the same things
happening currently with the head of wapper Era Trust and
(02:27):
the Murray Party basically saying these allegations are baseless when
they're not, and I've seen them and we work kind
of evidence, so everything is evidence based and there is
sufficient evidence. Well, my role now is to help structure
an investigation that is going to look at all the
(02:50):
issues involved. And believe me, Mike, this case has more
tentacle ciner octopus.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
I'm into it. I already got to that part. So
we've got two things. We got the centers, got the
COVID information. How much of it's a legality issue as
opposed to a if you want to use the word
misappropriation issue, in other words, you shouldn't have done it,
but you're not going to end up in jail for it.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Okay, So you're right, there's two aspects. So there's a
the criminal and police. We'll look at the criminal, which
is and some of it will look at as breaches
of the Public Records Act two thousand and five in
the Privacy Act twenty twenty. And then is also the treating,
which is a breach of two hundred and seventy of
(03:33):
the electoral at ninety ninety three. So police we'll be
looking at that. But the other investigation needs to look
into the unethical conduct was took place. And I see
the villains here as the public service. So NSD I
(03:53):
can tell you that our whistleblower that work and so
work through MISD. She's used to protective disclosure Act. She
declared her concerns. At every single stage. She would pune
up her manager and say this is happening at Demari,
this is happening at DEBRAI. She did that continuously until
(04:14):
a complaint went from the Marai tomsc and she was
removed from the site with no explanation, no investigation, and
has basically been vilified. And because she can't trust them,
he hasn't returned to work. Our client and I have
tried to meet with the chief executive of MSD. They
(04:37):
won't meet. The other six clients that I have tried
to meet with the Marai they won't meet. So it's
not a So there are people that are hiding. They
are willing to basically stand up for what they've done,
But my real fear is victimization, and my role now
is to protect them.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Hand on heart. You have I seen evidence that, without
a shadow of a doubt, is in breach of something,
whether it be the law or the rules.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Absolutely hand on art I can say that, and I
speak as somebody that has twice been a district census
supervisor and five times the returning office of the General Elections.
So I understand how they meant to be done and
they I did this back in the nineteen eighties and
(05:29):
nineteen nineties, but the basic principle remains the same now
morel concerns like MASD, they funded activities. They basically funded
the election campaign run by the former chief Executive of
the Marai so Marii's staff and it was over fifty
(05:50):
of them basically campaigned for the chief executive the entire
time she ran for elections. So once she decided, they
were working on her campaign case. So MISB funded that
and a lot of the money intended for people that
are on benefits never got there because it was being
(06:11):
used in this way. So that's the first thing. So
ICUMSD is needing to be investigated then comes that's New
Zealand and they were advised early on of issues here
and despite what they say, didn't investigate. And the same
with the Electoral Commission. The first day voting took place
(06:33):
at Manuru and Mariah your complaints that went to the
Electoral Commission. Now what we're not happy with is these
investigations taking place in Solos, so there needs to be
a police investigation. So really happy with how that's working
out and by client and I are hoping to meet
(06:56):
and drop off more evidence today and then that's an
opened And the other thing that needs to happen that
there has to be an investigation into the role of
the public service, So that includes MSD, that's New Zealand
and the Electoral Commissioner, and that it's our belief that
(07:18):
investigation needs to be conducted by somebody that doesn't owe
any allegiance to the public service. And already STATS New
Zealand have done what public services do an ideal with
cases of public service. So I'd probably have twenty cases
right now for in cases. But the first thing they
(07:41):
do is a point a payme investigator and they've set
terms of reference and a scope that doesn't allow the
majority of the evidence to be heard. So if the
STATS New Zealand haven't contacted me or anymore times, I
could tell them the scope, I could tell them the
(08:04):
extent of what's going on. So at some point they're
going to come out with something that will maybe look
at a quarter of what happened. So that's my role
is how can we set up a process because they're
all allegations and they need to be investigated, and nobody's
(08:26):
skilled to be of anything and toll. The investigation has concluded.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Well explained Ellen, Listen, We'll stay in touch. I appreciated
very much, Ellen Holts. I think we've got a good
background as to what we're dealing with there and an
element of how much complexity there is. There's got a
long way to go, clearly. For more from the Mic
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