The use of Manurewa Marae as a voting place at the last election had been questioned, following allegations that Census and Covid-19 vaccination data collected at the Marae was used to target Māori voters in the Tāmaki Makaurau electorate. Photo: RNZ/Marika Khabazi
The new chair of the Electoral Commission (EC) said he has full confidence in the preparation for the next election, and guidance for selecting polling booth locations is being reviewed.
The Justice Minister is seeking advice on whether the Commission should be investigated, following a scathing inquiry by the Public Services Commission into the handling of personal information by state agencies.
The inquiry was started last June, following allegations that Census and Covid-19 vaccination data collected at the Manurewa Marae was used to target Māori voters in the Tāmaki Makaurau electorate.
Whether the data collected was misused for electoral purposes was outside the scope of the inquiry, but has been referred to other authorities for investigation.
Paul Goldsmith has expressed confidence in the new Electoral Commission chair, Justice Simon Moore KC, who started the role in November last year.
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
But Goldsmith made clear his expectation the Electoral Commission won't use the marae as a polling booth again, and that there's a better performance across the board next election.
Justice Moore said he's a "few months into the role," and he's impressed by the "dedication of the people at the Commission" led by Chief Electoral Officer Karl Le Quesne.
He said the use of Manurewa Marae as a voting place at the last election had been questioned, and the Commission acknowledged at the Annual Review in December it had got that wrong.
"In response, we are reviewing guidance for the selection of voting places to ensure they meet community needs and are also politically neutral. The Board expects to sign off on these guidelines soon."
Justice Moore said work is continuing to address the recommendations in the Auditor-General's report on the 2023 General Election, and to be "well prepared for the next election."
"It's critical that people can have trust and confidence in our elections, and I'm committed to ensuring that happens."
Another aspect of that work, he said, was the "readiness of our systems".
"I have had assurance that we can scale up to deliver an election when it is required."
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