1 00:00:01,880 --> 00:00:05,039 Speaker 1: The only drive show you can trust to ask the questions, 2 00:00:05,160 --> 00:00:09,200 Speaker 1: get the answers by the facts and give the analysis together. 3 00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:13,280 Speaker 1: Due to Clan Drive with One New Zealand Let's get connected, 4 00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:14,120 Speaker 1: a news talk. 5 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 2: Said, be. 6 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:20,239 Speaker 1: Good afternoon. There are now a number of complaints over 7 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:23,680 Speaker 1: allegations that the Mari Party misused private information to help 8 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:26,439 Speaker 1: their election campaign. The party is accused of taking both 9 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:29,800 Speaker 1: census data and COVID JABB data and then using it 10 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:32,360 Speaker 1: to target voters when they shouldn't have done it. Party 11 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:35,559 Speaker 1: denies any wrongdoing. STATS is investigating the Office of the 12 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:38,800 Speaker 1: Privacy Commissioner has been informed. Police have been given a complaint, 13 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 1: but they can't tell us what's come of it. Labor 14 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:44,000 Speaker 1: leader Chris Hopkins wants other departments to get involved. I 15 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:46,159 Speaker 1: think we now need to add Health ENDZ into the 16 00:00:46,159 --> 00:00:48,400 Speaker 1: list as well, so to make sure that vaccine data, 17 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:51,519 Speaker 1: you know, people's personal health information hasn't been in appropriately used. 18 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:54,520 Speaker 1: And then the final entity is ultimately the police. Political 19 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:57,320 Speaker 1: analyst Bryce Edwards is the director at the Democracy Project 20 00:00:57,320 --> 00:00:59,680 Speaker 1: at Victoria University of Wellington and with us now, hey 21 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:03,600 Speaker 1: brightce Y Hiver, we really need one big investigation here, 22 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:03,960 Speaker 1: don't we? 23 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:08,200 Speaker 2: Oh? Absolutely you can't just have all these little government 24 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:13,640 Speaker 2: agencies reviewing themselves in a disjoined up way. Absolutely need 25 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:17,479 Speaker 2: some sort of more holistic, you know, overview of things, 26 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:23,240 Speaker 2: maybe something like a King's Council investigation, an inquiry or 27 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:25,920 Speaker 2: as you need someone like the Waders General's Office or 28 00:01:25,959 --> 00:01:29,720 Speaker 2: the Serious Fraud Office coming in right who calls that? Well, 29 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:32,640 Speaker 2: who's the orders? The General's Office and Serious Fraud Office 30 00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:36,040 Speaker 2: are independent and they make their own decisions, so it 31 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:38,520 Speaker 2: would have to be them that make that decision. But 32 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:45,320 Speaker 2: the government could initiate a King's Council inquiry and of 33 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:48,320 Speaker 2: course that would have a lot of weight and we'll 34 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:52,440 Speaker 2: be able to essentially bring all the government departments to 35 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:53,320 Speaker 2: be involved in that. 36 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:56,600 Speaker 1: Right, So these allegations are serious. If they are approved, 37 00:01:56,880 --> 00:01:59,440 Speaker 1: does the Maori Party MP get kicked out of Parliament 38 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: or what happened? 39 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:02,720 Speaker 2: Well, that's a really good question and I have got 40 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 2: to the bottom of that meat. We're talking about an 41 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:09,040 Speaker 2: electric race last year, a Tallithy McCarroll that was only 42 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:13,280 Speaker 2: one by forty two votes, and the allegations you know 43 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:16,600 Speaker 2: we're seeing here is that a lot of those votes 44 00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:22,160 Speaker 2: will possibly won by a legitimates means so sediment to party, 45 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:25,160 Speaker 2: Murray has a big case to answer here, and as 46 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:28,840 Speaker 2: it proved that they have used to legal or corrupt means, 47 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:32,639 Speaker 2: then I think penare Hare, who had hold assent and 48 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:35,560 Speaker 2: lost by forty teen votes, would have a good argument 49 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:39,520 Speaker 2: to have that quashed. And of course, you know that's 50 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:41,760 Speaker 2: a big deal. It doesn't really happen in US in politics. 51 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:45,080 Speaker 1: I'm really surprised that they had had these allegations and 52 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:47,560 Speaker 1: they just basically did nothing about that. Does that surprise 53 00:02:47,639 --> 00:02:50,040 Speaker 1: you not entirely. 54 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:52,760 Speaker 2: I mean, elector Ussion is actually a very small agency 55 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:57,480 Speaker 2: and it's not really resourced empowered to look at these 56 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:00,440 Speaker 2: things properly. They don't really have the direct good to 57 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:02,680 Speaker 2: do this, So I mean it does seem like they 58 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:05,720 Speaker 2: should have informed all these government agencies, but they didn't. 59 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:10,080 Speaker 2: New Zealand lacks any sort of anti corruption agency that 60 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:14,359 Speaker 2: you know in other countries is the kind of central 61 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 2: agency for dealing for all these things. The police don't 62 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:20,000 Speaker 2: really want to be the agency that doves us either, 63 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:22,639 Speaker 2: So we're in New Zealand we're just kind of a 64 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:25,079 Speaker 2: little bit complacent. We don't think we don't have corruption here, 65 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:28,320 Speaker 2: we don't have breaking rules, so we don't need that agency, 66 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:30,480 Speaker 2: but maybe something that we do. Rice. 67 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:32,520 Speaker 1: Thanks very much, I really appreciate your time. That's Bryce Edwards, 68 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:36,040 Speaker 1: political analyst, director of the Democracy Project at Victoria University 69 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:39,560 Speaker 1: of Wellington. For more from Hither du Plassy Allen Drive, 70 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:43,080 Speaker 1: listen live to news talks it'd be from four pm weekdays, 71 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:45,440 Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.