Te Pāti Māori Co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer is calling on the Government to listen to the large outcry of concern from
tangata whenua, data and statistics experts, and civil liberties advocates about the Data & Statistics Bill, and immediately halt its passage in the House.
“The Government needs to slow down and not progress this Bill any further until it has the active consent and support of
tangata whenua and the concerns of experts are addressed. The Bill as currently worded must not be allowed to proceed,”
said Ngarewa-Packer.
“Under the Bill, the government can obtain any data from anyone, and the distinctions between using it for producing
official statistics and for unspecified ‘research’ are deliberately blurred. Previous statutory protections on not
obtaining data from various sources are removed.
“It will place a dangerous amount of power in the hands of a single government official who will decide what data is
collected and who data is shared with, with no ethical or governance oversight. The powers of this official can be
delegated not just to any other public servant, but even to contractors working for government departments. The NZSIS
will be able to use these powers to gather data without a legal warrant.
“The Bill completely disregards the work of the Data Iwi Leaders Group who signed a Mana Ōrite Agreement were in a
process of co-design with the Crown. It ignores our right to data sovereignty.
“This is a slap in the face for tangata whenua and yet again another example of the Crown refusing to work in good faith
with its Te Tiriti partners. It represents a breach of the Treaty and poses huge dangers to our people who know all too
well how an oppressive state can misuse and abuse data and statistics.
“I have put forward an amendment on behalf of Te Pāti Māori that would require that the Act be reviewed within 3 years,
and that the Data Iwi Leaders Group be consulted on the terms of reference of this or any other review of the
legislation.
“This Bill should not proceed. However if the Government digs its heels in and refuses to budge, they must support my
SOP to ensure that at the very least, the law is reviewed after three years,” said Ngarewa-Packer.