Summarised by Centrist
Employment advocate Allan Halse, representing whistleblowers in the Stats NZ data scandal, claims the controversy is far bigger than what has been publicly revealed.
He alleges a systemic cover-up, retaliation against whistleblowers, and government agencies using taxpayer money to silence dissent.
Halse represents six former Māori health workers and one MSD employee who claim they were bullied and retaliated against for exposing concerns about how census and vaccination data was handled at Manurewa Marae.
The MSD whistleblower allegedly reported the issue to management daily, but the agency ignored it and later retaliated against her.
Halse says his organisation has 15 additional whistleblower cases across eight government agencies, all involving serious failures in handling data and accountability. He revealed that government departments routinely spend up to $900,000 in legal fees to fight whistleblowers rather than address corruption. The goal, he says, is to deny, delay, and discredit.
The Serious Fraud Office, police, and Privacy Commissioner are now investigating the potential misuse of personal data in the 2023 Tāmaki Makaurau election, where Takutai Kemp (Te Pāti Māori) won by a handful of votes.
A government inquiry has already found it was “more likely than not” that census forms were photocopied at Manurewa Marae—where Kemp was CEO.
Halse warns that what has been exposed so far is “just the tip of the iceberg.”
