• Te reo Māori & Tikanga Support – VS Brochures
• Te Ao Māori Sessions Planning & Implementation – EC-wide
• Development & Launch of Echo Space
• Te Ahunga mai o te Kōwhiringa Pōti Māori timeline development for Website
Completed
• MEO te reo Māori Collateral – Procurement of Translators
• MEO Brochure Recordings for Website
• IAP2 Training Plan & Facilitation Development – Align IAP2 with CE/Ngāmaihiihi/Te Tiriti for delivery to
CE
• Recruitment Support – CE Manager
• Strategic Engagement & Partnerships Planning Day
• Australia Commission Visit
• Te Pae Herenga o Tāmaki hui – Supporting CE
Ongoing
• MEO Campaign collateral – 7 Dialect te reo Māori translations
• Democracy Matters Induction Workshops
• Legal Services Translation Support
• Kaupapa Māori VPs - April:
o Māori Advisory Team Travelled alongside Peter Potaka to Christchurch and Dunedin to meet
with EC staff and external parties who may be interested in hosting a kaupapa Māori VP
o Attended LNI EM meeting in Palmerston North
o Supported EMs LNI with 17 priority communities across Marsterton, Taumarunui, Taihape, New
Plymouth, Taranaki, Whanganui, Marton, Rangitikei district
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The TOIL guidelines have progressed and a session with SLG on these will be planned in the near future.
With Withheld lea
ving the Commission on 31 March 2023, the People and Culture team are now responsible for
Health Safety and Wellbeing including running the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee meetings and
reporting to ELT and the Board. The new Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy was approved by the Board at
the March meeting and is now published on ECHO. Now that we are in a GE year, the Health, Safety and
Wellbeing Committee meetings are held monthly rather than quarterly.
Preparing for an election
There were two successful releases in April: Mike on 26 April with a focus on non-MVP MEO features and
EMS on 19 April. The EMS release is the penultimate planned release for GE and contained several features,
enhancements, and fixes, including support for ARTS. Scheduling of Security and Performance testing is
underway.
Our external provider, IMPAC, continued to deliver the first round of training for Health Safety Wellbeing
for Voting Services, and de-escalation training for Community Engagement.
With the announcement of the new living wage on 3 April (increase to $26 per hour from $23.65 per hour),
any employees were on the previous living wage have now had an increase to $26/hour effective 3 April.
The teams across Enterprise Services have continued the review of relevant chapters of the Operations and
Enterprise Services Manuals.
Preparing for the future
The board approved draft Procurement Policy and associated draft Procurement Procedures have gone out
for wider consultation with feedback due by 5 May.
System changes that have been updated include the FMIS with the new financial delegations as per the
recently revised Delegations Policy and an update to EMS to optimise the EMS/BC integration.
Automation tests have been built and put in place for key areas of EMS this will improve quality and
resilience of system releases.
Building relationships and understanding
Training and support for EMs on bank reconciliations and cashbook management has been undertaken this
month.
The People and Culture team had meetings with the Senior Māori Advisors to promote the collaboration
and integration of work across our business units as appropriate.
Other progress
KMPG will be start their annual audit with an interim visit in June and will return in September to complete
the FY23 audit. The final signoff for the audit required this year is 31 October 2023 (previous years have
received an extension due to Covid).
Issues under management
Illness in the Administration team has meant there has been pressures to deliver the work by this team
including reception and catering across the Commission. We are working through this with support from
other teams and casual staff are currently being recruited to cover this in the future.
Page 2 of 4
Withheld under s.9(2)(ba)(ii)
Page 4 of 4
• Making contact with social media platforms to discuss electoral integrity measures and
escalations.
• Working with the digital safety team at DIA on election content.
• Providing peer review for the Office of the Clerk on the electoral chapter of the next edition of
Parliamentary Practice in New Zealand.
• Contributed information on electoral finance to an OECD survey on public integrity indicators.
• Continued working with parties to help them understand new financial statement
requirements, and began publishing this information on the party register to inform the public.
• Presenting to the AEC delegation on the electoral system and election finance rules.
• Finalising the interagency graphic on roles of EC, ASA, BSA and Media Council.
Other progress
The team is handling an increased number of enquiries and complaints as the election approaches.
Advisory opinions
We received 47 advisory requests in April. All were responded to within the 5 working day
timeframe. Requests from MPs are increasing as we approach the start of the regulated period.
Official Information Act requests responded to in April
We responded to two OIA requests in April. Both were within the 20 working day timeframe.
Requestor Topic
Response
Time
Withheld under s.9(2)(a
the following numbers of how many voters fit the following
16WD
descriptions. General North Island voter population
• Total voter population
• General voter population
• General North Island voter population
• General South Island voter population
• Māori voter population
• Māori North Island voter population
• Māori South Island voter population
Could I also have the same numbers for 1993 and 1996.
Withheld under s.9(2
what the definition of the term “person” is in the Electoral Act 1993
8WD
Parliamentary questions responded to in April
We responded to 10 parliamentary questions in April.
Page 2 of 4
Requestor
Question
Date of
Response
Hon Paul
What is the planned budget, if anything, for materials and
06/04/2023
Goldsmith
campaigns to promote the ability of people to switch between the
general and Māori electoral roles?
Clarification
11/04/2023
Simeon Brown
What funding, if any, has been distributed by any of the
12/04/2023
departments or entities that the Minister is responsible for to Tātou
NZ, listed by date, amount, purpose, and who specifically, signed off
on the funding?
Simeon Brown
What funding, if any, has been distributed by any of the
12/04/2023
departments or entities that the Minister is responsible for to
Dialogue22, listed by date, amount, purpose, and who specifically,
signed off on the funding?
Melissa Lee
What Memorandums of Understanding, if any, have your
13/04/2023
responsible Departments or Crown Entities signed with Cloud
Services Providers; if any, Who have these been signed with, when
were they signed and for what reason?
Simeon Brown
What funding, if any, has been distributed by any of the
20/04/2023
departments or entities that the Minister is responsible for to
Stanley St Ltd, listed by date, amount, purpose, and who specifically,
signed off on the funding?
Simeon Brown
How much, if any, has been spent on Meta Ads (Facebook and
20/04/2023
Instagram) by all departments/entities that the Minister is
responsible for in the period 01 January 2022 to 17 April 2023, listed
by month and amount?
Simeon Brown
How much, if any, has been spent on Google Ads by all
20/04/2023
departments/entities that the Minister is responsible for in the
period 01 January 2022 to 17 April 2023?
Stuart Smith
Will the Minister's reporting departments or entities, if they have
21/04/2023
any, become carbon neutral by 2025; and does their reporting
departments or entities measure, verify and report their emissions
annually, if so, when did they start doing that?
Stuart Smith
Has the Minister's reporting departments or entities, if they have
21/04/2023
any, set any gross emissions reduction targets in-line with a 1.5
degree pathway; if so when did this occur; and what are the specific
gross emissions reduction targets for each of the Minister's
reporting departments or entities?
Stuart Smith
How many battery-electric or hybrid vehicles has the Minister's
21/04/2023
reporting departments, agencies, or entities purchased over the last
24 months, if any; and how many petrol or diesel vehicles has the
Minister's reporting departments, agencies, or entities purchased
over the last 24 months, if any; and if petrol or diesel vehicles were
purchased, what was the specific reason for purchasing the petrol or
diesel vehicles over the battery-electric or hybrid ones?
Page 3 of 4
Issues under management
•
Nothing to report
Other news
•
Nothing to report
Page 4 of 4
Development of collateral to support Voting Services and Community Engagement in the delivery of the
2023 General Election is well underway. We have supported the delivery of emails to schools and councils
regarding venue use, and alumni regarding working for us this year. The team continue to provide advice
and guidance across the Commission for sharing information in an election year.
The team are continuing to spotlight the values and Commission purpose in alignment with the SLG and All
Staff Wānanga and providing opportunities for teams to connect and share information.
The team continues to work to share information across the Commission, including the visit from the
Australian Electoral Commission. The team has been spending time with Community Engagement teams
and a range of cross-collaborative activities, sharing how we can provide guidance and support.
Preparing for an election
Māori Electoral Option
The Māori Electoral Option campaign started on 31 March, the commencement date of the MEO
legislation. The first phase of the campaign, to raise awareness of the Option and to let Māori know that
they should get an information pack in the mail, ran until 15 April. The second phase to let Māori know
what to do if they didn’t get a pack ran from 16 to 29 April. The campaign is now in its third phase to raise
general awareness that you have until 13 July to change rolls if you want to.
Information about the Option and digital and printed resources were sent to Stakeholders in April.
Resources are available on the website for stakeholders to download or order printed copies. The
communications team is working with the Māori Advisory team to produce the resources in regional
dialects.
A benchmark survey was completed in March to measure awareness and understanding of the Option
before the start of the campaign and will be repeated at the end of the campaign period. A report on the
survey results is due in early April.
As at 1 May, 6,220 Māori electors have changed rolls; 3,362 moving from the General roll to the Māori roll,
and 2,907 from the Māori roll to the General roll. 192 Māori electors have enrolled onto the General roll
for the first time, and 313 onto the Māori roll. Approx. 33% of roll changes have been made online and 67%
via paper forms.
The MEO campaign has also been beneficial for the health of our rolls, with 6512 Māori electors updating
their details, without changing roll type.
Delivery of the MEO mailout packs to 512,000 Māori electors was completed by NZ Post over the period 1-6
April.
The community engagement campaign is underway, delivered by temporary staff, contracted community
organisations, and the Commission’s permanent CE teams across the regional hubs. Recruitment is still an
issue, particularly in the Wellington and Northland regions. A small number of temporary staff have left
since completing training and we currently have 11 vacancies.
Contracted organisations are not confirmed for South Island regions and this remains an issue.
Eleven temporary enrolment processing staff supplied by PersolKelly have successfully completed training
and are working alongside our permanent processing and operations staff in Ellerslie and Lower Hutt.
Planning is underway for an SMS campaign to dormant electors, scheduled for 12 May.
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The Commission’s 0800 information services provider, Telnet, continues to respond to public requests on
our behalf. There are 3 dedicated Te Reo speakers assisting with MEO. As at 30 April, there were 532 email
interactions and 1136 phone calls received for the campaign. The top 3 requests were changing details,
sending packs and new enrolment enquiries.
Further systems development work is being completed on non-MVP scope items, and additional
requirements that were identified during testing. These relate to the exception period (electors on the
provisional roll and enrol online confirmation email wording) and updates to the SMS extract for dormant
electors. Some changes were implemented as part of the regular scheduled MIKE release in late April, and
the remainder are expected to be implemented in May.
We have instigated a specific process to support Māori customers who call and have been impacted by the
Cyclone, providing them the opportunity to receive information about the Māori Electoral Option and how
they can take part. This will be supported by an outbound call campaign for specific customers whose
addresses have been red stickered.
Enrolment is working with Legal & Policy to develop the SVD Audit process for GE2023 (this is a required
pre-GE activity).
Preparing for the future
The current contract with Telnet expires in June 2024 and the Manager Business Enablement has been
working with Procurement to develop the full procurement plan for the 0800 Information Services, to
refresh the contract arrangement for the next nine years. The Board has approved the procurement plan
on 12 April. Given the market complexity and the contract significance, it is planned to hold a ROI
(Registration of Interest) process from 15 May to 30 June 2023, followed by the RFP (Request for Proposal)
process from 2 October 2023 to 15 February 2024. An external evaluator will be sought to assist with the
panel evaluation.
Manager Business Enablement has held the contract performance review meeting with Telnet and Print
Advisors in April. It is planned to continue the performance review meeting with Bluestar, Candida and City
Print in May.
Enrolment is currently reviewing and testing new roll cleanse formats with a view to improving the efficacy
of the roll cleanse integrity process.
Always On advertising
A media schedule to continue always on activity for the second quarter was approved and is now live. The
level of activity has had to reduce for this quarter to work within the remaining budget for the financial
year.
Building relationships and understanding
Media section
Māori media in particular are taking interest in the changes to the Māori Electoral Option which came into
effect on 31 March, and the number of people changing rolls since then. There have been regular stories
and interviews on the Option on iwi radio including Radio Waatea and Awa FM, Te Karere, Māori
Television, and the Kahu section of the New Zealand Herald.
Page 3 of 5
There has been a lot of attention from journalists on the donation pages of the elections.nz website. The
main media outlets carried stories on the Hamilton West by-election candidate returns detailing how much
they received in donations and spent on election advertising. Media have also reported an increase in
larger donations to political parties as parties fund for their election campaigns.
Election news coverage over the past month has been focussed on candidate selections, how parties are
polling, early campaigning and election signage going up, policy announcements by parties – and
speculation on what policies parties might take into the election.
Strategic Engagement & Partnerships
Director SEP has held hui with Whaikaha, Ministry for Youth Development and Ministry for Ethnic
Communities during April. All parties have expressed interest in longer term partnership, and we discussed
opportunities including using networks to share information; establishing advisory panels to support
collateral refinement; support for accessibility including language and accessible voting places; support for
recruitment; cultural competence training; and collaboration on events on other activations to share
information directly with priority communities.
Internally, Enrolment and Business Enablement are providing support for the EC Health and Safety working
group, the Incident Response team, and the Process and Quality assurance working group.
Election Access Fund communications Advertising for the Election Access Fund is live including on social media. Engagement with the posts is
being monitored by the team. People who feature in our advertising for the Fund all have lived experience
of disability. Media placement includes radio, digital, and community newspapers throughout the country.
The next wave of stakeholder resources are being compiled to be sent out by both email a physical pack.
Election integrity
A communications plan for electoral integrity outlining our communications activity to maintain trust and
confidence in the electoral process will be discussed with the Board at its next meeting. This work is aligned
with activity led by the Deputy Chief Electoral Officer on integrity, security and trust and confidence in the
election. The communications team has met with external agencies including Te Tari Taiwhenua
Department of Internal Affairs and Te Tari O Te Pirimia Me Te Komiti Matua Department of Prime Minister
and Cabinet on issues around election integrity, messaging and ways we will work together on
misinformation around the election.
A voting place was set up at a community hall in Wellington to create a series of education videos to
demystify the voting experience for first time voters. The video covers what to expect when you get to a
voting place and how to vote. This was filmed with an external crew and managed by members of the
communications and voting services teams. People from across the Commission appear in the video. A
collection of still photos were also taken for external and internal use. The videos will be edited and
published on the Commission’s website and social pages in June.
Websites During April we published donation and candidate returns for the Hamilton West by-election, and archived
by-election content from vote.nz to elections.nz. Updates were also made to the party register on
elections.nz to reflect the new financial reporting requirements for registered parties.
Social media
The social media terms of use have been updated and are being reviewed by legal and policy. These let
people know what to expect when engaging with us on our social channels. Once final, these will be
published to the privacy and security section at vote.nz.
Page 4 of 5
Onboarding for the new social media management platform, Sprout Social, has been completed and the
team is now using the tool for managing all our social media accounts. An important feature of the tool is
enhanced reporting functionality that we will use for reporting statistics about our social media activity and
engagement.
Social media posts about the Māori Electoral Option continue to attract both positive and negative
comments, which are being moderated and responded to where appropriate.
New paid activity for the Election Access Fund started in March and is attracting engagement.
Posts about recruitment were published across all our social media platforms. These did not perform as
well as we would have liked, and we plan to do more in the lead up to applications opening.
Our Facebook reach was up 195% over April, and our Instagram reach was up 205%. (Reach is the number
of accounts that saw any content from our Page, or about our Page, including posts, stories, ads, social
information, and more. Reach is different from impressions, which may include multiple views of our posts
by the same accounts. This metric is estimated.)
In April, we had 69 new Facebook page likes, and 75 new Instagram followers. Overall, we currently have
46,629 Facebook followers, 2,749 Instagram followers and 1,988 Twitter followers.
Other progress
Issues under management
n/a
Other news
Nadia Sal started as our Manager Delivery & Support in Voting Services, fixed term contract until June 2024.
Finalising recruitment on the Manager Community Engagement (Central) with preferred candidate
expected to be in role by mid-May.
The Request to Appoint form has been approved for a preferred candidate of the six-month fixed-term
Senior Advisor Learning and Development role, commencing in May.
There have been some positive COVID cases in the Auckland office. Standard COVID prevention protocols
are in place.
The “large print” version of the ROE1 Enrolment application form, for the blind and low vision community,
has been printed and is being distributed through stakeholders and partners in that community.
The Enrolment Support team is currently providing data, nomination check and SVD check services for eight
local body by-elections across the country. In addition, in April the team has responded to a further 10
requests for data pursuant to sections 112, 113 and 114 of the Electoral Act.
Page 5 of 5
• The MEO dashboard has seen widespread use throughout the Commission and feedback is
positive.
Issues under management
• n/a
Other news
• DCE Leigh Deuchars’ EA Charmaine James has joined the team as a permanent Commission
employee, having started in the role in a temporary capacity.
Page 2 of 2
