12 October 2023
File Ref: OIA 47803
Katherine Raue
[FYI request #24142 email]
Tēnā koe Katherine
Official Information Act request
Thank you for your information request dated 14 September 2023. You asked for the
following information:
“[…] all information held by the Ministry regarding numerous complaints to the Maori
Council regarding the triennial elections in 2018 and 2021, all information regarding the
subsequent inquiry into the complaints about the last two Maori Council elections, and all
funding granted by the Ministry to the Maori Council since 2018.
[…] all information the Ministry holds regarding allegations of fraud and misrepresentation
regarding Matthew Tukaki, and complaints made in regard to Matthew Tukaki transferring a
contract with the Ministry of Social Development from the Maori Council to the National
Maori Authority, as reported at this link - https://www.newsroom.co.nz/authority-of-
government-contract-questioned
[…] all information the Ministry holds regarding the matters reported on at this link and the
complaints regarding Tukaki's unauthorised use of Maori Council funds and access to bank
accounts. https://www.newsroom.co.nz/mori-council-seeks-police-inquiry-into-bank-funds
Your request has been considered in accordance with the Of icial Information Act 1982 (the
Act).
We have answered your request in five parts:
Part 1 - […]
all information held by the Ministry regarding numerous complaints to the
Maori Council regarding the triennial elections in 2018 and 2021
We have interpreted this part of your request to mean complaints made to the New Zealand
Māori Council (NZMC) regarding the triennial elections in 2018 and 2021 that are held by Te
Puni Kōkiri. Two documents have been identified in scope of your request. The documents
and my decisions with regard to the release of the information are set out in the table attached
as Appendix A.
Some information has been withheld in accordance with the Act on the following grounds:
• section 9(2)(a)
– in order to protect the privacy of natural persons.
A small number of redactions have been marked as “out of scope”. These “out of scope”
redactions relate to information that is not in scope of the above part of your request.
In making the decision to withhold information, I have considered the public interest
considerations in section 9(1) of the Act.
Part 2 - all information regarding the subsequent inquiry into the complaints about the last
two Maori Council elections
We have interpreted this part of your request to refer to any subsequent inquiry conducted
by Te Puni Kōkiri regarding the last two elections of the NZMC. Te Puni Kōkiri did not
undertake an inquiry into complaints about the last two NZMC elections, as such this part of
your request is refused under section 18(e) of the Act as the information requested does not
exist.
Part 3 - all funding granted by the Ministry to the Maori Council since 2018
The following table breaks down the total funding Te Puni Kōkiri granted to the NZMC since
the 2017/18 financial year:
Year
$ (excl GST)
2017/18
$278,435
2018/19
$196,000
2019/20
$303,000
2020/21
$316,000
2021/22
$645,760
2022/23
$396,000
The table below outlines the amount paid to the NZMC relating to travel re-imbursements.
Year
$ (excl GST)
2018/19
$7,637
2019/20
$1,553
Part 4 – […] all information the Ministry holds regarding allegations of fraud and
misrepresentation regarding Matthew Tukaki, and complaints made in regard to Matthew
Tukaki transferring a contract with the Ministry of Social Development from the Maori
Council to the National Maori Authority, as reported at this link -
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/authority-of-government-contract-questioned
On 5 October 2023 we notified you that this part of your request was transferred to the
Ministry of Social Development as the information to which this part of your request relates
is not held by us but is believed to be held by the Ministry of Social Development. In these
circumstances, we are required by section 14 of the Act to transfer your request.
You wil hear further from the Ministry of Social Development concerning part 4 of your
request.
Part 5 – […] all information the Ministry holds regarding the matters reported on at this link
and the complaints regarding Tukaki's unauthorised use of Maori Council funds and access
to bank accounts. https://www.newsroom.co.nz/mori-council-seeks-police-inquiry-into-bank-
funds
Te Puni Kōkiri does not hold information regarding the matters reported on in this link,
specifically, complaints regarding Mr Tukaki’s unauthorised use of NZMC funds and access
to bank accounts. As such this part of your request is refused under section 18(e) of the Act
as the information requested does not exist.
I trust my response satisfies your request.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this response.
Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz
or freephone 0800 802 602.
Please note that Te Puni Kōkiri publishes some of its OIA responses on its website, after the
response is sent to the requester. The responses published are those that are considered to
have a high level of public interest. We wil not publish your name, address or contact details.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request with us, including this decision, please feel
free to contact us at
[TPK request email].
Ngā mihi
Grace Smit
Hautū, Te Puni Whakahaere Tikanga | Deputy Secretary, Strategy, Finance and Performance
Appendix A – documents in scope of Part 1 -
[…] all information held by the Ministry regarding numerous complaints to the Maori
Council regarding the triennial elections in 2018 and 2021
Item Date
Document description
Decision
Correspondence between Archdeacon
Emeritus Harvey Ruru QSM, Roimata
1.
31/05/2021 Minhinnick, Executive Member Chair Tamaki Ki Released with certain information withheld under section
Te Tonga and George Ngatai QSM, Founder
9(2)(a)
and Director of The Whanau Ora Community
Clinic.
Email from Archdeacon Emeritus Harvey Ruru
QSM to various Labour ministers.
2.
25/07/2021
Released with certain information withheld under section
Note: The attachments to this email are out of
9(2)(a)
scope of part 1 of your request.
