Jack Tame: We need a broad, transparent inquiry into allegations against Te Pāti Māori

A fascinating interview on the Mike Hosking breakfast this morning, with the lawyer acting on behalf of former workers at Auckland's Manurewa marae, where it is alleged that private information was improperly accessed to help with election campaigning.   Now these are really, really serious allegations and it is just so important to note that Te Pāti Māori and John Tamihere have denied all allegations of wrongdoing so far. At the moment we have Stats New Zealand investigating, the police are investigating as well. Health New Zealand is involved and now the privacy commissioner is considering what, if any steps to take.   But I for one think it's probably reached a point with this issue where a broader inquiry can be justified. Not only to restore public confidence in the census and in election processes, but also for Te Pāti Māori and for John Tamihere to have the opportunity to be publicly cleared of wrongdoing.   You see, there are several issues with this. We have, for starters, several interrelated allegations - which are in themselves a little confusing and a little murky. We have a government department that is investigating, while a legal representative for some of the workers at the centre of these allegations says that another government department, the MSD, has acted improperly. And I think that having won the Government Department essentially investigating another department's role risks perceptions when it comes around a lack of independence, at least in the eyes of some voters.   It's interesting, Christopher Luxon says he's not ruling out a public inquiry, but at the same time he probably needs to be pretty careful to be seen not to be using (as yet unproven) allegations for political advantage. So he suggests the current processes need to be seen through. But I think we probably need something broader. I think we need something broader, something with clear terms of reference, something as transparent as possible. Because it is in the best interests of the voting public, but also the best interests of clearing those who say they've done absolutely nothing wrong.  LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.