30 August 2022
Te Tari Taiwhenua
45 Pipitea St, Thorndon
PO Box 805, Wel ington 6140, New Zealand
Phone +64 4 495 7200
Website: ww
w.dia.govt.nz
L Brown
fyi-request-20137-
[email address]
Tēnā koe L Brown,
Official Information Act (1982) request 2223-0100
Thank you for your request for information dated 5 August 2022 made under the Official
Information Act 1982 (the Act) to the Department of Internal Affairs (the Department). You
requested the fol owing:
I was interested to see the Chief Archivist, Stephen Clarke's, recent LinkedIn post about
Māori Data Sovereignty. I was interested because I didn't think the government had
come to any position on Māori Data Sovereignty, despite the fact that Māori data is
clearly subject to the rights laid out in Te Tiriti and the UN Declaration on the rights of
Indigenous Peoples, which Aotearoa has signed. Also, because Archives NZ holds
significant amounts of mātauranga concerning Māori, and so the Chief Archivist's
position on how this should be managed is important.
My interest quickly turned to disappointment when I saw the Chief Archivist of New
Zealand say that Māori do not know what they want with regard to their data.
I note that the post was edited multiple times and then removed, which doesn't seem
particularly transparent for a public official. My question is, does the DIA, and associated
Chief Executives, Ministers etc who are Mr Clarke's superiors, support this position on
Māori Data Sovereignty from the Chief Archivist of New Zealand, that Māori do not know
what they want? What is the DIA's position on this matter?
I would like to see any and all correspondence generated by department officials in
relation to Mr Clarke's post. I would also like to know whether any disciplinary action
was taken with regard to Mr Clarke in this instance?
Response to your request
Te Tari Taiwhenua, the Department of Internal Affairs, is committed to protecting Māori rights
and interests, including the inherent right for Māori to exercise control over Māori data and
Māori data ecosystems.
This is part of a much broader commitment to work in partnership with iwi and Māori to
understand and help realise aspirations as to how taonga and Mātauranga Māori is controlled,
cared for and accessed.
IN CONFIDENCE
In the documentary and recorded heritage sector, Archives New Zealand, the National Library
and Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision are working together to improve how they deliver modern
physical and digital services that embed a te Ao Māori view and help to ensure Māori can carry
out their role as kaitiaki of taonga Māori.
This has involved the development of Mātauranga Māori standards that are being embedded
into the work of the three institutions.
The Chief Archivist's stated intent at the time of the post was to stimulate discussion on a topic
of interest to New Zealanders, on which he was forming his own views. No disciplinary action
was taken in response to this post. The Chief Archivist made the choice himself to remove the
post following queries raised directly with him. This was also a useful opportunity to
recirculate the Public Service Guidelines on the use of social media.
Please note that some information is being withheld under Section 9(2)(a) of the Act to protect
the privacy of natural persons and including that which is deemed to be out scope of the
request.
If you have any concerns with the information in this response, you have a right to request
an investigation and review by the Ombudsman under section 28(3) of the Act. Information
on how to do this is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone
0800 802 602.
Ngā mihi,
Hoani Lambert
Hautū – Deputy Chief Executive
Te Haumi – Enterprise Partnerships
Te Taiwhenua – The Department of Internal Affairs
IN CONFIDENCE
Appendix A: Schedule of documents released:
Page
Document:
number:
1.
Email from Programme Director, Digital to GM Te Ara Tahi
2.
Email from Programme Director, Digital to Acting DCE
3.
Group text message – Further initials of recipients included as originally cropped
4.
Text message from Director Strategy to Communications Business partner
5,6,7,8
Email thread of LinkedIn post correspondence
9.
Screen shot of LinkedIn post and comments
10.
Email from GM Te Ara Tahi to DCE, Te Haumi
11, 12, 13, Text message screenshots from Chief Archivist to Acting DCE and Director Ratonga
14
Māori
15.
Extract from Acting DCE to DCE on his return from overseas
16.
MS Teams screenshot from Acting DCE to Chief Archivist – Initials included to show
recipient/ receiver
IN CONFIDENCE
Document Outline
