Auckland Council chief wants the Manurewa election allegations sent to him or Police

People claiming to have evidence of electoral wrongdoing in Manurewa are being told to contact Police or Auckland Council's boss directly.

Auckland Council chief executive Phil Wilson gave the advice while updating the council’s Governing Body yesterday [Tuesday] about two temporary independent observers appointed to support the Manurewa Local Board.

Michael Barnett and Tania Winslade took up the roles on August 31 to advise on the board’s governance and collective performance.

Wilson said appointing observers was a “pretty unusual” step, taken with the agreement of board chair Heather Andrew.

“With allegations swirling around voter fraud and some other relationship issues on the board, it was important to preserve as much as we can public confidence and ensure that the board can carry on making the important decisions it needs to make for the Manurewa community,” Wilson said.

The observers do not replace the board’s responsibilities or participate in its decisions. Their work focuses on governance practices, relationships, meeting and decision-making processes and the board’s collective performance. They report directly to Wilson and Andrew and will provide initial feedback followed by further updates on progress, challenges and recommendations.

People with evidence of alleged unlawful voting in Manurewa have been advised to contact Auckland Council or the Police. Photo/Auckland Council.

Wilson said interim and final reports would be provided about the functioning of the board.

“It’s the first time we’ve done something like that in relation to a local board though, so there’s an element of kind of judgement involved in that.”

Manukau ward councillor Lotu Fuli asked where people claiming to have evidence of electoral wrongdoing should take it.

“Since the story broke on social media, a lot of people have been contacting me saying they’ve got evidence of, you know, the electoral fraud that went on,” Fuli said.

“My question is, who do I direct them to? Do I tell them to contact you or the observers and the Police?”

Wilson stressed that the observers had not been appointed to investigate the voting allegations.

Two independent observers have been appointed to support the Manurewa Local Board amid electoral allegations and concerns about relationships on the board. Photo/Auckland Council.

“I think [it is] really important to note that the observers are not there to investigate what effectively is a criminal matter in terms of voter fraud allegations.”

He said people should contact Police directly or approach Auckland Council, which would collate relevant material for Police.

“The better course is to either go directly to the Police or through us, and we will collate any material, any evidence that requires to be passed to the Police,” Wilson said.

When Fuli asked whether she should direct people specifically to him, Wilson replied: “Direct them to me, I think, is the best.”

Fuli also asked whether the allegations could lead to a by-election.

Wilson said the legal timeframe for challenging the election result had passed.

“There is no question, unless there is a resignation, of a by-election.”

However, he said serious concerns arising from the observers’ work about the board’s ability to continue operating would be a separate matter.

“If there are serious concerns coming out of the observers’ work that question the viability or the continuance of the board, then that’ll be a separate matter that needs to be escalated to the Minister, because at that point, we don’t have tools to act, but the Minister does.”

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.