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Shall we open the week with a prediction?\xa0

This is the week the Government will call an inquiry into the accusations around the M\u0101ori Party, the marae and the use of Covid and census information.\xa0

The trouble is if the Government doesn\u2019t call an inquiry, too many questions start to get asked around transparency and trust.\xa0

The allegations are too specific. They are not hearsay from people who heard from people. They are very specific, detailed allegations from people who were there.\xa0

The denials are fine. But the questions remain un-investigated and they are too serious not to be.\xa0

Whether a Privacy Commissioner and Stats NZ hiring a bloke to do it is enough, but I doubt it from the Government's point of view.\xa0

Do remember, although this goes directly to one party in Parliament, it potentially involves everyone in Parliament.\xa0

If those running the country can't be seen to be scrupulous, then that\u2019s trouble.\xa0

The M\u0101ori Party themselves haven't helped, with the president John Tamihere rolling out his standard line about this all being about race.\xa0

John is too angry to be credible these days. He has this enormous chip on his shoulder and everything is a conspiracy around race.\xa0

The irony here is that the people making the accusations are M\u0101ori. So it's not about M\u0101ori, it's about rules and laws and whether they have been broken.\xa0

Not helping is the food and voucher giveaway. Although M\u0101ori can argue this is koha, the previous Government set a damning precedent where bribes, because that\u2019s what they are, were handed out for vaccines and Census participation and they muddied the waters.\xa0

But what is clear is using Census and vaccine information to campaign and/or recruit for elections is illegal and that is what we need to find out - did it happen, or not?\xa0

There is also the matter of said information then being used to contact people via text for votes and not following the prescribed electoral laws.\xa0

So does the Government pull the trigger? And when they do, why?\xa0

Does it pass the pub test?\xa0

Not even close. \xa0\xa0

LISTEN ABOVE.\xa0

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.