44313 (2025). Tangi Utikere to the Minister of Local Government

44313 (2025). Tangi Utikere to the Minister of Local Government: What actions, if any, has he taken regarding the lack of Candidates profiles in the official Candidate Profile Booklet for Māori Ward candidates in the Whanganui District Council local elections?

Hon Simon Watts: I have been informed of errors with the candidate profile booklets, and officials have been advised by the electoral officer for each council that this omission was due to human error. The checking process is manual. The council and the election services firm complete their own proofing checks. Despite this, the omission was made. As a remedy for the omission, the electoral officer has called affected candidates to inform them and apologise, has issued a media statement apologising for the error, and will send a letter to the affected voters accompanied by the candidate profile statements. I am comfortable that necessary actions have been taken, and I do not consider actions by me to be appropriate at this time.