Brownlee Gerry: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
Brownlee Gerry: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
[Volume:620;Page:16095] 
10.  
GERRY BROWNLEE (Deputy Leader—National) 
 to the  
Minister of Local Government 
: What responsibility does he accept for the “bungle” over this year’s local body elections? 
Hon CHRIS CARTER (Minister of Local Government) 
: 
 None. Responsibility for this shambles lies with the two companies responsible for processing the count in the affected areas. I have directed my department to look at the specific problems that occurred to see what assistance we can give to local authorities so that they can avoid these problems in the future. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: Can he confirm that the Department of Internal Affairs was directed by him to work with Datamail on its experimental software systems that it approved those systems which now have failed and it is the failure of that Crown entity and that Government department that are ultimately his responsibility? 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: I can confirm that my officials worked on the single transferable vote (STV) calculator which is not in question. That is not the problem. The problem is in the electronic system that feeds data into the calculator. My officials are not responsible for contracting out the counting of the election. That is the responsibility of territorial authorities as it has been since the 1860s. 
Nanaia Mahuta 
: Can the Minister clarify who is responsible for conducting local authority elections? 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: I can indeed. Local electoral officers are responsible for conducting local authority elections including the processing and counting of votes as they have been for well over 150 years. I know that some councils have contracted out that responsibility. Some encountered no problems but no doubt some must be very disappointed with their contractors’ performance. 
Peter Brown 
: Will the Minister tell the House whether if this type of bungle were to occur at the next local body elections he would accept responsibility at all and if it did what is the difference or is he a Minister who needs a dummy run? 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: I assure this House that I have been giving every encouragement to Government members who sit on the Justice and Electoral Committee to conduct a full inquiry into this local body election. I am hoping that the results of that inquiry will be a guide for local government so that we can avoid this problem ever happening again. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: Why will he not accept responsibility as Minister of Local Government for the self-declared shambles when he has been a vocal supporter of STV when his department was responsible for the inadequate publicity on how STV works when his department approved the failed software systems and when his department had been working with the State company at the heart of this mess for 2 long years? 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: I repeat to the House that STV itself is not the problem. Two of the contractors who obtained contracts from local authorities have been unable to count votes adequately. The problem is a processing problem. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: Can the Minister confirm that he has known for some time that the problem is in the character recognition software that Datamail was the only company in the country to have such software and that there was always a chance that this would be the result should that experimental software fail; if so why does he not accept responsibility for his decision to go ahead with the STV elections? 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: No I cannot confirm that. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: Can he confirm reports from Datamail that this debacle is some weeks away from resolution; if not can he tell us when those affected votes can be counted? 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: No I cannot confirm that either. What I can confirm to the House is that I have instructed my officials today to draw up a contingency plan just in case Datamail is unable to carry out its contracted functions and we will provide that guidance to local government which ultimately must make the decision about where it will have its votes counted. 
Darren Hughes 
: In terms of taking responsibility for elections does the Minister recall any outgoing Ministers taking responsibility for the long delays in the 1999 general election including the entire polling booth of votes that went missing in Mr Power’s electorate? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The Minister has no responsibility for that. The National Party has used up its supplementary questions for today. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: Have we? I have two questions to go. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I can check. The list I have here indicates that there are 15 supplementary questions today and they have been allocated. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. After two primary questions and after an extraordinary number of supplementary questions finally the Minister of Local Government told us that he instructed his officials to put together a contingency plan should it not be possible to count the missing votes in the STV election debacle. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: What is the point of order? 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I seek leave to ask one further question of the Minister in order that the House might be clear about the contingency plan. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to ask one further question. Is there any objection? There is.