Time for Bennett to broaden inquiry as breaches mount

If the Minister of Social Development, Paula Bennett, is to have any chance of restoring people’s faith in her department then she must broaden her inquiry into Work and Income privacy breaches, Labour’s Social Development spokesperson Jacinda Ardern says.

Ms Ardern made the call after more breaches were reported to her in the past 24 hours.

“It is nonsense for Ms Bennett to claim these are isolated cases of human error when there are clearly systemic issues at play.

“The very reason these clients contacted me was because of their frustration at the dismissive way the breaches have been treated.

“For example, here’s a quote from one man who had his sickness benefit cancelled after Work and Income lost his medical certificate, only to have it anonymously returned to him in the mail by another client who had been accidently sent it by Work and Income: “At the time I was just too sick and tired of Work and Income’s mess-ups to take the situation any further.”

“In another case, which occurred within the last two months, a women living in a small town, requested a print-out of her benefit details. Returning home she discovered she had been given the full details, and 5 years’ worth of records, for another client.

“These are all serious breaches that should be treated with the seriousness they deserve.

“I am not interested in a witch hunt of individual staff members. It is for Ms Bennett to step up and do what’s right, and that means ensuring there are the necessary systems and processes in place to protect her staff and prevent more of these errors.

“It’s time for the Minister to concede that if a problem starts to look systemic, then it probably is,” said Jacinda Ardern