Dunne runs from the hard questions

Peter Dunne must front up and explain how the IRD breached 6,300 Kiwis’ privacy and why over 5,700 people haven’t been told of the loss of their private details, says Labour’s Revenue spokesperson Dr David Clark.

“Peter Dunne isn’t doing his job properly. The evidence of IRD’s systemic failure to protect our privacy raises questions that demand proper answers. Instead Peter Dunne can’t tell us what happened, why it happened and who is to blame.

“Peter Dunne seems to think 32 breaches isn’t systemic. He needs to explain why. Voluntary compliance of our tax system revolves around trust. Peter Dunne’s evasion and avoidance undermines that trust.

“New Zealanders want Peter Dunne’s answers to five key questions.”

1. How did each of the 32 breaches happen?

2. What was the nature of the private details released?

3. Why have 5,700 people not been told that their private details have been released?

4. Has anyone been held to account in IRD?

5. What actions has he taken to fix the problem?

“One of his excuses is that apparently most of the breaches were from one email. That’s hardly a silver lining, it’s basically what happened in the ACC case.

“Peter Dunne seems to think he is immune from answering these questions. He has been Revenue Minister for seven years and the IRD is a shambles.

“The IRD still needs to collect around $7 billion of tax and has left one million tax returns unprocessed.

“The biggest problem is the FIRST computer system which is 20 years old and essentially held together by sellotape.

“Peter Dunne says it will be fixed over the next 10 years but hasn’t provided a cogent plan or proper timeline. That’s not good enough.”