More misinformation from the Government

Newshub reports:

The handling of Government data is again in question, with new police numbers showing there have been dozens more ram raids than initially reported.

It comes barely a week after Te Whatu Ora was forced to admit the publication of inaccurate Emergency Department figures. …

When Prime Minister Chris Hipkins was the Police Minister, his responses to written parliamentary questions (WPQs) said there were fewer ram raids than we now know occurred.

Take the peak last August, the Minister’s office reported 67 but data now shows 116. 

For September, 60 ram raids are now 85 and in October, 26 were actually 76 ram raids – nearly three times as many. 

This is becoming a bad habit, and does huge damage to confidence in the Government. In countries like China you of course can’t trust any data from the Government. But NZ has had top standards for data in the past. Society will not function well if you can’t trust Government data.

This is twice in a week that Government agencies have published manifestly incorrect data, which makes it appear things are better than they actually are.

Maybe Government chief executives should lose some of their pay for every time their agency publishes incorrect data. That would foster a culture of caution.