The aftermath of the former Minister’s car crash and arrest
Wellington (RNZ), July 24, 2023
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has announced who will pick up former Justice Minister Kiri Allan’s portfolios following her resignation.
Please read that story here.
It comes after she was arrested and charged in relation to a car crash in Wellington on Sunday night. Allan accepted she could no longer be Justice Minister following the incident and resigned from all of her portfolios.
Mr Hipkins said on Monday afternoon that Ginny Andersen will take over as Justice Minister but keep her existing Police portfolio.
“Aligning the Justice and Police portfolios will be important in the coming weeks as we look to progress the legislation that we announced last week around ram raids to ensure that young offenders face more accountability for their crimes. Ginny Anderson’s focus and my focus is firmly on backing the police with the tools and resources they need in order to fight crime,” he said.
Kieran McAnulty will become the new Minister for Regional Economic Development, which Mr Hipkins said would align “with his existing portfolio as minister for rural communities.”
Cyclone Recovery Minister Grant Robertson takes over the lead coordination role for the cyclone response in Tai Rāwhiti.
Other Portfolios
“Grant Robertson is already leading the government’s rolling maul of initiatives to support the communities that have been affected by Cyclone Gabrielle. He will take over the lead coordination role for the Tai Rāwhiti region,” Mr Hipkins said.
There will be further support for infrastructure announced later this week, he said.
Ms Allan’s Associate Health role was redistributed among existing Health Ministers and Damien O’Connor picked up her Associate Transport role.
Mr Hipkins also announced that David Parker requested to reallocate his Revenue portfolio to Barbara Edmonds, freeing him to focus on Transport.
“Prior to entering Parliament, Barb was a specialist tax lawyer and I have confidence in her ability to take up a greater share of the economic work of the government, which is why I am also making her an Associate Minister of Finance,” Mr Hipkins said.
No new ministers will be brought into Cabinet, which currently has 18 of them.
“With five sitting weeks until the House rises for the election, I have decided not to bring any new Ministers into Cabinet. Overall, there are 25 Ministers in the Executive and I believe that all of them have a fair and manageable workload. Those promoted are all hard-working Ministers who are performing well, have the capacity to take on more and now have the opportunity to show their strengths,” Mr Hipkins said.
“Our focus must be on the issues that matter to New Zealanders, like the cost of living and law and order. As a government, our singular focus must be on making life better for everyday Kiwis and that is what I’ve sought to do, and I need everybody in the government to be doing the same.”
Kiri Allan’s mental health
Asked whether Ms Allan had come back to work too soon, after taking breaks for mental health and in the wake of bullying allegations, Mr Hipkins said, “She was offered more time off and she indicated that she wanted to get back to work. I made sure that she had got support, and that she had been seeing a counsellor. She came to meet with me and indicated that she wanted to come back to work. I did not compel her to stay away from work.”
He said that her mental health issues were separate from the prior concerns about bullying in her office. “They were, as I have indicated before, dealt with at the time and there were no new issues that were raised, in terms of further complaints for me to do anything further with. Having said all of that, mental health is a very difficult area and I think the experiences of the last few weeks clearly demonstrate that.”
And on the impact that her resignation would have and if he was worried, this close to October’s election, Hipkins said: “Ultimately this is not about me or us, it is about New Zealanders and they want to see us focused on the cost of living, on law and order and on the issues that matter to them, and that is where our focus will be. Of course, politics matters but actually what I think New Zealanders want to see the government focused on are the issues that are important to them.”
Labour still in the game
He said that Labour could still win the election and that writing off the Party was “premature.”
“We are just getting started with the campaign and there is a lot more that we have to offer.”
He was yet to discuss her future as the MP for East Coast.
“It is something that we would want to get a decision on fairly quickly,” Mr Hipkins said.
He had not spoken again with her since this morning when the news of her crash and alleged offending broke.
“I would like to think that right the way through this I have handled the situation fairly with compassion and with respect. I do not believe that mental health should disqualify someone from employment and that it should not disqualify someone from employment in this building. It has not been done in the past. I think what is important is that people are supported and I believe that Kiri has been supported here. Wherever she has needed time off, we have given her time off, and I have given her time off. In fact, I have encouraged her to take more time, Mr Hipkins said.
Where to get help
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Depression Helpline: 0800111757 (24/7) or text 4202
Samaritans: 0800726666 (24/7)
Youthline: 0800376633 (24/7) or free text 234 (8 am-12 am), or email talk@youthline.co.nz|
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