SST staff tell me Kemeys' position as editor is in doubt.
Kemeys did not respond to calls and referred queries to Fairfax New Zealand Group executive editor Paul Thompson.
Thompson said Kemeys was not leaving but refused to comment further on his status.
In another move linked to the revamp, Fairfax has assigned its northern general manager, Dave Penney, to fill the vacancy left by Fairfax "Sundays" publisher Mitchell Murphy.
On September 13 Murphy returned to Australia to head the Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers Association.
Kemeys was appointed to the paper in May 2010.
A previous editor, Cate Brett, had shifted the paper away from a focus on news but Kemeys, who came from a background in Auckland suburban newspapers, has not stopped the slide in circulation.
In recent weeks Fairfax head of news John Crowley has been working in the newsroom developing the news content of the SST, with some success.
All media organisations - especially newspapers - are facing upheavals due to changes in the way people use media.
Retaining advertising is a bigger issue for newspapers than circulation, says advertising consultant Martin Gillman. But with circulation falls the SST faced a double whammy.
In Australia the huge problems have been highlighted with restructuring at Fairfax and a big layoff of staff.
It appears editorial changes at the Sunday Star-Times may be an offshoot of those changes, not part of a wider plan.
MOJO RISING
The SST has plenty of talented writers but after an initial push, when Fairfax bought the paper and the rest of INL in 2003, it has lost some of its mojo.
The launch of the Herald on Sunday in 2004 introduced competition in the top half of the North Island where none existed before.
But Fairfax insiders say there have been other factors at play, including the culture born from its control in Sydney.
All Sunday newspaper people face the extra challenge of holding on to stories before the daily competition gets a hold of them.
But editorial challenges are multifold at Fairfax.
A former staffer said the "hub" structure at Fairfax, where copy was shared amongst its papers, meant the SST struggled to hold on to premium content.
Two sources said the SST did not make a big profit and Fairfax was focused on its daily papers such as the Dominion Post and The Press. That approach would be shortsighted.
The Sunday Star-Times is the face of Fairfax in Auckland, a market which is dominated by the Herald and the Herald on Sunday.
Fairfax's Australian bosses have not taken seriously enough the value of having a national title.
VALUES AND VISION
In my opinion - and with sporadic exceptions - the main news section of the SST has let the paper down in recent years. The talent is there but it has not been used.
The culture section is still strong and former books and arts editor Mark Broatch - who was laid off in recent cutbacks - made an interesting point on Twitter recently: "Let's hope they picked the right person to edit the SST. Probably the hardest job in journalism."
Interestingly, a former deputy editor of the SST from its heyday, Donna Chisholm, disagreed.