Former KiwiBuild boss Stephen Barclay resigned amid 'leadership complaints'

Former KiwiBuild chief executive Stephen Barclay. Photo / Jason Oxenham

The former head of KiwiBuild Stephen Barclay resigned amid an employment investigation that revealed complaints from employees, contractors and stakeholders regarding his "leadership behaviour".

Ministry of Housing and Urban Development Chief Executive Andrew Crisp today shed more light on the saga.

The reason for Barclay's resignation on January 18 had previously been unknown, aside from that it was an "employment dispute".

"The allegations reflected behaviours that are not consistent with standards expected of senior public servants," said Crisp in a statement.

He said the alleged conduct related to Barclay's treatment of employees, contractors and stakeholders. They were not linked to the implementation of the KiwiBuild programme.

"I commenced an employment investigation into those allegations. While the investigation was ongoing, Mr Barclay resigned."

There was no exit payment or confidential deal reached with Barclay, Crisp said, adding that Barclay resigned with immediate effect and received no payment in lieu of notice.

A spokesman for Housing Minister Phil Twyford said as Barclay's former employer, Andrew Crisp is best placed to comment on his departure and it's not appropriate for Minister Twyford to comment on an employment matter regarding a public servant.

In a statement to the Herald, when his resignation was made public, Barclay said the decision to leave was not his.

Barclay, who began in the role only in May last year, had not been working in the position since early November, a spokeswoman confirmed to the Herald.

The spokeswoman represented a private PR agency and media was not handled through the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.

At the time, Housing Minister Phil Twyford declined to comment today because it was an employment issue.

Because it is an employment matter, Crisp said it would not be appropriate to comment further.

Since mid-November last year, the KiwiBuild team has been under the oversight of Head of Office of the Chief Executive, Brad Ward.

The team has continued to work hard during this time alongside the Minister and with the developer community to meet the KiwiBuild programme objectives.

During this time, the Government also announced the establishment of the Housing and Urban Development Authority (HUDA) which will bring together the market-facing delivery components of the Government's housing supply programmes - KiwiBuild, Housing New Zealand (HNZ), and HLC.

"It is critical that an integrated approach across these delivery programmes is taken immediately, before the HUDA is officially up and running and work has begun on this," Crisp said.