Trevor Mallard with his dog Violet, in 2014. Photo / Mark Mitchell
An early-morning email told Trevor Mallard he was being ordered back from Ireland to New Zealand early, just hours after Foreign Minister Winston Peters told officials he wanted him back “as soon as possible”.
But the order proved to be a headache for Parliament’s former Speaker, who appealed to Peters to let him stay as his dog couldn’t legally enter New Zealand.
Mallard was appointed New Zealand’s ambassador to Ireland in 2022 by Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta, for a term ending early 2026.
In mid-August, as Peters announced Mallard’s replacement from next year, he also said he was shortening Mallard’s term.
“He’s coming home and he’s coming home early,” Peters said.
According to documents obtained by Newstalk ZB under the OIA, on August 11, the Irish Government agreed to Mallard’s 2026 replacement - career diplomat Angela Hassan-Sharp.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) officials met with Peters to inform him.
It was then, the documents show, that Peters first told officials he wanted Mallard back “as soon as possible”.
At 6pm that day, Paula Wilson - the ministry’s deputy secretary for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Australia - first wrote to Mallard, explaining the series of events and Peters’ order.
“I’m afraid we will therefore now need you to consider how long it would realistically take for you and your loved ones to plan to depart Dublin.”
“[Peters] is aware that this will mean us having to put interim arrangements [at the posting],” Wilson wrote.
She asked Mallard to come back with a proposed plan as soon as possible - noting Peters’ urgent request.
The documents didn’t include a reply from Mallard, suggesting he replied to Wilson via another medium.
But it appears they discussed Mallard’s dog, which according to Customs rules, is required to have a vaccination six months before travelling to New Zealand.
Later that night, Wilson replied to her own initial email, asking when the dog was vaccinated. Mallard confirmed it was just three weeks prior.
The next day, Wilson wrote to Mallard with “yet more bad news”.
“The Minister has been told about the need for your pup to stay offshore for six months from July 22, but that has not changed his mind.”
“He would like you to make arrangements to leave as soon as possible.”
Mallard replied the next day, saying he’d given his tenants three months’ notice and “may have made some progress on the dog front”. Much of the email is redacted.
It was five days later that Peters formally announced Mallard’s replacement - in the middle of the night in Ireland.
Media asked Peters about Mallard’s early return shortly before 2pm - and at 2.20pm Wilson had emailed Mallard warning him of incoming media coverage.
“[Peters] faced questions on the tiles about you. He responded in some detail, incl [sic] his familiar lines around not being in favour of the appointment of a politician”.
She emailed again 30 minutes later: “I’m afraid the articles are out already. Sorry you are in dispatches for all the wrong reasons.”
“I appreciate it may be very tempting to respond, but, as I’m sure you know, you’d need our permission to do so and from our perspective, we think the less said [redacted], the better”.
Peters has long railed against the appointment of former politicians to overseas diplomatic postings, instead preferring career diplomats.
He was particularly frustrated with Mallard’s appointment.
“I cannot believe that Jacinda Ardern sent somebody like him after the way he behaved with respect to the protesters out here, turning up the noise, putting cold water over young children at night.
“This is a disgrace, and you guys should have been calling it out, not me,” he told media.
The pair also have history - with Mallard attempting to trespass Peters from Parliament grounds in 2022, after Peters visited the anti-mandate occupation.
Mallard later withdrew the order - but Peters went to court anyway.
The High Court found the order was “unreasonable” and “irrational”.
The case cost taxpayers nearly $55,000, which covered Mallard’s legal fees and an order to cover Peters’ fees.
The High Court decision came out the same day Mallard was giving his valedictory speech in Parliament, shortly before travelling to Ireland.
Ethan Griffiths is a political reporter with Newstalk ZB, based in the Parliamentary Press Gallery. He joined NZME as a print journalist in 2020, previously working as an Open Justice reporter in the Bay of Plenty and Wellington, and as a general reporter in Whanganui.