Prime Minister Chris Hipkins is promising to address the wider implications of Kiri Allan’s arrest and resignation as a minister later today but says his immediate focus is Allan’s wellbeing after the former Justice Minister crashed her car and was taken into police custody.
Hipkins called an urgent press conference this morning after it was revealed Allan had been charged with careless driving and refusing to accompany police after crashing her car on Evans Bay Parade in Wellington about 9pm yesterday.
A police statement this morning, which didn’t name Allan, listed the charges and other incident details, including how Allan had been issued an infringement notice for having excess breath alcohol between 250-400 micrograms (mcg) of alcohol per litre of breath.
Photos taken last night showed a Hyundai Kona - an electric car available to ministers - blocking one lane of a road.
Allan would appear in court “at a later date” according to the police statement.
Late last month, Allan’s behaviour was in the spotlight after it was revealed concerns had been raised within government departments about working relationships in her office.
The news broke soon after Allan posted on social media that she had taken mental health leave last month because of “personal circumstances” - a relationship breakdown - and work pressure, not the concerns reported in the media.
She was also on leave during the school holidays, but she and Hipkins had said this was for family commitments.
Hipkins today told reporters Allan had been receiving counselling and professional support in recent weeks, but had been in “extreme emotional distress” at the time of the incident last night.
“It appears that some of her personal struggles came to a head yesterday and were contributing factors in this incident.”
Hipkins said he was first informed of the incident by his chief of staff Andrew Kirton about 10pm, before receiving a call with more details from Police Minister Ginny Andersen, who had been briefed by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster.
Hipkins stressed that details of the incident were “contested” and unclear last night, acknowledging it had been suggested to him that Allan had claimed she wasn’t driving at the time of the crash.
That had since been clarified, given Allan hadn’t contested the charge of careless driving, but Hipkins couldn’t make clear whether it was Allan herself who had initially claimed she wasn’t driving.
Hipkins understood Allan was alone in the car but restated he could not verify that information, including where Allan had been travelling.
Allan had messaged Hipkins before the pair spoke this morning to indicate she intended to resign. During their conversation before 7am, Hipkins said Allan “expressed remorse” and understood that “retaining her ministerial warrant was untenable, especially for a justice minister to be charged with criminal offending”.
Hipkins said it had been a “difficult conversation”, saying Allan was “clearly not in a good space”.
Allan would be returning home, presumably to the North Island’s East Coast, to think about her political future, Hipkins said.
Following her return to Parliament last week, several political commentators noted Allan’s polished performance in a press conference announcing the third of the Government’s three law and order policies on Thursday.
Hipkins cited this when challenged on why she didn’t take more time off and whether he bore any responsibility, given it was his decision to approve her return.
“She came back to work after receiving counseling with very strong indications to me that she was ready to take on the job.
“Ultimately, mental health is incredibly challenging in the sense that when someone comes to you, says that they feel that they’re on top of things, exhibits clearly all of the signs to suggest that they are, that puts you in a very difficult position.
“As you would have seen last week, Kiri was showing signs that she had gotten on top of things ... it’s a terrible set of circumstances.”
Allan’s resignation left a vacancy in the ministerial portfolios of Justice and Regional Development. Hipkins said the workload would be spread among existing ministers and was confident no current or planned Government work would be deferred as a result.
“I don’t think now is the right time to be bringing new people into the ministry this close to a general election.”
Allan’s departure followed a raft of ministers leaving, getting sacked or being demoted, including Michael Wood, Stuart Nash and Meka Whaitiri.
Asked if he still had the public’s confidence, Hipkins replied: “They elected us.”
He also denied the need for a snap election.
While the primary concern was for Allan’s welfare, Hipkins said the impact of the incident on Labour would likely be discussed during his post-Cabinet press conference later this afternoon.
In a statement this morning, Allan said she had immediately resigned and was heading home to the East Coast and will take time to “consider my future in politics”.
“I accept that my position as a minister is untenable,” she said.
“Over recent weeks I’ve faced a number of personal difficulties. I took time off to address those, and believed I was okay to juggle those challenges with the pressure of being a minister.
“My actions yesterday show I wasn’t okay, and I’ve let myself and my colleagues down,” Allan said.
Police Minister Ginny Andersen, speaking to Newstalk ZB, said Kiri Allan’s actions were “unacceptable” and she’d paid the “ultimate price” in losing her job, but that it “hurts to see a friend experiencing mental distress”.
She received a call from Police Commissioner Andrew Coster with an indication of what happened and then she called PM Chris Hipkins about it.
“It was a pretty straightforward conversation,” Andersen said of her discussion with Hipkins. She said people who love and care for Allan were with her through the night following the incident.
Andersen said longer-term questions regarding Allan’s future were more appropriately discussed in the coming weeks and that the immediate priority was to see Allan return to a state of good mental health.
National deputy leader Nicola Willis, also speaking to ZB, said she was shocked and saddened by the news, particularly how Allan had allegedly refusing to accompany the police, saying it was clear Allan was “completely off the rails” in her view.
When she was challenged by host Nick Mills that the charge of refusing to accompany was not necessarily refusing arrest kicking and screaming, Willis said she “obviously [didn’t] know the facts” so was not in a position to comment on the specifics.
“It’s obvious she wasn’t getting what she needed,” Willis said on Allan’s required support.
National Party leader Christopher Luxon said in a statement Allan was right to resign.
“It was quite untenable for her to continue as Justice Minister,” he said.
“Clearly this situation raises questions about the judgment of Prime Minister Chris Hipkins.”
He wished Allan well and hoped she was being supported.
Education Minister Jan Tinetti says news of Allan’s arrest and charges was “absolutely devastating”.
Tinetti, speaking to reporters at Wellington Airport, said Allan was a friend and colleague and that the incident was “just horrible.
“I think that mental health is something that we have to take really, really seriously and this just shows how tragic this is.”
Tinetti didn’t believe Allan was brought back to work too soon, saying she was with Allan through last week, including the pair going on a walk on Wednesday night, and “she was good”, according to Tinetti.
“That just shows how unpredictable mental health is and we have to take this very seriously and this needs to be something that, as a country, we need to look at how unpredictable this is and how vulnerable people are in these situations.”
Speaking with emotion in her voice, Tinetti said hearing the news was “devastating, absolutely devastating.
“I am so worried about my friend right now.”
She denied the incident was being minimised when asked by reporters, saying Allan had lost her job.
Act leader David Seymour, speaking to Newstalk ZB, said he was sad after hearing what had happened, saying he had known Allan for a long time and thought she was generally a “good sort”.
“She has clearly been struggling deeply and personally over the last few months and years, possibly.”
Seymour criticised Hipkins for allowing Allan to return to work without a “proper inquiry”.
“That I think Chris Hipkins has to bear a real burden for.”
Reporter Martha and friends are in Minginui introducing us to their favourite four-legged neighbours, wild but friendly horses that have had free reign of the place since 1870.