PM’s deep dive into Michael Forbes scandal to release findings in August

The public will learn in August what failings are uncovered by the Prime Minister’s “deep dive” into the scandal surrounding his former deputy chief press secretary Michael Forbes.

Forbes, who also formerly worked for Minister Louise Upston, resigned earlier this month amid allegations he recorded sex workers without their consent and took photos of women in compromising positions.

Police had investigated the allegations in 2024 and decided not to charge Forbes, despite acknowledging his behaviour had been “extremely distressing”.

The NZ Police executive team was made aware of the investigation but it wasn’t communicated to the Government or Christopher Luxon’s office, prompting concern given the high security clearance Forbes was afforded while working for Luxon.

Luxon immediately launched a “deep-dive” into what had occurred, including whether government agencies could have communicated better with each other.

The inquiry was being conducted by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA).

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon condemned the behaviour of his former staffer. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Chief executive Paul James told the Herald the inquiry didn’t have terms of reference “per se”, but it would look into “the policies, processes and procedures inside DIA around the security clearances and also around device usage and our normal [human resources] policies”.

James expected to release findings publicly in August.

Officials involved in the inquiry were checking the range of security clearances Parliamentary staff had.

Likely in July, they would engage police and the NZ Security Intelligence Service to assess information sharing practices.

James said he didn’t expect the inquiry would prompt wide-ranging changes but noted he wanted to remain open minded.

“For example, we put the onus on the employee to raise if there’s been a change in their circumstances,” he said.

“How easy do we make it for them to raise it with us?

“Do we want to systematise how regularly we check in with them or something like that, so it’s an open question for us.”

James’ comments were relevant to the circumstances concerning Forbes, as it had been his obligation to disclose the 2024 police investigation to his employer, Ministerial Services, which he did not and left him at risk of blackmail.

James, however, didn’t guarantee that arrangement would change, noting such an obligation would be applied through employment agreements and codes of conduct.

Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.