The Prime Minister's deputy chief press secretary (pictured back left), has resigned. Photo / RNZ
The Prime Minister's deputy chief press secretary (pictured back left), has resigned. Photo / RNZ
By RNZ
The sudden resignation of one of the Prime Minister’s senior press secretaries is raising questions about why Christopher Luxon’s office was not told about the police investigation last year.
Michael Forbes left his job on Wednesday and has apologised after accusations he recorded audio of sessions with sexworkers, and had intrusive photos of women in public and footage shot through windows at night.
Police said they got a complaint from a Wellington brothel last July after images were found on a client’s phone, but decided the case did not meet the threshold for prosecution.
Forbes was working for Social Development Minister Louise Upston at the time.
She and the Prime Minister’s office said they knew nothing about the complaint until Tuesday night.
He resigned before he could be sacked.
Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said he was not in charge at the time and that “it is up to the commissioner of the day to decide what to elevate” to ministers.
Chambers said he was first made aware of the issue late on Tuesday afternoon after a media inquiry. He immediately took it to the DPMC (the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet) and later informed the Police Minister under the “no-surprises” policy.
Ministerial Services said it was in contact with the police as it tries to work out what happened.
An advocate for the sex workers who accused Forbes said they were not surprised police did not charge him.
The Wellington co-ordinator for the NZPC Aotearoa Sex Workers’ Collective, Cherida Fraser, said it would have been hard for police to prove the footage that was on the phone, showing women getting changed through a window, was filmed illegally.
“I can see that it was complex ... to identify those women would have been difficult and to ensure they weren’t consenting to being filmed.”
Forbes has offered an apology for the harm his actions caused to women.
How events unfolded
A Stuff investigation revealed that Forbes, a former journalist, allegedly recorded audio of multiple sessions with Wellington sex workers, and amassed a gallery of women working out at the gym, shopping and filmed through a window getting ready to go out.
A Wellington sex worker told Stuff she realised while Forbes was in the shower that his phone’s voice recorder was allegedly activated back in July 2024.
She told the outlet that she and other sex workers working that night asked Forbes for his phone Pin code. They claim to have found multiple audio recordings of sessions with sex workers, albums full of photos of women, and videos of women getting ready to go out, filmed through a window at night.
Forbes, who was press secretary for Minister of Social Development Louise Upston at the time, has offered an apology for the harm his actions caused to women.
“I want to offer my sincerest apologies to the women I have harmed,” he said in a statement.
“In the past, I was in a downward spiral due to unresolved trauma and stress, and when confronted with the impacts of my behaviour a year ago, I sought professional help, which is something I wish I had done much earlier.
“What I failed to do then was make a genuine attempt to apologise. Instead, I tried to move on without offering those I had harmed the acknowledgement, accountability, or amends they deserved. I recognise how wrong that was.”
Forbes said he spent the past year “reflecting on how I may have affected these women’s sense of safety and ability to go about their lives and work”.
“No one should ever feel violated, unsafe, or disrespected, especially in spaces where they should feel secure, and I am truly sorry for contributing to an environment where women may have felt otherwise,” he said.
“The therapy I’ve received over the past year has helped me to understand the roots of my behaviour and begin addressing the patterns that led to it. This is a long-term commitment to change that I take very seriously.
“I understand that my past actions may have undermined the trust people place in me. So, I have resigned from my job to focus on the work I need to do.”
Who knew what, and when?
The Prime Minister is expected to address media at Parliament today. His office said in a statement it was informed at 4pm on June 3.
“The matters were immediately raised with Ministerial Services and the Prime Minister was informed that evening. The allegations were serious and concerning. They were discussed with the staff member on the evening of June 3 and it was clear their employment was untenable,” the statement said.
“It was agreed that the staff member was stood down that evening and they resigned the following morning. Had the staff member not resigned, we expect their employment would have been terminated after a short investigation.”
Michael Forbes pictured during Christopher Luxon's visit to India. Photo / RNZ
The office of Forbes’ former boss Upston said: “The minister was not aware of any allegations before they were raised with PMO [Prime Minister’s Office] yesterday. Minister Upston has nothing further to add to the PM’s statement on this.”
When asked by RNZ why the minister, her office, the Prime Minister, or the Dignitary Protection Service were not informed of the police investigation into Forbes, Ministerial Services said any questions about the investigation should go to the police.
It also did not answer whether there were any typical thresholds that would see Ministerial Services informed by police of an investigation into an employee.
Deputy secretary partnerships and commissions Hoani Lambert said this was a “serious and concerning matter” for the department.
“We were made aware of this matter late on June 3 and met with the employee that evening. The individual concerned is no longer employed by the department. We are working with urgency to thoroughly understand what has happened. This includes further engagement with the NZ Police. As the employer, DIA [Department of Internal Affairs] has important obligations to provide a safe workplace and ensure people are held accountable for their behaviour. We are taking this matter seriously, we are moving quickly and ensuring accountability. We will not comment further at this time.”
