Labour Minister Kiri Allan on mental health leave over ‘personal circumstances’

Senior Government Minister Kiri Allan has revealed she has been on mental health leave for the past week, saying personal circumstances and her workload had seen her “hit the wall.”

Allan posted on social media today, saying she had been “struggling with mental health and wellness” over the past few weeks.

The post came after reported “concerns” had been raised by the Department of Conservation about the working relationships in Allan’s office more than a year ago.

It is understood that issue and Allan’s mental health leave are not connected.

The Prime Minister’s office has issued a statement saying no formal complaints had been made by staff about Allan and while “some issues have been raised”, improvements had since been made.

Allan’s post said she had taken the last week off on leave after struggling for a few weeks.

“Triggered by personal circumstances, as well as other external things - even things like the cyclones having such a massive impact on our entire region,” said Allan, who is responsible for justice and regional development, and as East Coast MP is based right in the heart of areas hammered by successive cyclones and weather events this year.

“Sometimes things accumulate, and I hit a wall a few weeks ago.”

The post coincided with a report on Stuff quoting Department of Conservation director-general Penny Nelson regarding concerns she had raised about a staffer seconded to work with Allan while she was Conservation Minister, a portfolio she held from November 2020 until June 2022.

The staff member left her role early because of concerns about “working relationships with the minister in the office”.

Stuff reported that Nelson took her concerns to the Department of Internal Affairs, which is responsible for Ministerial Services. It also reported that other senior public servants - including from Emergency Management and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment – also voiced similar concerns.

In a statement to the Herald, Nelson said she became aware of concerns about the “working relationships with the minister in the office, and that it was not running as smoothly as it might”.

“One person chose to end their secondment early due to the working relationships in the office. Accordingly, I had discussions with my colleagues, including from Internal Affairs, which manages Ministerial Services, regarding support in the office.

“No further concerns were subsequently brought to my attention, and I understand relationships improved.”

A DoC spokesperson said the incident was “more than a year ago”.

National Party public services spokesperson Simeon Brown said the allegations raised serious questions that Allan and Hipkins needed to answer.

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said there had been no formal complaints made by departmental or ministerial staff about Allan.

“Some issues have been raised about how to improve working relations in the minister’s office. Work was done to improve the situation and no further issues were raised.

“Parliament is a high-pressure environment and Minister Allan is passionate about her work. However, this has never led to any formal complaints and past issues have been resolved without the need for significant escalation.”

Speaking from China today, Hipkins said where an issue was serious and formal complaints laid it was elevated, as it should be. However, he was not aware of that having happened for Allan at any point.

“Kiri is taking a bit of time away from work for a variety of personal reasons. I absolutely respect that,” he said.

Hipkins said that did not mean she should rush back to work just because the office tensions had come to light this week.

He said he had not known about the issues when they arose more than a year ago, but had become aware of them recently because people had started asking.

He said he believed in giving ministers a chance to explain and defend themselves.

In a statement to NZME, Allan said she has had great working relationships with her office crew but like in many offices and workplaces there are sometimes challenges with working relationships and the Beehive is no different.

“I value my crew and I have always been clear that I have high expectations of senior public servants, as I do myself. New Zealanders rightly deserve results from the government and my job is to deliver those outcomes.”

In her social media post, Allan said about a week ago she decided to put her mental wellbeing at the “forefront of my focus”.

“I reached out to colleagues, friends and families to let them know where I was at. That was bloody hard. It felt a little embarrassing admitting I wasn’t doing okay.

“But what followed was an overwhelming response of aroha - and I am so glad I shared with people I love to help pull me out of my head.”

Allan said she had taken a week off to get some help to get back on track. She also urged others struggling to reach out for help.

“I’m feeling a lot better now ... and if there’s anything I could share with anyone struggling at the moment - it’s to reach out, to friends, family and anyone that can help you to get the help you need.

“I want to particularly thank my colleagues for their support, and my mates who dropped tools to just show up. It meant a lot.

“So, I’ll be back at work tomorrow with a little skip in my beat - but honestly, it’s taken a little while to get there.”

Allan gained a new portfolio last week, Associate Finance Minister, when Michael Wood quit. She fronted on Sunday over the new National Party law and order policy.

Alongside managing the impacts of the cyclones, Allan has in recent months faced several political scandals.

In April, she had to apologise after criticising RNZ and its treatment of Māori staff at a private event.

Shortly after, 1News revealed then-Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon had donated to Allan’s political campaign. While it came before Allan was Justice Minister, after she became minister she had responsibility for Human Rights Commissioners, and should have declared the potential perceived conflict with the Cabinet Office.

Allan has also faced challenges in her personal life while an MP. In early 2021 she was diagnosed with cervical cancer and took time off for chemotherapy.

Allan posted on Facebook regularly and through the ordeal in a bid to get other people to do what she hadn’t done, which was to have regular check-ups and to seek help as soon as something appeared to be wrong.

The allegations of staff treatment levelled at Allan are not the first to hit Labour in recent years.

Former minister Meka Whaitiri was stripped of her ministerial responsibilities in 2018 after an altercation with her press secretary. Whaitiri was reinstated as a minister outside of Cabinet after the 2020 election.

Last year, former MP Gaurav Sharma came out with major allegations of bullying, but was unable to provide any evidence.

Shortly after, Tukituki MP Anna Lorck was accused of bullying by former staffers and was given “leadership training”.

Last year, Parliament Speaker Adrian Rurawhe asked independent investigator Debbie Francis to find out if there’s less bullying and harassment in the precinct since her last inquiry.

In 2019, Francis found systemic problems at Parliament, with toxic behaviour and, in some cases, sexual assault.

The former Speaker, Trevor Mallard, tasked her with investigating bullying and sexual harassment in the halls of power following a string of serious incidents involving MPs.

Francis made more than 80 recommendations, including setting up a special advisory board, requiring everyone who works at Parliament to sign a new code of conduct and reviewing progress in three years’ time.