Kiri Allan to return on Monday, offers to apologise in person ‘to anyone who wants to talk to me individually’

Justice Minister Kiritapu Allan will return to work on Monday after meeting with Prime Minister Chris Hipkins on Friday morning to “discuss her recent leave and allegations made against her”.

Hipkins confirmed Allan was on leave again on July 3, after facing allegations about mistreating staff in her office, claims she has denied.

In a statement released by Hipkins on Friday afternoon, he said “Kiri has had a rough time lately”.

Also in the statement, Allan apologised to “anyone who has found my behaviour towards them unacceptable”.

“I will also offer that apology personally to anyone who wants to talk to me individually.”

“I want to create a working environment where we set high expectations and work hard to achieve them. But I’ll be working extra hard to make sure those around me know and see how much I appreciate them and value the work they do.”

READ MORE:
* A brief history of all the Labour ministers recently in hot water
* PM Chris Hipkins faces questions on Kiri Allan on last day of China visit

Allan would receive “extra coaching… to create the positive working environment both of us are committed to”, Hipkins said.

Hipkins said he was “pleased she is in a much better space after taking some time off and getting some professional support”.

“Kiri is a talented minister who makes a huge contribution to our government. It’s important we have a diversity of views, voices and experiences around the Cabinet table and Kiri’s recent experiences only adds to that,” he said.

“In our discussions, Kiri did acknowledge that in her passion for her work she sets high standards and high expectations of herself and her staff, but staff and officials must be treated with respect, and there is clear guidance for MPs around that. Kiri agrees with me on that.”

Over the past month, concerns have been raised about Allan’s treatment of public servants from various departments she’s had responsibility for.

Allan said no formal complaints had been made.

Last year, DOC boss Penny Nelson raised concerns with the Department of Internal Affairs, which manages Ministerial Services, about “working relationships” in Allan’s office. A DOC staffer asked to end their secondment to the minister’s office early due to those relationships.

NEMA boss Dave Gawn also confirmed he was aware of concerns about the working conditions in Allan’s office. In a statement, he said he was “aware of concerns regarding relationships in the minister’s office”. He said he thought actions had been taken to fix issues there.