New Zealand PM Ardern fires minister over inappropriate relationship
Premier Jacina Ardern said Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway, who is married with three children, had a consensual affair for about a year with a woman who had worked as a staff member in his office and also at one of the agencies he oversaw.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern addresses a press conference after the 2020 budget at Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand, May 14, 2020
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern dismissed Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway on Wednesday over allegations he had an inappropriate relationship with a former staffer.
"The minister has shown a lack of judgment over a period of 12 months. In undertaking this relationship he has opened himself up to accusations of improperly using his office," Ardern said in a surprise news conference.
Ardern said she was not passing moral judgement on Lees-Galloway but added: "He has not modelled the behaviour I expect as a minister that is in charge of setting a standard and culture in workplaces".
She said the minister had told her the relationship was consensual.
The announcement comes after opposition National Party leader Judith Collins said she had passed on an allegation about a Labour Party MP to the prime minister.
Ardern confirmed she was informed of the matter by Collins and said her office later received an email from a third party making the allegations.
READ MORE: New Zealand opposition leader quits as election looms
"Completely inappropriately"
Lees-Galloway, who is married with three children, issued a brief statement admitting he acted "completely inappropriately" and apologising for letting his family down.
“I have acted completely inappropriately in my position and cannot continue as a minister," he said in a statement.
Ardern said the minister had also decided not to stand at the next election, due on September 19.
Political turbulence
The prime minister's popularity has skyrocketed due to her response to the Covid-19 pandemic that has left the country largely unscathed, making her the favourite to win the election.
Her Labour Party, governing in a coalition with the Greens and the nationalist New Zealand First party, will face the National Party in what is expected to be a pandemic-dominated campaign.
But Labour has faced some turbulence in recent weeks.
Lees-Galloway is the second senior minister to leave Ardern's office this month after Health Minister David Clark quit following slip-ups in the government's response to the Covid-19 pandemic and personal mistakes.
A National party lawmaker also quit parliament on Tuesday after being accused of sending a sexually explicit image to a young woman.
READ MORE: Is Jacinda Ardern really the inclusive leader she's been made out to be?
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