A ministerial career over and a government under pressure

Kiri Allan's resignation yesterday is being described as a sad demise. It's also prompted a flurry of opinion about where it leaves Labour less than three months out from the election

Mōrena and welcome to The Bulletin for Tuesday, July 25, by Anna Rawhiti-Connell. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.

In today’s edition: US Secretary of State visiting this week; volcanologist says Whakaari White Island visitor numbers led to “greater chance” of “mass casualty event”; a sinkhole has opened up in Auckland; but first, reflections on Kiri Allan’s career, resignation and the ramifications

Chris Hipkins and Kiri Allan

The Kiri Allan story

Following Kiri Allan’s resignation yesterday after news broke that she will face charges after crashing her car on Sunday night, Toby Manhire has astutely compiled the facts of yesterday’s events and the leadup to them. Manhire has also reflected on a politician who overcame immense personal challenge to achieve meteoric success as a parliamentarian. The Herald’s Claire Trevett (paywalled) has a similar reflection writing that Allan, “is perhaps more human than many: She was never a cookie-cutter politician. When she was good she was very good, but she made mistakes too. She has a staunch facade and some rough edges but she wears her heart on her sleeve, where it is easily bruised.”

Manhire has also done a special episode of Gone By Lunchtime which recounts what we know so far, and draws on comments made by Allan at a special Spinoff event reuniting the 2017 candidate diarists to reflect on an extraordinary political story.

24 hours of questions

Because we lack detail and a crystal ball, you can characterise commentary and opinion in the last 24 hours about Allan’s as “questioning” and “spilt”, served with a side of “definitive” that may or may not hold up as time goes on. There are questions about prime minister Chris Hipkins’ judgement from Andrea Vance in The Post (paywalled) in allowing Allan to return to work when she did. There are questions from Newsroom’s Jo Moir about comments from National party leader Christopher Luxon suggesting Hipkins should have had a clinician sign off on her return. There are questions about what all this means for Labour’s election chances from Stuff’s Tova O’Brien and The Herald’s Audrey Young (paywalled). These are just a small sample and there’s a bit of a high-wire act in balancing how you feel personally about what Allan has been through and what’s happened and the political ramifications. It was good to see Newshub’s Amelia Wade talk to Allan’s constituents on the East Coast. There is still a lot of dust to settle but Hipkins moved quickly to try and recalibrate, reallocating Allan’s portfolios yesterday.

Another reshuffle

Allan’s portfolios were reallocated yesterday. First-term minister Ginny Andersen will take over the justice portfolio and continue to hold her police role. Hipkins said aligning the two portfolios would be “important in the coming weeks as we progress ram raid legislation to ensure young offenders face more accountability for their crimes”. It is unusual for these portfolios to be aligned given the possible conflicts of interest but Annette King held both in 2007/2008. Deborah Russell will pick up an associate justice minister role to manage any conflicts. Kieran McAnulty will become the minister for regional development. He already holds the emergency management, local government, racing and rural communities portfolios. Grant Robertson, who is cyclone recovery minister, will take over the lead coordination role for Tairawhiti and Bay of Plenty. 

Auckland harbour crossing decision delayed

Unrelated to the necessary reshuffle that resulted following Allan’s resignation, David Parker has relinquished the revenue portfolio. Parker admitted last week that he was "disappointed" in the prime minister’s decision to kill off a proposed tax switch, saying it was something he personally supported. The prime minister said Parker requested to pass on revenue to Barbara Edmonds, “freeing him up to focus on transport.” Parker picked up the transport portfolio after Michael Wood resigned. These resignations and reshuffles are creating delays in decision-making. BusinessDesk's Oliver Lewis reported yesterday (paywalled) that work on the additional harbour crossing in Auckland had been delayed, in part due to the need for Parker to get up to speed with it and other issues in his portfolio. The government was due to confirm its preferred option for the additional crossing in June.

Robbie Van Dam on This is Kiwi

Celebrating extraordinary achievements by ordinary people, This is Kiwi explores the remarkable stories of incredible New Zealanders. In the fifth episode of this six part series, Jane Yee talks to Robbie van Dam, co-founder of Goodnature and finalist for Innovator of the Year 2023. Tasked with helping pest control efforts in Aotearoa, Robbie van Dam invented the Goodnature trap. Now almost 20 years later, van Dam wants everyone to realise that the potential for innovation exists everywhere. He joined the This is Kiwi podcast to talk about pests, the planet and the power of looking at things differently.

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts (sponsored)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visiting this week

As Stuff’s Christine Rovoi reports, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting the Pacific this week. He will be in Wellington on Thursday to meet with prime minister Chris Hipkins and foreign affairs minister Nanaia Mahuta. He will also attend a Fifa World cup game between the US and the Netherlands. Before he lands here, Blinken will dedicate the US embassy in Tonga on Wednesday as the US continues to increase its presence in the Pacific. Busy week for visitors to both New Zealand and the wider Pacific region. Anthony Albanese is here tomorrow and French president Emmanuel Macron is visiting New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.

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Click and Collect

• Volcanologist says Whakaari White Island visitor numbers led to “greater chance” of “mass casualty event”

• Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal reserves decision on charges of bringing the profession into disrepute brought aginst co-leader of the NZ Outdoors & Freedom Party, Sue Grey

• Time for passports to be ditched for travel between Australia and New Zealand?

• Road to remain closed overnight after sinkhole forms near police headquarters in Auckland. I’ve was told not to bill this as a metaphor for anything.

• “Sleep tourism” is booming. My attraction to this story possibly explains why I wanted to turn the sinkhole into metaphor.

Got some feedback about The Bulletin, or anything in the news? Get in touch with me at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz.

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Right now on The Spinoff

Kate Hannah knows first hand about the chilling effect of relentless online on women in public life. Danny Rood explains why it’s so hard to make good climate choices. Justin Latif examines whether a boost in maternity funding will count for Māngere’s mums. Charlotte Muru-Lanning ponders the essential qualities of beautiful dairies. Sam Brooks has a guide on what to watch on Netflix, Neon and more this week.

Sporting Snippets

• Everything and nothing has changed as the Football Ferns face the Philippines tonight in Wellington. Side note, and there’s is no way to write this without it sounding like a fairweather sports fan saying “Yay! Sportsball!”, but I went to the Argentina v Italy game at Eden Park last night and I can highly recommend getting along to a Fifa World Cup game if you get the chance. Shout out to the Argentinian supporters who did not stop bouncing, singing and drumming for the duration of the game.

• Negotiators for the Victorian government have left London without a deal over compensation for the state’s decision to cancel the 2026 Commonwealth Games

• The players to watch at the Netball World cup which starts in Cape Town on Friday