Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she is hugely disappointed to see the report into the Meka Whaitiri incident has been leaked.
Ms Ardern said the Department of Internal Affairs would hold an investigation into the leak.
“We were going through a process of making sure that was dealt with appropriately, that we were protecting the employee involved in this situation,” she said this morning during a press conference in New York.
The prime minister told media in New York that they were trying to protect the employee in the situation. (Source: Other)
A draft of the report, which was leaked to the NZ Herald, said the incident involving Ms Whaitiri allegedly left the staff member with bruising to the upper right arm.
Ms Whaitiri was unhappy because she had not been notified about a photo opportunity with Ms Ardern during a media standup in the lunch break of a function in Gisborne, it states.
Whaitiri says she is determined to earn the Prime Minister’s trust back, and work hard for her electorate, after her sacking as a minister. (Source: Other)
Ms Ardern said the fact that she stood down Ms Whaitiri as a minister indicated her response to the report.
“Obviously, the fact that I have stood the minister down demonstrates that I was not satisfied with what I received in the report,” she said.
“The moment that I got the report I made my decision, and people will assess that meant I was not happy with what I read.”
The Prime Minister did point out that her decision was based on Ms Whaitiri contesting only some of the details in the report.
"The minister did continue to contest what was contained in the report so I do need to point that out, but there were elements that were uncontested and that’s the basis also on which I made this decision," she said.
The staff member claims that Ms Whaitiri had grabbed her hard on the arm and took her outside when she saw that Ms Ardern was speaking to the media.
"It (the grab) was hard and it scared the living daylights out of me," the staff member said, according to the leaked draft.
"I wouldn't say 'yelled' but she did raise her voice to me and asked me if I knew what I was doing in my job, and did I realise I'd missed a media opportunity and that that was embarrassing to her because it was her electorate."
Ms Whaitiri was backed by the prime minister to continue in her role as an MP.
“My decision was around her holding ministerial warrant, I made the decision as soon as I read the report and I believe it was the right one," she said.
Wellington lawyer David Patten conducted the inquiry for Ministerial Services and found on balance that the staff member’s version was more likely.
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