Christopher Luxon, Police Minister Mark Mitchell, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith, and Police Commissioner Richard Chambers speak to the media
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is speaking to media following the resignation of Andrew Bayly as a minister after he inappropriately touched the arm of a staffer.
Luxon is speaking in South Auckland from 3.30pm. A livestream can be found at the top of this article.
While Luxon had been primed to laud the impact of his anti-gang laws introduced last year, he will face questions primarily about Bayly, whose resignation from his ACC and Commerce and Consumer Affairs ministerial portfolios was announced today.
According to a timeline provided by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Bayly resigned on Friday night after an “animated discussion” with a staffer last Tuesday, during which he “placed a hand on their upper arm, which was inappropriate”, Bayly admitted.
Speaking to media this afternoon, Bayly said he would have had difficulty fronting media on Friday and needed to speak with family first.
Andrew Bayly spoke to media this afternoon following his resignation as a minister. Photo / RNZ
Bayly, who has been an MP since 2014, apologised last year after it emerged a complaint had been made about his behaviour at a winery in Marlborough. It included that he had sworn at, ridiculed and mocked a worker there, including by repeatedly calling the man a “loser” and telling him to “take some wine ... and f*** off”.
In a statement earlier today, Luxon said he had accepted Bayly’s resignation and thanked him for his “hard work” in his ministerial portfolios.
In a social media post, Labour leader Chris Hipkins criticised Luxon for setting the bar for ministerial conduct “so low”, ministers had to “sack themselves”.
“Andrew Bayly should’ve been gone months ago. After finding out about the latest allegation on Wednesday, the PM waited days for him to resign when he should’ve been sacked Asap”.
Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the NZ Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.
