Rights commissioner resigns over bullying accusations

Human Rights Commissioner Ella Henry has resigned after being accused by the police of using her position to bully a constable who caught her partner running a traffic light in West Auckland.

Ms Henry's resignation was accepted by Associate Justice Minister Margaret Wilson this morning.

Yesterday, Ms Wilson said Ms Henry had acted foolishly in writing a letter, that included her business card, to the officer suggesting he had been motivated by racism because her partner was "black".

But Ms Wilson said that she would not ask Ms Henry to step down because she had apologised and admitted to police that her behaviour had been inappropriate.

This morning, Ms Wilson said she received Ms Henry's resignation from the Chief Human Rights Commissioner, Rosslyn Noonan.

"I have accepted the resignation with regret and will advise the Governor-General accordingly."

Ms Noonan said Ms Henry was acting in the best interests of the commission by resigning.

Ms Henry had written to the officer, Senior Constable Andy Thompson, after receiving a letter from him requesting details of her partner, John Pene.

Senior Constable Thompson had seen Mr Pene driving through an orange light on a Glen Eden school crossing on June 5 while driving Ms Henry's car.

The Community Constable wrote to Ms Henry asking for her partner's details and warned she could be fined up to $10,000 if she did not comply.

Ms Henry replied angrily, saying Mr Pene may have been picked on because of his skin colour.

Police took the letter and further correspondence from Ms Henry, also including her business card, as an attempt to influence them.

Senior Constable Thompson, who was born in Samoa, denied ticketing Mr Pene because of his skin colour and said he was offended by her comments about racism.