Cabinet minister Kiri Allan confirms relationship break-up with Māni Dunlop, returns to Parliament after mental health break

Cabinet minister Kiri Allan and her partner Māni Dunlop have separated, Allan has confirmed.

Allan confirmed the break-up in recent weeks, saying it was a personal matter and she did not wish to comment further on it.

It is understood to be the reason for Allan’s decision to take mental health leave last week, a break she had earlier posted was due to personal circumstances on top of work pressures.

Allan has returned to work today, and this morning responded to news report about “concerns” about the working relationships in her ministerial office, dating back more than a year. She said she had never had any formal complaints about her office.

Her leave was not related to that issue.

Dunlop and Allan got engaged in September last year. Dunlop was the Midday Report presenter at RNZ, but left in March.

At her farewell event, Allan had criticised RNZ for its treatment of Māori staff and ability to retain its top talent - comments that later became public, and led to an apology from Allan and acknowledgement that it could have been perceived as an attempt to tell the broadcaster how to operate.

In Dunlop’s final broadcast, she suggested that she had resigned partly because she had not been selected as the Morning Report host - something she had been tipped as a contender for. There was suspicion that her relationship with a Cabinet Minister was a key factor in that decision.

“It is with a huge amount of sadness that I say goodbye for now, but when you don’t get the top job, it’s time to go elsewhere,” Dunlop said at the time.

“As Māori in mainstream spaces, don’t pigeonhole us, we can do it all, visibility, optics, representation is so important and it shows that we can function in roles and systems and institutions that are not designed for us. But we can do it and carve out our space and make it our own.”

‘Concerns’ over Allan’s office

Yesterday the Department of Conservation confirmed it had raised “concerns” about the working relationships in Allan’s office more than a year ago and one staffer had left her office early as a result.

DoC director-general Penny Nelson said she became aware of concerns about the “working relationships with the minister in the office, and that it was not running as smoothly as it might”.

“One person chose to end their secondment early due to the working relationships in the office. Accordingly, I had discussions with my colleagues, including from Internal Affairs, which manages Ministerial Services, regarding support in the office.

“No further concerns were subsequently brought to my attention, and I understand relationships improved.”

Other concerns were raised by other departments including the National Emergency Agency and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Stuff reported.

This morning, Allan said she was a fair boss who has never shouted at staff, while her office staff “run hard while we’ve got the ball”.

Asked about the specific DoC concerns, Allan said: “I don’t have any further details on that than you do. I don’t understand what those allegations are.”

She did not wish to talk about any particular staffer, adding that the turnover in her office was “very comparable to any other office in this building”.

“Some people love the place and want to stick around. Some people, it’s just not the right fit for them.”

She repeated Prime Minister Chris Hipkins’ assertion that no formal complaints had been raised with her about behaviour in her office.

Asked whether any issues had been raised with her or her office by any department including DoC, Nema or MBIE, she said: “We often frequently talk about a whole range of different issues, whether those are policy expectations that haven’t been met or aren’t being met, whether those are different characteristics of the office, whether we’ve got a good fit for purpose for the team.

“But I’ve never, ever had any allegations put to me that I’ve had to deal with on a staffing front - none.”

The news broke soon after Allan posted on social media that she had taken mental health leave last week because of “personal circumstances” and work pressure.

The news forced Hipkins to speak about the issue from China, where he had just met with China’s Premier Li Qiang.

PM Chris Hipkins meets Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, 28 June 2023. Photo / Nathan McKinnon, RNZ POOL

Hipkins said there had been no formal complaints lodged with his office against Allan, and earlier concerns were dealt with without the need to escalate them. He had not known about the earlier concerns, which pre-dated his time as Prime Minister, but became aware of it recently after inquiries were made.

“From time to time a minister’s office can come under a lot of pressure if their minister is under pressure. There have been instances, as there are with almost every minister, where Minister Allan has experienced more pressure in recent times. My office has worked hard to address those.”

National’s public service spokesman Simeon Brown said the allegations raised serious questions that Allan and Hipkins needed to answer.

This morning Allan said: “I haven’t had those serious allegations put to me. So if somebody can put serious allegations to me that I have not worked with, dealt with, responded to, I welcome it.”

She said that Hipkins’ comments were about ministers’ offices in general, and “we always raise issues with each other”.

Asked if she was a tough boss, she said she didn’t think so.

“I can be a bit of fun. I can be pretty passionate. And I think that I’m definitely not a Wellington politician. I’m from the regions. We do things a little bit differently. But I think I’m fair. I think I have clear expectations, and when those aren’t met, I’m clear about those as well.”

Asked how she was, Allan said: “I’m well. Happy to be back at work.”

Allan’s post on social media yesterday said she had returned to work after a period of leave because she was “struggling with mental health and wellness” over the past few weeks.

“Triggered by personal circumstances, as well as other external things - even things like the cyclones having such a massive impact on our entire region,” said Allan, who is responsible for justice and regional development, and as East Coast MP is based right in the heart of areas hammered by successive cyclones and weather events this year.

“Sometimes things accumulate, and I hit a wall a few weeks ago.”

Alongside managing the impacts of the cyclones, Allan has in recent months faced several political scandals.

In April, she had to apologise after criticising RNZ and its treatment of Māori staff at a private event hosted by the broadcaster.

Shortly after, 1News revealed then-Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon had donated to Allan’s political campaign. While it came before Allan was Justice Minister, after she became minister she had responsibility for Human Rights Commissioners, and should have declared the potential perceived conflict with the Cabinet Office.

Allan has also faced challenges in her personal life while an MP. In early 2021 she was diagnosed with cervical cancer and took time off for chemotherapy.

The allegations of staff treatment levelled at Allan are not the first to hit Labour in recent years.

Former minister Meka Whaitiri was stripped of her ministerial responsibilities in 2018 after an altercation with her press secretary. Whaitiri was reinstated as a minister outside of Cabinet after the 2020 election.

Last year, former MP Gaurav Sharma came out with major allegations of bullying, but was unable to provide any evidence.

Shortly after, Tukituki MP Anna Lorck was accused of bullying by former staffers and was given “leadership training”.

Last year, Parliament Speaker Adrian Rurawhe asked independent investigator Debbie Francis to find out if there’s less bullying and harassment in the precinct since her last inquiry.

In 2019, Francis found systemic problems at Parliament, with toxic behaviour and, in some cases, sexual assault.

The former Speaker, Trevor Mallard, tasked her with investigating bullying and sexual harassment in the halls of power following a string of serious incidents involving MPs.

Francis made more than 80 recommendations, including setting up a special advisory board, requiring everyone who works at Parliament to sign a new code of conduct and reviewing progress in three years’ time.

Derek Cheng is a political reporter for the Herald and has worked in the Press Gallery in Parliament for several years, covering the Helen Clark, John Key, and Jacinda Ardern governments.