Kiri Allan fires back as National Party probes allegation of staffing issues
Cabinet Minister Kiri Allan has not only been staunch in the face of questions about her conduct, she’s fired back.
Returning to Parliament after days on leave, seemingly for unrelated mental health reasons, Allan spent the day denying, repeatedly, there were any issues with her management of staff, after Stuff revealed heads of departments she was responsible for had raised concerns about how staff were treated in her office.
Allan also fought back during two appearances at parliamentary committees, where probing National MPs bickered with Labour colleagues. She accused National of conducting a “fishing exercise” that was “yet to turn anything up”.
“We have not got any issues that preclude us from being able to undertake the job that New Zealanders expect of us. I understand that there has been a fishing exercise undertaken by some members, I understand that that story has been shopped about, for some time,” Allan said during a Thursday morning hearing.
She yelled at Bureaucrats?
She screamed at the Professional Managerial Class?
She shouted at the unelected technocrats who wield so much power?
GOOD!
YELL MORE DAMMIT! SCREAM YOUR LUNGS OUT KIRI!
This outrageous attempt to smear Kiri and drag her personal life into all of this by the media is pretty ugly.
The Self Serving Public Service will be leaking every bit of dirt they have on Labour as the Professional Managerial Class play both sides of the game in case National win and they need credit in the bank with their new political masters.
We need more Kiris in Parliament, not less!
She is staunch for the voiceless who never have their concerns heard and she is relentless in expressing disappointment when shit doesn’t get done.
This unelected technocrat class don’t like being told what to do, and they are leaking this as pay back.
The election is almost 15 weeks away, expect lots more of these insinuation loaded shit throwing in an attempt to distract everyone to the far bigger issues confronting our country other than Kiri Allan yelling at Political Managers.
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Too right! Seems to me that the “unanswerable” have too much power. I didn’t vote for them. Time to revert to their pre Douglas status as “public servants”.
Absolutely agree Nick. To much crap taken from people who don’t do their job.
Imagine the reaction of the CeO of Fletchers if one of his senior managers was outed in public while on stress leave for shouting at one of the store managers who was not carrying out the company policy.
Government should be the same. Civil Servants are employed to carry out Government policy whether they like it or not. If they don’t like it fuck off.
But in the literal sense shouldn’t be treated like “servants.”
Yelled at unacceptable.
Bob
Yes they should be treated like servants. Public servants. As in “Do what I say (execute policy) or fuck off”.
We don’t have public servants down in Wellington. We have well suited clipboard tyrants who farm all the hard work out to expensive consultants while scooping up, while feathering their nests with huge salaries. So if she did indeed yell at them for not complying, gold medal. But was it that? Or was it something else?
Take your point KH.
You don’t know shit
Very pleased I don’t know.
The media is dragging her personal life into it? It was Allan herself who disclosed she’d been having problems with “mental health and wellness”.
I agree that yelling at ministerial staff is not a sacking offense. But I saw what you did there Martyn – you would have us believe the problem with this government isn’t the leadership or the intentions. No! The problem is that this government’s fine intentions are thwarted by evil bureaucrats.
LINO and the Wellington bureaucracy have a thoroughly symbiotic relationship. The bureaucrats know their jobs are secure under a LINO government – and much less so if ACT has a say in the next government.
It was an unprofessional response.
This was not ”speaking truth to power”. Allen is not marginalised – she is PMC.
Playing the victim looks like DARVO to me: Deny, Attack, Reverse roles between Victim and Offender.
We’ve all seen it play out in our personal and professional lives. Someone complains of an offence and rather than answer the complaint the person complained about claims victimhood. It’s as old as humanity.
The way democracy has been rendered moot is being outed internationally. The public have had enough. It’s time to do change this ugly truth. Turning it into political spin in the same old game wont wash.
Pope Punctilious 11. “ … fine intentions are thwarted by evil bureaucrats “. If you’re referring to the departments sexualising children and imposing their genderID ideology onto school kids then “ evil” is the right word. Socrates being accused of corrupting youth had nothing on these people, and shouting or yelling is much too good for them. One day they should also stand trial.
Those bureaucrats are carrying out the government’s directives, Holly. My point was that Martyn is either delusional or gaslighting us when he tries to tell us that bureaucrats have thwarted this government’s agenda – that bureaucrats have prevented LINO from being “truly transformational”. It’s bollocks – LINO is the political arm of the PMC.
Pope Punctilious 11. I know. Sorry. I was being opportunistic myself here. You provided me with an opportunity to whack the sex and gender engineering being used by this government to mentally, emotionally, psychologically and maybe physiologically and physically damage a generation of our children.
Yeah right on! Go Kiri. And, that’s if she did ‘yell and scream’… Also the media ramp up when she has just come back from a mental health break seems especially nasty, to achieve maximum damage.
As Shane Te Pou pointed out “yell and scream” in this context mean the same thing(obviously she wasnt literally ‘screaming’). It’s deliberate hyperbole for effect.
Nicko John Key yelled and screamed in Parliament for Labour to get some guts and send other people’s offspring off to fight in other people’s wars. The Nats seemed quite comfortable with that, even if the National politician behind Key, some nondescript character from Tauranga or somewhere, looked terrified, but Bill English seated alongside Key kept his head down busy fiddling in his lap unperturbed by Key making the costermongers of Billingsgate look like comatose deaf-mutes, so this looks like double standards or hypocrisy or both.
Somewhat similar but opposite to Nats labelling the section 59, anti beating children bill as anti ‘smacking ‘ as smacking sounds more gentle than hitting or punching kids Raising one’s voice is hyperbolized to ‘yelling and screaming.’ Makes better headlines for the media and Tory tabloid faeces .stirrers like Vance
Rodel. Good point re Sue Bradford’s anti-smacking bill. Unfortunately many of us have utilised referencing it as such; in future I’ll call it Bradford’s “anti-child violence “ bill. She still gets sniped at for this, and not just by far right commentators.
Can we ask how Allan compares to this…?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/maggie-barry-bullying-claims-staffers-from-three-government-departments-raised-concerns-while-she-was-minister/H35HCTIE3LCW2OQEVBHG4KYN4Y/
“Details of all the complaints will be kept secret, however, despite requests they be made available under the Official Information Act as part of the Weekend Herald’s investigation into the alleged bullying.”
Bureaucrat: “That Kiri Allen comes in here trying to kick ass and make me work hard who does she think she is raising her voice at vulnerable people, I’m only paid $350k, I shouldn’t have to put up with this shit”.
This all just reads as Dirty Politics.
Pathetic by ACT-National and their donors who pay for this crap.
Why won’t they talk about their austerity policies and privatisation agenda??
Gosh.
Having spent time with Kiri Allan in her role as conservation minister and seen the way she treats her staff and others around her you realise pretty quickly that she is an arrogant bully. The world needs less Kiri Allans not more.
Oh really? Like who are you, and what did she do? Just more slander and unless you get specific Neil.
Sorry. Just don’t believe you.
Yelling isn’t enough. If you were actually serious about major reforms (and New Labour aren’t), you would start dismantling the neo-liberal bureaucracy in order to rebuild it. There would be mass sackings as the corrupt people are driven out.
A government which truly broke from neo-liberal globalism would be viciously attacked by the deep state (both the local bureaucracy, and the intelligence and military apparatus in D.C. and London). There would need to be an immediate purge of the top brass from the intelligence agencies, the military, the central bank, the C.I.D., the crime squads and Special Branch. The police force itself would probably need to return to being separate borough & county constabularies, to prevent some kind of nationally-directed police mutiny.
Good story Martyn
I am temped to shout at a few journalists too and ask them what political games are you up to !
in election year . Dottie
Promotion by gender fails again.
Labour must be running out of minister material by now.
It has never been Tane as you should know ‘promotion by gender’!
Correct. It’s just been the last 6 years.
At least the media have moved away from their fawning support of all things Labour!
Goes to prove if they smell blood in the water they will attack any side.
The fact it is all a beat up is still concerning though.
What media are you referring to? so long as Granny Herald publishes those couple of un
-informed gits: Hosking and her and others and so long as we have that dreadful ‘talk back’ shit going on then to suggest that the media are fawning over Labour is a nonsense.
I would never vote for either of the main parties – just a cigarette paper between them, both frankly falling over themselves for business and the middle class.
Going after a Labour Māori lesbian shows the media is not so captured by wokeness as we thought.
Well jack,the reality it seems,is Kiri has issues that are undermining her ability to act in a responsible manner.She appears highly stressed.
Bullying should not be condoned though.
Perhaps she should have used a bed leg like Uffindell. It seems the National party condone it?
jack – Amen to that
Jack, Jack – C’mon it all makes good copy for journalists. They get to wield their power over hapless or helpless, good MPs or nincompoops. Probably it’s one rare example of equality you can find in current NZ. Current as in electric!
Jack. They’re “ … going after a Maori lesbian “ only because transgendered persons are now flavour of the month, and not just with the MSM, but with left-wing politicians, right-wing police, Dept of Education, Health Department, Kiwibank, and the powerful pharmaceutical companies.
Andrea Vance and her unnamed source needs to be careful, she’s been in trouble before with Peter Dunn. A senior public servant who discusses office politics in secret ( and the allegations over a year old ) will not play well with the public voters at large. Good on Kiri for sticking up for herself against a “secret source”. The journalists didn’t like this did they ??. The good Doctor Sharma comes to mind with all his baseless allegations where absolutely nothing was proved and he’s gone. The National party and the press at large ( many of them on a junket to china at the expense of the taxpayer) where there to promote NZ and the economy , all they did was talk about Kiri Allan and a faceless bureaucrat ( who was probably an overpaid useless one anyway). Every day the MSM become more vile and disgusting . Its called freedom of the press and a straight jacket for the rest of us
To add insult to injury Peter Dunn is now having his twopence worth about government ministers not knowing their responsibilities. Talk about calling the kettle black , what a sniveling bloody hypocrite how dare he comment on a trashy piece of journalism by his old girlfriend.
Is this the same Peter Dunne who had under-age kids delivering junk mail designated independent self-employed contractors running their own businesses, or was he cloned?
To us old school folk, yelling or being yelled at is no big deal. You know, sticks and stones…
To this woke Labour mob, words are weapons, Thus, yelling at someone is almost akin to assault. Hence, Allan couldn’t simply own it.
First, it’s the Labour government that has hired all these additional thousands of bureaucrats in Wellington and empowered them with solid six-figure salaries.
Second, any decent manager knows that you don’t get anything done by screaming at people, however much they may piss you off What is this? Kindergarten? Like it or not she and other Labour Cabinet Ministers need these bureaucrats to get things done. What this episode shows, once again, is just how inexperienced in life and incompetent these Labour MP’s are.
They are quota women, not hired for expertise but for marginalized victim points.
Acies it appears to me that some of these bureaucrats don’t know the meaning of the privacy act and their ability to comment on their job especially if this person is still employed . If they are, I suggest they are in breach of their confidentiality contract and should face a disciplinary hearing. By the way lots of bureaucrats were employed for the covid response many of them private health professionals, people conveniently forget that. Also we need more health professionals ,police , firefighters etc. Who do you think employs the prison workers , with NACT wanting to lock them baddies up and throw away the key these are also government bureaucrats and they will need a whole lot more of them. Just remember NACT wants to cut these services and privatize them.
Yeah, yeah. It’s what I always hear from the Left every election. Oh we’ll hire more doctors and nurses and police and firefihghters and blah, blah, blah. More frontline public workers.
Except it’s always more fucking deskbound, regulation-writing, report-writing ‘crats. Always. Helen Clark’s government was the same, though not as bad.
acies. Not just more bureaucrats. You forget that at a time, as now, when we urgently needed more doctors and nurses, disc jockeys were green lighted as essential workers and given preferential entry into New Zealand. That’s pretty sick, but Ardern got herself photographed smiling with them as VIP’s; about sixty-seven got in, while trained medical professionals queued outside, and stretched hospital staff worked themselves into states of exhaustion, doing real work.
Politicians and mayors flaunting publicly living it up while so many people are struggling, isn’t just puerile and self-indulgent, and arrogant and entitled, it’s socially irresponsible, IMO, and they should get voted out.
Oh, and the privacy act doesn’t get to beat out four CEO’s of four different government departments, nor the fact that the sort of ‘crats that get assigned to a Minister very much want to do well.
If those sorts of people are speaking up to their CEO’s and their CEO’s are speaking up, then it’s a damned sight bigger problem than one that should be covered up by “privacy concerns” or saying that there have been no official complaints. I’ll bet there have not been: career ending of they did.
The public service is loaded to the gunwales with fifth columnists of varying descriptions, people that in some cases despise working class people yet are more than happy to accept massive salaries via their tax contributions!
Parliamentary Services in particular is a writhing snake pit of ‘would be if they could bes’. None of that should excuse poor treatment of workers of course, but there are many avenues for a disgruntled Wellington luvvie or closet tory to seek redress if there is an actual problem rather than an exaggerated “exclusive” to media channels.
It should be noted Kiri Allan and Jan Tinetti have both had brushes with nasty cancers in the last several years and should be cut some slack. Remember Natzo leader Todd Muller who had an anxiety related melt down? He is now paraded as a good guy because he spoke up about mental health being an issue for politicians. Media boofs need to pull their heads in some times–but it is election year–so go Kiri.
No Cabinet Ministers shouldn’t be cut slack because; cancer, relationship breakdown, sexuality, or whatever. Cabinet Ministers are elected officials of the highest order, if they are not up to the task (for any reason) they should bugger off.
If it’s good enough for the average Joe taxpayer to be expected to be 100% on the while being paid the average wage; then highly paid Cabinet Ministers should be walking on water…
/agree, fully mate, fully!
We need to be careful though that we don’t undermine the public service as a whole. I’ve always differentiated between upper middle/upper ranks and the worker bees at the coal face – the latter often having to put up with their “superiors” passing blame to “junior emotional staffers” while taking credit for things when they go right (Not that often these days unfortunately). It’s a feature of the neo-liberal cistern, and it needs to change.
The public service, just like any other elements in society has its delicate little petals alongside bullies and egotists.
What’s relevant in the Kiri Allen case was a recent admission by that old biddy that runs MoBIE that the royal “we” have sometimes failed. I just about fell off my stool when I heard and saw her say it because it was about the first time I’d heard a PS CEO make such an admission. I guess she finally had to because MoBIE’s (the Ministry for Everything) record has been abysmal. Probably not her fault though because she wasn’t responsible for creating such a bugger’s muddle of an institution with not enough worker bees; at times a big staff turnover making it hard for worker bees to get up to speed; managers that can’t tell the difference between a grifter and a genuine case (read in the context of this :
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/132417389/held-to-ransom-immigration-boss-targets-growing-migrant-scam-hundreds-affected )
Thankfully, this is now apparently going to be a No1 priority. We’ll see. I’m not holding my breath.
I note that a few years back when I traveled and tracked down some of those that had been ripped, NOT ONCE had INZ or the Labour Expectorant run any warnings in local media in countries where the worst scams are operating to this day. Instead they were preoccupied with cost cutting measures, such as closing down offices.
And we STILL don’t do things that are bleeding bloody obvious or take advice from reputable people operating at the coal face (McClymont, Kaloti, Malcolm and a few others )
/endrant but let’s hope that between Labour, Greens, MP they clean this shit up
closet tory
Heh. I think it’s more accurate to say that they are a class unto themselves and will do everything to protect their pay and privileges. If that means sucking up to a Labour government then they’ll whisper sweet nothings about how larger government programs and more spending will achieve government objectives. It National are in power they’ll agree that cuts must be made – but regrettably not at this moment, Minister – and thereby preserve the status quo until the next Left-wing government is elected and the spigots are opened upon them once more.
Is she related to Meka ‘Fightery’ ?
No Maggie Battery
Nicko John Key yelled and screamed in Parliament for Labour to get some guts and send other people’s offspring off to fight in other people’s wars. The Nats seemed quite comfortable with that, even if the National politician behind Key, some nondescript character from Tauranga or somewhere, looked terrified, but Bill English seated alongside Key kept his head down busy fiddling in his lap unperturbed by Key making the costermongers of Billingsgate look like comatose deaf-mutes, so this looks like double standards or hypocrisy or both.
No Elizabeth Caneryere
If she was yelling at Gen ZZZZZZZ’s I can absolutely see why. I’ve yelled at a few myself, they bait you to that level of frustration at times.
Agreed they play games with you. It’s sad how this new generation behaves.
The big problem is that the ministries think they own the show and as Nanaia Mahuta has said more than once she is not happy with the information she gets from her own ministry ‘Foreign Affairs’
All of these ministries have agendas regardless of who is supposedly in charge.
Reminds me of Steve Maharey and Christine Rankin.
As I remember she was larger than ordinary working place life.
He didn’t feel that there was a good working relationship.
And also he or someone else did not approve as a Labour Party MP of a staff member allotted to him by the Civil servants PTB who was a partner or had close relationship with National Party MP or leadership.
How can one be assured of unbiased treatment from the civil service who are supposed to be apolitical? How can one remain completed unskewed in politically soaked surroundings?
Steve’s Pilgrim’s Progress:
https://teara.govt.nz/en/cartoon/33077/christine-rankin-inquiry
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/minister-gets-grilling-before-court-evidence/CNFYC4X5HVDWIF2A3IKK552FDE/
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/maharey-gives-evidence-in-rankin-case/H35YPLSZ2QPH5KCE2JEPGF7KBY/
Now Mar.7/23 https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/485450/public-sector-boss-steve-maharey-has-offered-to-resign-health-minister
Any number of ways the “underminers” can frustrate a Minister…“forgetting” is good one, just missing a deadline, fudging or misplacing documents, breaking confidence, talking out of school during trips, and some more active methods. I have met a number of these weasels during my political activities over the years and they can be dodgy as.
Yelling is never a great idea in any employment relationship but some of those leakers and back stabbers employed by Parliamentary Services would try anyone’s patience what ever the Political Party involved. Public Service neutrality is an urban myth.
“Public Service neutrality is an urban myth”
It certainly is these days. And those older lags that do abide by the concept of neutrality and who are dedicated to service (such as Daddy Bear Minto) get made redundant at the first opportunity. Good that he at least has been freed from the shackles of neo-liberal orthodoxy and is now able to let rip.
I sincerely hope TPM and Greens (and also TOP) are busy getting their bottom loins together
Interesting and informative TM. Everyone should watch clips of Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister Fttt. I understand that politically aware people made it and spent exhaustive (exhausting?) time around the UK Parliament and Ministers picking up themes and ideas and anecdotes so it’s fairly well on the nose.
With Sir Humphrey you at least got the sense that he wasn’t a nasty bastard and he couldn’t be bribed in the conventional sense because he wanted a knighthood at the end of his service.
Not the feeling I get from the modern lot who think of themselves as Management Professionals, except they don’t know how to make money, aside from their own salary – and on that front I think they’d screw anybody over for an extra 100k a year.
Still, yelling and screaming at them is just incompetent management.
Simeon, what uncaring youth, making politik, out of your oppositions, personal cancer health care. Simeon, mocking bird, monsterous slanderer, without, human care. Simeon, you are name perfect, for the A.C.T. Herman the performer, Lilly, the teaser and Simeon the dupe, all part of the Munsters.
Munsters that post.
Well I must admit, I am a little suspicious of this story and the timing, unless there is more to come…….And as most people know, Iam ex Labour and I want them gone. But it does seem like a beat up.
However there are many reasons that Alan is not fit for office, including her rave at her fiancées leaving do and her disgraceful call to show Posie Parker what NZders do. She is the Ministerfor Justice for god sake!
Also we have no idea of the circumstances of Kiri getting angry with staff. It is easy to imagine she was kicking arse to get things done. But there is no evidence that this was the trigger for her anger.
Anyway, I think she is another Labour minister who is either incompetent, entitled, has problems with poor self control or all three
Dare, post.
I thought Kiri looked very fragile on the TV interview. relationship breakups are no fun at all …the eyes give it away , she’s hurting , and to have the political fallout happen at the same time is not good timing…I wish the lass the best for her future…
I shall second that Te Waka Tahae Rob’s Mob.
Dirty politics no more no less. This Labour government has been accused of not getting things done now we can see why with the public service loaded with right wing trolls. If this accusation was so bad why wait a year to start complaining in election year. If my memory is correct Kiri would have only just come back from her cancer treatment about then. This is shameful no more no less. No official complaints were made end of story and dare I suggest if this was so bad why didn’t this leaker leak then , oh that’s right it wasn’t election year then. What’s more shameful is a rich business owner donating five hundred thousand dollars to the National party . I wonder what he’s paying for more dirty politics
loaded with right wing trolls
Speaking as RWNJ I wish you were right, but not even close. Out of the two hundred or so Wellington ‘crats I’ve known over the last thirty years I’ve only known two, one in Treasury and one in the GCSB, who came close to being right-wing.
And right now, every one I know of (down to a couple of dozen now) are as woke as fuck.
Queeny with respect I think you are clutching at straws.
This Labour Government have proven beyond doubt they can’t get things done, they are simply inept.
Traditionally the public service are left wing along with all the other bureaucrats in Wellington.
I add I have some sympathy for Kiri.
With respect Bob if you say so
Who’s doing her multiple policies at the moment?
Gliding On.