Clare Curran has resigned as a Government minister amidst "intolerable" pressure.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says, "Clare Curran contacted me last night to confirm her wish to resign as a Minister and I accepted that resignation.
“Clare has come to the view the issues currently surrounding her are causing an unacceptable distraction for the Government and immense pressure on her personally.
“I agree with her assessment that resigning is the best course of action for the Government and for her.”
Curran says: “I have come to the conclusion the current heat being placed on me is unlikely to go away. This pressure has become intolerable.
"For the benefit of the Government, and my personal wellbeing, I believe that resignation is the best course of action.”
Curran took personal leave on Thursday after being hammered in the House on Wednesday for using her personal Gmail account for government business.
She was booted out of Cabinet two weeks ago for failing to declare a meeting with Derek Handley, who later became a candidate for the Government's new Chief Technology Officer role.
In December she also secretly met with Carol Hirschfeld, who resigned from her senior position at Radio New Zealand after it came out she mislead the organisation’s boss about the meeting.
Kris Faafoi will become the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media, remaining outside of Cabinet, and Peeni Henare will become the Associate Minister for ACC.
Curran will continue to be the Member of Parliament for Dunedin South.
56 Comments
It is interesting to ask, on behalf of future generations, which politicians are on the right track.
Curran wasn't, but neither was Key, nor was English.
At the moment, I'm hard pressed to name one pollie who gets where we've got to have been, by about yesterday. Parker is muttering about aa circular economy and some are talking about a 'transition' but while we fail to dissect the UN Millenium Development goals, fail to address the distance between real sustainability and the RMA, keep wittering on about growth and jobs and productivity-gains, we're all wasting time.
Curran was silly, not disingenuous. But she was a wasted space given the leadership we need now. As are most parliamentarians.
I am very happy for ministers to have meetings with whom ever they please. I don't elect politicians and ministers to work completely like civil servants. I elect them to have an overview of the ministries and sometimes make them uncomfortable. If at times they go a bit independent, that's a good thing.
So the reason is 'the current heat being placed on me'. Not my own incompetence or deceitfulness, it's those nasty pricks in the opposition putting pressure on me that me that 'has become intolerable'.
This must be stopped. Jacinda, set up working group 127 - reform of the Westminster parliamentary system.
powerdownkiwi. Slippery fast boys, the lot off them. They'd not even get past base one with a much more informed and less constrained public and media today. Ancient (but interesting) history although not really relevant. We expect much more from ministers of the crown today and Curren bleating that others are to blame for her downfall shows she is in denial about her behaviour. Accountability, transparency and all the other lofty characteristics we were promised of this government nowhere to be seen.
GOOD RIDDANCE~!!! if you cannot take the heat - LEAVE. Nobody has time for a weakling like Clare Curran in politics.
As for 'heat', she doesn't know what heat is. She should leave politics altogether - clearly she was only there to eat her free lunch. The woman is pathetic, ZERO sympathy, what a dozy b****~!!!
Its odd that Jacinda said on ZB this morning that Currans job was safe even though she had accepted her resignation the night before.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=…
The PM spoke to Newstalk ZB - https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/national/besieged-clare-curran-quits-…
The said this morning that Curren was safe yet accepted her resignation the night before - those statements can't both be true. The PM lied.
I am starting to get the impression that Labour is self-imploding.
Not only is Jacinda having issues within her own party's Ministers with Curran and Whitairi, it would appear that Winston and NZ First are not the junior partner in the coalition but rather the effective power within Government. Contradictory statements on refugee quotas last week is the most recent example of this; the major concessions that Jacinda has had to make for NZF babies (regional development, foreign affairs and racing) at the expense of Labour proposed policies (delay in WFF, unable to fully appease her nurses and teachers constituency etc) add further to her woes.
Jacinda is not having anything like the dream run she had in the periods both leading up to the elections and the first few months as PM.
My outside bet: a melt down of the COL prior to the next election with Winston, Shane and NZF looking really great pushing/forcing an early election. As for the Greens - like Elvis, they seemed to have already left the building (albeit really satisfied that they have achieved a great legacy in banning plastic bags).
Politics is becoming really fascinating!
Eh, about as much as National are melting down from Soimon's leaker-in-caucus and their internal trawling through every MP's private communications. Soimon hasn't got his party's backing and now they have an internal witch hunt.
It's good that Curran is going. Seems she's not up to the job. Better than the likes of Nick Smith, Hekia Parata etc. who get to hang around anyway...or heck, Mike Sabin or Todd Barclay, for that matter.
Better to cut the dead wood rather than keeping it around for appearance's sake.
That’s sumtink the PM would do. Both her and Simon could do with some media training. They both need to concentrate on pronunciation and Simon needs to remember he’s no longer speaking at the speed a court stenographer can work at. My wife had media training and I’ve suffered her correction over the pronunciation of forehead for decades, until I realised she was right and gave up fighting. Check here. Barely 1 in 100 kiwis get it right. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/pronunciation/english/forehead
You may see the pressure come off soon as it’s preferable to have the original opponent spent in the 12th round than give them a chance to tag another team member and get fresh legs for the final pre-election rounds in 2020. We don’t want a repeat of Angry Andy’s resignation. That didn’t end well for 45% of voters. What I’m intrigued to follow is NZF support. That’s what will really determine the outcome.
The ministerial reassignments in this case are really good ones. And Claire Curran will have more time to work on some really pressing issues they have in the Dunedin South electorate with respect to aging/inadequate stormwater infrastructure (repeated flooding of many properties) and city/regional issues more generally.
Sometimes people are suited to the cut and thrust of ministerial portfolios, sometimes not - it needn't reflect on their overall value as a Parliamentarian, and in particular as an electorate MP. She wants to concentrate on shining in the latter now.
Cut and thrust? Sabre versus rapier? Not any one at all these days, either side of the house. I came by chance on a transcript of Muldoon when he was in opposition to the Kirk government. absolutely devastating. no fan of Muldoon myself but oh boy did he ever have the facts and arguments marshalled and presented. We have nothing like that now. Cut and thrust? more like push and shove.
Actually, Kate, South Dunedin doesn't have stormwater issues. It has sea-level issues. Dig 400mm down and its not only saline, it's tidal. And where the Otago Harbour Board dumped mud, the Edgar Stadium is sinking into it.
Dunedin, by 2100, will consist of an (ex-Peninsula) island, an awash area of of ruined structures, the tide lapping at Carisbrook, and some tenuously-serviced suburbs clinging to the hills. Attempting to be fed from the Taieri which they've never stopped urban-sprawling onto, which floods due to removal of upland tussock, and which is only a metre above high-tide at the airport itself.
But don't worry, this Govt has given them money to look at upgrading their Harbour Basin. Whatever they're onto, it's not 'it', for sure. .
Yes, but presently, the problems (if I've read the reports correctly) only occur during periods of high rainfall? Look on the bright side, it's not quite as bad as New Orleans. And you are likely right, so existing assets with the real businesses and real people attached to them need addressing.
Adaptation (whether that be retreat and relocation or something else) is a pressing issue, more so than mitigation. But we seem to be concentrating our political capital on adopting time-bound mitigation slogans (i.e., '-free'), as opposed to adapting as a means to secure 'our place' within the changing conditions.
Not only are sea levels rising but they are now exponential rises. Prawn farms may be the way to go in Sth Dunedin. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/2015GL063902
The perception is tainted by what side of the fence you're on. Both have their issues. I left the Nats due to their housing, enviro and immigration efforts> I'm still with the COl for the efforts they are making re housing. A wait and see with respect to the other issues.
I note Granny Herald is flat out pumping negative stories about the govt via the Hoskings and Sopers as fast as they can, so from a msm impression, the COl may appear a little troubled. However, I'd take little notice....at grassroots, particularly the young and rentier class, I'd be surprised if they aren't making gains.
The Herald has become our Fox news....and getting worse by the day.
I'd still vote the COL over National - they need more than a term of penance for their sins.
Housing... housing needs a capital gains tax. And, no exceptions. Labour trialed a CGT, but gave it the boot early on. Their trial balloon still had exceptions, which meant that many people would have still found a loophole to avoid the CGT. If the COL really wanted to improve housing affordability, they would address the council permit process, as well as the materials duopoly that currently exists in NZ. The materials costs for construction in NZ are considerably higher than in other countries. There are many elements that should be addressed, but are not being addressed. A big tell to me was that Labour refused to say that house prices should come down, but instead used the "houses are unaffordable" mantra.
As to National, they have similar issues, which you and everyone that reads the comments here are very well aware of. Red, blue, green, black,... yeah, nah. I need another color! :)
I disagree. The goal is to find a long-term solution, not a short term stop gap bandaid. If a CGT was instituted a couple of decades ago, and even better, a stamp duty tax, the market here would have been quite different. As to a CGT, it should apply to any sales from implementation without regard to the purchase date. It should also not have any exceptions.
CGT and Stamp Duty would enable Rates to stay lower for longer, on the other hand, and enable contributions to be gained from foreign buyers who are availing of local subsidised medical and educational services while earning all their income overseas (as has been a problem for Vancouver).
Never forget, land tax is one reason why so many New Zealanders own some land today.
We need to define just what you are referring to in regards to "rates". My expectation is that a CGT and stamp duty would result in a lowered income tax rate. The council rates are levied to provide funding for local council expenses, and have nothing to do with central government expense reimbursement. BTW, the true foreign buyers are less than likely to be taking advantage of medical and educational subsidization. If they were availing themselves of these possible benefits, they would be very likely to be residents rather than foreigners.
Some good points on the first ones, and I'd agree whatever taxes we place on land at a national level should be countered with lower income taxes.
The Vancouver experience of families availing of services while paying very little tax, with a father earning off shore, was what I had in mind. Difficult to know exactly how much of an issue is when it's been one of those things in the too hard to measure bucket for the last few years, next to foreign buyer volumes, children in poverty etc.
Stamp duties are a terrible idea. Just make it more expensive for people to move to follow the needs of life changes in jobs or children or health issues - or even in up-sizing or down-sizing as kids are born or leave home. They instantly confer a huge advantage on the wealthy who have the capital to buy and hold (and rent if not occupying) forever.
CGT's are OK, but only if the CGT is only on gains above inflation - otherwise govt is motivated to have high inflation to rob taxpayers of capital.
Agreed about the inflation indexing. That concept should be pushed forward to all taxation, which will result in a baseline increase in the tax level as inflation indexing will reduce the baseline tax income.
Add: there may be unintended consequences with the imposition of a stamp duty. My evaluation suggests that a stamp duty will have more positive than negative overall. There will be a few that get caught due to circumstances. Far more will get caught due to attempting to profit from flipping an unproductive asset. So sorry, too bad...
Just a wee heads up Rastus, the rentier class are the landlords. https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/applied-and-social-science…
Interesting article.
I'd be quite curious to see what adjectives would have been used in the article if it was an opinion piece instead of news, and whether there would have been a transcript of some of the questions and responses with an evaluation of the character of the responses. I'd suggest that "bumbling" would have been one of the more mild descriptors that could be used in regards to her initial responses.
Yes she has.
also with a bit of surfing you will also discover that her office tried to cover it up by releasing an"official" transcript of this mornings interview with Chris Lynch.This transcript left out key words from the interview.
Although Pravda 1 at 6pm will no doubt recite the revised version.
Because in their eyes Cindy doesn't lie..she said so during the election ..remember?
Great news. She is clearly an idiot and wants to turn the country into a slum:
Clare Curran Retweeted Simon Copland
1st, thanks @SimonCopland for this extraordinary reporting. 2nd, the views expressed by Molyneux/Southern are abominable. Today I signed letters welcoming multiple former refugees from Syria to Dunedin Sth as citizens eligible to vote. WELCOME. Multiculturalism is evolution.
If you are not up to the task of being a minister after 3 terms in Parliament then you should make room for fresh blood who might, back-bench is for learning the ropes before becoming a Minister, not a holding pen for troughers who don't make the grade. Curran should not be back next term. Labour have a bit of a Diversity problem emerging with their cabinet, underperforming Women and Maori ministers
They're not the only ones
https://thestandard.org.nz/hey-tracy-watkins-judith-collins-was-not-cle…
There's a ticking time-bomb, but it's not the only one, eh? :)
In no way was national much better..
Unfortunately,just about every answer in Question time lately is prefaced with.." due to 9 years of neglect.."
or .."over the last 9 years..."
Labour had the equivalent time to dream up solutions but were lazy and now need working groups to buy them some time.
"There is a major problem, Major Tom.."
"I'm very good at integral and differential calculus
I know the scientific names of beings animalculous
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral
I am the very model of a modern Major-General"
Maybe not in the Labour camp, though..
(Sorry, just wasting time on a beautiful Saturday morning)
We welcome your comments below. If you are not already registered, please register to comment.
Remember we welcome robust, respectful and insightful debate. We don't welcome abusive or defamatory comments and will de-register those repeatedly making such comments. Our current comment policy is here.