Clare Curran resigns as Minister amidst 'intolerable' pressure

Clare Curran admits she can't take the 'heat' and resigns as Minister; Prime Minister says it's the 'best course of action for the Government'

7th Sep 18, 12:17pm by Jenée Tibshraeny

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.

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56 Comments

by powerdownkiwi | 7th Sep 18, 12:35pm 1536280502

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.

by bw | 7th Sep 18, 12:39pm 1536280780

Sounds about right. The whole political scene was summed up, to me, during the last US Presidential elections when one candidate was asked "What is your main priority?" To which she answered, "To get elected!". At least she was honest....

by BadRobot | 7th Sep 18, 3:59pm 1536292754

Ambition is the last refuge of the failure. - Oscar Wilde

by Kate | 7th Sep 18, 1:28pm 1536283732

Good points. Have you read the RBG's speech post on here today? Worth it.

by KH | 7th Sep 18, 12:38pm 1536280738

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.

by middleman1 | 7th Sep 18, 12:54pm 1536281670

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.

by powerdownkiwi | 7th Sep 18, 1:03pm 1536282184

middleman - tell that to Douglas, Prebble, and all the hangers-on who blindsided the NZ populace.

I'm quite happy with the system - what we need is a more informed voting public.

But you describe the current opposition perfectly; thanks for that

by middleman1 | 7th Sep 18, 1:15pm 1536282959

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.

by Zack Brando | 7th Sep 18, 12:54pm 1536281697

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****~!!!

by delboy | 7th Sep 18, 12:54pm 1536281661

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=…

by middleman1 | 7th Sep 18, 1:04pm 1536282256

delboy. More than 'odd'. If the timing is right and she has been correctly reported then it is either a straight-out lie or she has lost the plot.

by Noncents | 7th Sep 18, 1:28pm 1536283689

Not odd, just politics.

Curran resigning has allowed Jacinda to maintain her "I am so nice" persona.

by NoFax | 7th Sep 18, 1:36pm 1536284211

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.

by printer8 | 7th Sep 18, 1:33pm 1536284020

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!

by RickStrauss | 7th Sep 18, 1:55pm 1536285352

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.

by paashaas | 7th Sep 18, 7:51pm 1536306661

You should be able to spell "Simon" - even when you are upset..

by Didge | 8th Sep 18, 11:18am 1536362320

paashaas. That i and o are juxtaposed on one's keyboard should have informed you not to be so nitpicky. Actually "burnt bridges" would have been a much better choice.

by RickStrauss | 8th Sep 18, 11:39am 1536363595

I spelled it the way I did out of respect for his own preferred pronunciation when referring to himself in the third person, as he's wont to do.

by Ex Expat | 8th Sep 18, 12:00pm 1536364828

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

by RickStrauss | 8th Sep 18, 1:00pm 1536368456

Ah, yes! That's a good'un. Proper English.

Perhaps your wife will appreciate this joke:

Knock, knock.

Who's there?

To.

To who?

To whom, surely.

by Ex Expat | 7th Sep 18, 1:44pm 1536284679

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.

by Kate | 7th Sep 18, 2:00pm 1536285621

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.

by Foxglove. | 7th Sep 18, 3:55pm 1536292501

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.

by Don m | 7th Sep 18, 4:45pm 1536295555

Yeah David Benson Pope and now Curren..
Dunedin South sure knows how to pick em..

by powerdownkiwi | 7th Sep 18, 7:40pm 1536306046

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. .

by Kate | 7th Sep 18, 8:08pm 1536307737

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.

by Didge | 8th Sep 18, 11:27am 1536362849

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

by rastus1 | 7th Sep 18, 2:15pm 1536286519

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.

by Yankiwi | 7th Sep 18, 2:28pm 1536287302

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! :)

by rastus1 | 7th Sep 18, 2:35pm 1536287722

Nope. Prices and going backwards and will escalate, so no tax to find with that approach. An asset tax is what is required.

by Yankiwi | 7th Sep 18, 3:26pm 1536290818

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.

by Shoreman | 8th Sep 18, 8:39am 1536352790

Yankiwi - More taxes such as CGT and Stamp Duty never solved Australia's property market ? I'm not totally against them either but better methods need to be found rather than reverting to another tax to resolve a problem !

by RickStrauss | 8th Sep 18, 11:37am 1536363453

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.

by Yankiwi | 8th Sep 18, 9:11pm 1536397872

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.

by RickStrauss | 8th Sep 18, 10:20pm 1536402054

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.

by Foyle | 8th Sep 18, 9:10am 1536354606

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.

by Yankiwi | 8th Sep 18, 9:01pm 1536397267

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...

by solardb | 7th Sep 18, 5:43pm 1536299013

At least the Herald has the decency to label the opinion pieces with the Authors name. Soon as I see Hosking , I don't click . Soper occasionally does a column worth reading.

by Yankiwi | 8th Sep 18, 9:02pm 1536397344

situational amusement here... :)

by RickStrauss | 8th Sep 18, 10:23pm 1536402185

Kate Hawkesby can be fun. E.g. her recent column on her experience of trying to rent a house.

It's like watching a toddler experiencing the world for the first time.

by PocketAces | 9th Oct 18, 7:17am 1539022668

Just a wee heads up Rastus, the rentier class are the landlords. https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/applied-and-social-science…

by rastus1 | 9th Oct 18, 7:33am 1539023584

Thnx.

by Yankiwi | 7th Sep 18, 1:38pm 1536284329

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.

by Carlos67 | 7th Sep 18, 1:48pm 1536284882

We are not going to need to vote them out at this rate, they will have all quit before the next election.

by Boatman | 7th Sep 18, 2:21pm 1536286877

Seriously ?

Has the PM been caught lying ?

by Don m | 7th Sep 18, 4:43pm 1536295424

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?

by WestieAJ | 7th Sep 18, 2:22pm 1536286956

Now, wait for the announcement on who got the CTO job. Won't be a surprise

by bilbo | 7th Sep 18, 2:57pm 1536289058

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.

by Foyle | 7th Sep 18, 4:01pm 1536292889

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

by powerdownkiwi | 7th Sep 18, 4:50pm 1536295816

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? :)

by Don m | 7th Sep 18, 4:55pm 1536296153

Seriously? You link the Standard??

Well that explains a bit actually.
When the 2055 child abuse stats come out and Maori are overrepresented ..

..I,m sure it STILL will be John Keys fault..

the "last 9 years" mantra is getting a bit thin..

by Kate | 7th Sep 18, 5:10pm 1536297029

the "last 9 years" mantra is getting a bit thin..

LOL. National used it for an entire 9 years.

But I agree with you - I loathe hearing it. More interested in how "it" (whatever the legacy problem) is going to be fixed.

by Don m | 7th Sep 18, 5:25pm 1536297913

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.

by RickStrauss | 7th Sep 18, 5:27pm 1536298067

You'd expect it in the first couple of years. If they're still doing it after eight or nine years of holding the power to do something (see Nick Smith et al last year) then we know there's a major problem.

by Don m | 7th Sep 18, 5:39pm 1536298798

I don't think we need to wait that long..
I think we can call it now
"there is a major problem.."

by zorba - old | 8th Sep 18, 9:54am 1536357267

"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)