New Zealand’s justice minister, Kiri Allan, tendered her resignation on Monday after the police charged her with reckless driving and resisting arrest following the car crash on Sunday, as reported by the news agency AP. New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said that Allan was involved in a car crash in Wellington on Sunday at around 9 p.m. Following the accident, she was detained at the Central Police Station and released after four hours.
According to the AP, she was charged with careless use of the motor vehicle and refusing to accompany a police officer. The police have summoned her to appear in court at a later date. Allan was served an infringement notice for excess breath alcohol between 250 and 400 mcg, the news agency reported.
Hipkins stated that he spoke to Allan on Monday and told her that she was not in a fit state to remain a minister. He also told Allan that it was untenable for a justice minister to be charged with a criminal offence, to which she agreed and resigned from her duties, as reported by AP. However, she still remains a member of parliament.
“While her alleged actions are inexcusable, I’ve been advised she was experiencing extreme emotional distress at the time of the incident,” Hipkins said, as quoted by the AP. “Her recent personal struggles with mental health have been well documented, and it appears some of those issues came to a head yesterday.”
Allan apologised for her actions. “Over recent weeks, I’ve faced a number of personal difficulties. I took time off to address those and believed I was OK to juggle those challenges with the pressure of being a minister,” she said in a statement, as quoted by AP. “My actions yesterday show I wasn’t OK, and I’ve let myself and my colleagues down.”
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