WELLINGTON: New Zealand’s justice minister resigned on Monday after being charged over a car crash, in a fresh set-back for the government ahead of general elections in October.

Kiritapu ‘Kiri’ Allan said her position was now “untenable” and she had told Prime Minister Chris Hipkins she was resigning from her position “immediately”.

The justice minister was charged with careless use of a motor vehicle and refusing to accompany a police officer after the crash late on Sunday, the prime minister confirmed.

Police also issued an infringement notice to Allan for returning an alcohol breath test that was over the limit, Hipkins said. The minister was briefly held in police custody after the crash.

Further details about the collision were not immediately available.

Allan is the fourth minister to leave cabinet in Hipkins’ centre-left government since he replaced Jacinda Ardern as prime minister in January. New Zealand goes to the polls on October 14.

Opinion polls this month put Hipkins’ Labour government just behind the centre-right opposition National Party. Hipkins told Allan that he did not believe she was in a fit state to be a minister.

“It’s also untenable for a justice minister to be charged with criminal offending,” he said. “While her alleged actions are inexcusable, I’ve been advised she was experiencing extreme emotional distress at the time of the incident,” Hipkins added.

“It appears some of those issues came to a head yesterday.” Before Allan’s resignation, Hipkins had admitted his government had endured a “messy” few months.

Stuart Nash resigned as police minister and was then sacked in March after a string of scandals.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2023