New Zealand’s justice minister resigns after a car accident – DW – 07/24/2023

New Zealand’s justice minister, Kerry Allan, resigned on Monday after police charged her with reckless driving.

Alan was involved in a car accident on Sunday in the capital Wellingtonprime minister Chris Hipkins He said.

She was arrested at the central police station and released after four hours.

The police charged her with negligent use of a motor vehicle, as well as refusing to accompany a police officer.

She was handed a violation notice after breath analyzers detected an excessive amount of alcohol.

Alan apologizes for the actions, and talks about his mental health struggle

Hipkins said he spoke with Alan on Monday morning and told her he thought she was no longer in shape to remain a minister.

Hipkins said Allan accepted and offered to resign from her position. You will remain a Member of Parliament for the time being.

Allan said she was sorry for her actions, adding, “Over recent weeks I have faced a number of personal difficulties.”

“I took time off to address these issues, and I think I’m just fine to juggle those challenges with the stress of being a minister,” she said.

“My actions yesterday show that I wasn’t doing well, and I let myself and my teammates down.”

Alan had recently taken time off for her mental health after she was embroiled in a public split with her partner and accusations of poor working relationships with staff.

Hipkins said that although her “alleged actions are inexcusable, I have been informed that she was in severe emotional distress at the time of the accident.”

“Her personal struggles with mental health have been well documented and some of these issues seem to have come to a head yesterday,” he added.

New Zealand general election scheduled for October

This incident is the latest in a series of missteps involving government ministers less than three months ago General elections in October.

Last month, the Minister of Transport and Immigration resigned, and in May, the country’s Minister of Customs was sacked. In March, the country’s police minister was dismissed.

hipkins He became prime minister in January After his predecessor, Jacinda Ardern, stepped down.

His Labor government appears to have fallen behind the centre-right opposition National Party, according to opinion polls this month.

rm/ab (AP, AFP)