Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says Broadcasting Minister Clare Curran will not be fired after she endured a nightmare session in Parliament on Wednesday.
Ms Ardern told Newstalk ZB this morning that she won’t sack Ms Curran, who struggled to answer questions from the opposition about the use of her personal email account for Government business.
"No, because I think she's paid her price. I have huge expectations of my ministers and those in the ministry but I also accept from time to time they will also have bad days," Ms Ardern said.
"I have to keep in mind that we do want to make sure that we don't set the bar so high that you can't have a situation where you show a bit of human frailty and lose your job over it."
The prime minister Ardern said she had spoken to Curran, who went on personal leave yesterday.
"The minister, when she stood up, she paused. She took some time to answer some questions. She had a bad day. That happens."
Yesterday, Ms Ardern also asked the Cabinet Office to clarify and issue guidance on the use of alternate email accounts by ministers.
Ms Curran lost two portfolios and now sits outside Cabinet, having been demoted last month by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern following a second failure to properly declare meetings with people connected with her portfolios.
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