‘Touch’ or ‘grab’? Why a New Zealand minister resigned over putting hand on staffer

New Zealand’s Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly has resigned after he “placed a hand” on a staff member’s arm last week. The incident has sparked a row in the country, with the opposition Labour Party raising questions about the delay in informing the public about the resignation.

While Bayly stepped down from his post as commerce minister and the ACC – the national accidental injury compensation scheme – on Friday (February 21) night, the public was told about it only on Monday (February 24). However, the government has defended its move to hold up the announcement.

Let’s take a closer look.

What happened?

The incident took place at Bayly’s ministerial office in Parliament last Tuesday (February 18) when he and several staff members were discussing the work programme of the minister, as per a Stuff report.

During these talks, he touched or grabbed a staff member’s upper arm. The incident has reportedly been described in different ways as “touch”, “grasp”, “hold”, or “grab”.

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A complaint was raised by Wednesday morning when the then-commerce minister found out. The Prime Minister’s Office was also made aware of the complaint by evening.

It was at this point that Ministerial Services, a unit at the Department of Internal Affairs which manages ministers’ offices, started inquiries into the matter, the Stuff report noted.

Ministerial Services discussed the incident with the affected parties on Thursday.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon came to know about it on Thursday evening.

New Zealand minister resigns

Luxon spoke to Bayly “very, very late” on Friday night, during which the minister offered his resignation.

On Monday, Bayly said he was “deeply sorry” about placing an arm on a staff member’s arm during an “animated discussion”.

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“As many of you know, I have been impatient to drive change in my ministerial portfolios,” he said in a statement announcing his resignation, as per BBC.

“Last week I had an animated discussion with a staff member about work. I took the discussion too far, and I placed a hand on their upper arm, which was inappropriate.”

Bayly said he had apologised to the staff member and “regret placing them in an uncomfortable position”.

“There are times when you have to hold yourself to account and today is one of those days. I have made the personal choice to resign as a minister and have offered my resignation to the Prime Minister, which he has accepted.”

Speaking to reporters later, he denied the discussion was an argument or that he used force, reported The New Zealand Herald newspaper.

New Zealand PM Christopher Luxon addressed a press conference on Monday afternoon and confirmed the incident occurred last Tuesday. He also said he did not push Bayly to step down.

When asked whether he would have fired the minister if he did not offer his resignation, the PM avoided a direct reply.

Luxon also defended the delay in informing the public, saying he wanted Bayly to speak to his family and his staff.

“I accepted that I wanted him to have Saturday, Sunday, to talk to his family and also other impacted staff,” the New Zealand PM was quoted as saying by Stuff.

“I think that’s been pretty quick,” he said. “I think we have managed the process incredibly well.”

Luxon also avoided giving details about the incident, saying Bayly had outlined it in his own statement.

In a statement, the prime minister’s office announced that Scott Simpson will be the new minister for ACC and commerce.

Row over delay in announcing NZ minister’s resignation

Labour leader Chris Hipkins has criticised PM Luxon as being “incredibly weak”, adding that ministers had to “sack themselves”.

“Allowing it to drag over the weekend is just unbelievable. Having a minister resign and not telling everybody for several days about it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that,” Hipkins said, as per Stuff.

“Andrew Bayly should’ve been gone months ago,” the Labour leader posted to X. “After finding out about the latest allegation on Wednesday, the PM waited days for him to resign when he should’ve been sacked asap.”

Christopher Luxon has set the bar for ministerial conduct so low Ministers have to sack themselves. Andrew Bayly should’ve been gone months ago. After finding out about the latest allegation on Wednesday, the PM waited days for him to resign when he should’ve been sacked asap.

— Chris Hipkins (@chrishipkins) February 24, 2025

As per NZ Herald, Hipkins said PM Luxon not revealing the resignation showed “he’s hiding things from the New Zealand public”.

“The public should expect that on issues like this, the Prime Minister will be upfront and open with them. If he had received a minister’s resignation on Friday, the fact that he appeared before the media over the weekend, didn’t bother to mention it until Monday, that’s totally unacceptable.”

On the delay in informing the public before, Bayly said: “To be honest, I would have difficulty doing this interview over the last couple of days, I’ve had to talk to my family, and that’s why I made the decision, and that’s why we’re announcing it today“.

Bayly, who was first elected to the New Zealand Parliament in 2014, is not new to controversies. He faced backlash last October after calling a winery worker a “loser”, including putting his fingers in an ‘L’ shape on his forehead during a ministerial visit.

The worker also alleged Bayly told him to “f.. Off”, which was denied by Bayly. He later issued a public apology.

With inputs from agencies