In what he called “overbearing” behaviour, New Zealand’s trade minister Andrew Bayly “placed a hand” on a staff member’s upper arm last week, leading to his resignation as a government minister. Bayly said he was “deeply sorry” for the event on Monday, characterising it as an “animated discussion” rather than an argument. He is still a parliamentarian.
His resignation follows criticism he received last October for allegedly using an expletive directed at a winery employee and labelling them a “loser” while placing his fingers in a ‘L’ shape on his forehead. He later apologised in public.
In announcing his departure, Bayly stated, “As many of you are aware, I have been impatient to drive change in my ministerial portfolios.”
I heatedly argued about work with a staff member last week. I uncomfortably touched their upper arm and took the conversation too far. Despite saying that a complaint had been filed, he would not go into further detail about the specifics of the incident. At a news conference, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon later stated that Bayly resigned last Friday and that the event occurred three days prior, on February 18.
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