Kiri Allan speech: RNZ releases full transcript after chief ...

ROBERT KITCHIN/Stuff

Kiri Allan was a member of the Labour Party, entering the House as a list MP in 2017, and going on to win the East Coast electorate in 2020.

Radio New Zealand has released a full transcript of the speech former minister Kiri Allan made at her then-partner Māni Dunlop's farewell event. The release comes after a recommendation from the chief ombudsman to do so.

KIRITAPU ALLAN: Shh. [Indistinct]. I'm a partner noa iho, so this is off the record.

[Laughter]

Well, tuatahi, me mihi ka tika ki a koutou kua haramai nei ki raro i te karanga, ki te mihi ki tenei mareikura. Ki a matou nei, he tino taonga. Ki a matou nei, he wa pouri. Ki a matou nei, kua kawea matou te taumahatanga i runga i tenei wahine ataahua. Heoi, ka haramai matou ki te whakatakoto te manuka ki a koutou o tenei kapene, heoi, kaore i a koe anake, e te tuakana, ki a koutou a ringa raupa mai te Poari ki nga reanga kei roto i tenei whare.

I'll reiterate this is in my personal capacity.

[Laughter]

I'm Kiri Allan, Mani's partner [laughs], [indistinct]. And we've heard from our brother the whakapapa of this wahine. She carries the grace, the intelligence. She has the ability to weave people together.

On my side, I come from a group of bandied rebels. I'm a fighter and a scrapper, and that might colour some of my remarks that I make today. And I say this- I say the things that I'm about to as Mani's partner because I think sometimes these things just need to be said.

First though, I guess I just want to acknowledge that, you know, when Mans came here, she came here as a 19-year-old girl, I think she said on the radio today, who never heard a public broadcasting. She came here, I think got a job while she was at broadcasting school. Actually, it was one of those gentlemen who writes your bulletins. I can't remember his name.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: [redacted]

KIRITAPU ALLAN: [redacted] was on the panel. [Redacted] I think you're up there. Yeah, [redacted] was on the panel when Mani applied to go to broadcasting school. There's a neat whakapapa, lots of hononga, connections that will sort of weave in and out of Mani's journey here over the past 11 years.

The second thing that really strikes me, and this will kind of colour some of the way that I speak about Man today - Mani is 31. She's an incredibly young woman who's carried an incredible load. And, you know, you act a lot, you carry a lot for so many different people in so many different ways. And it always strikes me, gosh, this young woman of such integrity and intelligence who has this ability to weave people together gracefully, it's a real gift.

I think we, collectively from the remarks that have been made today, speak to your ability to weave people together, and I thank you for what you've done over the broad waves of the radio for so many people within our whanau, within our communities, within our people through some really challenging times.

In [redacted]’s introductory remarks, she mentioned that there's some people are coming here to send love to our sister, some here are coming with a little bit of a touch of sadness, and some people are carrying a little bit of a touch of riri, some madness within our bellies.

As a partner that has- you know, it's funny. We [indistinct] role, right? Believe it or not, we don't talk about work, so what you get is this incredibly vivacious woman who's passionate and loves our people deeply, who's a deep believer in the role of public broadcasting. What I've seen over the past two years has really broken my heart. I've seen a woman come home feeling broken and battered, always fighting, carrying an inordinate load to tell our people's stories. This is, of course, our-

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: [Indistinct].

KIRITAPU ALLAN: Kia ora.

[Laughter]

Just, you know, it's a funny thing to have to see that kind of time and time and time again. Once or twice, okay, there's a- you know, we all have niggles at work - who doesn't? Show up and chuck our boots on. But something about Mans is that she's kaupapa-driven. She knew that she had gotten into the position that she was in, and she therefore had an obligation to use that position that she was in to, not think so much about the battering and the bruising that she was getting in the daily environment and coming home and being held at night, she was thinking about our babies. She was thinking about the nanny's and the koro's that she can build relationships with up and down this country that I don't know many people in the mainstream media organisations can do.

As we saw over just the recent cyclones, it was Mans that knew how to work in and talk to people that most people in this room could not even dream of getting a real yarn out of.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Kia ora.

KIRITAPU ALLAN: She does that because she loves our people. She is part of our communities. I've never been to a Waitangi forum. The Waitangi up there, it's on the Taumata Korero forum - where's [redacted]?

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: She's back there.

KIRITAPU ALLAN:[Redacted], a girl at the back there, her mum is this incredible wahine who's been often my vote, her name is [redacted] . At one of these gatherings this year, after it became apparent the Mani was leaving, she got up at the Taumata Korero forum and demanded to know why this incredible talent was not staying in this organisation? What had that organisation done to not keep this talent?

You don't hear people in the Taumata Korero environment at Waitangi begging for some mainstream lady broadcaster to be kept in the [rock]. That is the mana that Mani has, in and of her own 31 year old right that she has accrued. I don't know how many in this organisation know that, but I want, as her partner, to come and tell you all what she carries in our community and the dignity with which she walks amongst our people.

You know, there's been some - after a good old fight there's always time to think about and celebrate the successes. I know that one of the more recent ones was, I think that there'd been some challenges to cover the 50-year petition and Mans, over that period -it was a pretty big event for te ao Maori, had a lot to do with the normalisation of our reo and a whole 2000 people showed up down at Parliament to talk about the significance. A lot of historical people from our, te ao Maori were there and you've got Mans doing this OB - I wasn't there, I was somewhere else but I was watching online - doing this OB and our people and our communities respected and cherished the role that she played.

One thing I've heard, sort of. throughout the course of the language, you know, that Mani Dunlop, she puts this lovely Maori lens on things and she uses her reo, it's just beautiful. Mani doesn't put a Maori lens over things, she doesn't just use her reo. She brought a drive, a passion, commitment, relationships, integrity, honesty because she's committed to public broadcasting- broadcasters being exceptional in doing what they should for our people. So I don't think people love you just because you're a Maori - anyone can be a Maori, it's true, I mean, if you whakapapa- but you had a drive and a commitment to tell our stories.

I note today it's been one year since [redacted] passed away. One of the things he'd always used to teach all of us as we were growing up, you know, you're not alone, not alone in our struggles. We stand in the light of our ancestors, and it's not lost on all of us that you're standing right now underneath that portrait of…

[Unrelated content - children arguing]

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: [Redacted].

KIRITAPU ALLAN: Nah, kei te pai.

[Laughter]

..I'll [indistinct].

[Laughter]

But you know, of those that are living, I think about [redacted]; just in our room right now we've got [redacted], and we've got Mani - incredible talent and that talent no longer occupies this building. There's something within this organisation that has to be looked at.

Now, I know you said that you'll pick the wero, that manuka. It's not for just you, it's the SLT to pick up. It's all your SLT to pick up, that's for your board to pick up. But there's something within the organisation that will not and has not been able to keep Maori talent, and that's a question that I think deserves some deep reflection.

Multiple Speakers: Kia ora.

KIRITAPU ALLAN: We do, though, I called them the morehu, and I was being a bit cheeky. Morehu means survivor. You've got two young Maori that are going to be left on their own here pretty soon. One's an intern and one's just finished your internship? [Indistinct]…

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: No [indistinct]…

KIRITAPU ALLAN: No, you're good, [redacted].

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: No, no. She's fine. She's in.

KIRITAPU ALLAN: Ko te tumanako ki a matou, we're looking at these two and we're looking at this organisation and how it treats its talent. Want to know, she doesn't need to do it. It's not her role to carry that anymore. So it's to this room and the people within this place to grow and nurture, show that they have a viable future within this organisation. That you can come in as an intern and that you can get to the top spot - not just because you're a Maori, but because you have trained them well, you have nurtured them well. Anei, koina te mauiui ki a koutou.

I was supposed to say something nice, but don't feel that life right here and now.

[Laughter]

What I will say, though, is just to the whanau. Yeah, I know there's been some, a lot of awangawanga for quite a long time about Mani and her decision to leave, and you've carried a lot for the whanau whanui - always have actually, so kia ora for that.

[Laughter]

But when Mans made her decision, you really backed her and supported her. And your love for her is invaluable. And I always look to the love that your whanau has for each other [audio skips] tuara, that is what you all are. From the staunch through to the love, through to everything in between, thank you for holding and growing up this wahine to love and to be a weaver of people. You've done an incredible job, and she's something truly special that I think that we'll go on to see in future years, but no idea what the future holds.

But, Mani, you are special. We love you. You have an integrity that - I don't know. I don't know how you do it, girl. But, yeah, you've opened the doors for many people. I don't think that you know what you've given this place. I know that you won't show them what you've probably given, but also don't know that you know just how incredible you are. So, me mihi ka tika, kei a koe e te [indistinct]. Kia ora tatou.

ROBERT KITCHIN/Stuff

05072021 PHOTO: ROBERT KITCHIN/STUFF L-R: Kiritapu Allan holds a press conference on her return to Parliament after receiving treatment (chemotherapy) for cancer. Kiri Allan

Earlier, the Chief Ombudsman said Radio New Zealand should release a full transcript of the speech former high-profile Labour minister Kiri Allan made at her then-partner Māni Dunlop’s farewell event.

An investigation under the Official Information Act (OIA) was launched after Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier​ received three separate complaints about RNZ’s decision to refuse requests for audio recordings or transcripts of the speech Allan gave in March.

During the speech which Allan later apologised for, Allan criticised RNZ’s culture and treatment of Māori staff and urged the public broadcaster to have a look at its culture.

Allan prefaced her comments by saying the speech was off the record and delivered in her capacity as Dunlop’s partner, not as a minister.

RNZ refused the requests for the full speech on the basis that it was necessary to protect Allan’s privacy, the privacy of other individuals and to protect “the tikanga of RNZ and its kaimahi”.

However, it released parts of a transcript of the speech for public interest reasons.

The state broadcaster also suggested it was entitled to withhold the information on the basis that Allan’s comments were made in confidence, and the release of the speech would prejudice future arrangements for farewell events.

"Based on the context in which the speech was given, as well as the personal nature of its content, I would generally be of the view that the speech should be withheld to protect the privacy of Ms Allan and Ms Dunlop," Boshier said.

"However, both advised me they had no objections to a full transcript being released. Therefore, with the exception of the names of third parties referred to in the speech, RNZ was not entitled to withhold a transcript given Ms Allan and Ms Dunlop supported the release.

“I am of the view, however, that RNZ was entitled to refuse the request for an audio recording of the speech. An audio recording reveals more than a transcript, such as the tone of the speaker, and neither Ms Allan nor Ms Dunlop have consented to release of the audio."

In forming his opinion, Boshier considered RNZ’s internal practices, described as "tikanga protocols" in the context of the relevant withholding grounds in the OIA.

He recommended RNZ prepare and releases the full transcript of the speech to the complainants, while withholding the names of the third parties Allan referred to, within 21 working days.