Controversial New Zealand politician appointed as ambassador to Ireland

The controversial speaker of the New Zealand parliament has been appointed as the country’s next ambassador to Ireland.

Trevor Mallard (68) will take up the post in January next year. The appointment by the prime minister Jessica Ardern has been described as “an insult to our friends in Ireland” by the leader of one of the country’s main opposition parties.

ACT New Zealand leader David Seymour said Mr Mallard had a “lengthy political rap sheet and zero diplomatic ability”.

He has been embroiled in a number of incidents going back to 2002 when he told two International Rugby Board officials that he would insert beer bottles in “uncomfortable places” in a row over the co-hosting of the 2003 Rugby World Cup. In 2007 he apologised after punching an opposition MP outside the debating chamber.

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In 2020 he was blamed for spending NZ$572,000 (€357,300) on a children’s playground in the grounds of the New Zealand parliament, including NZ$243,000 (€151,800) on a slide. The playground was budgeted at $400,000 (€250,000). Mr Mallard has sought to make the New Zealand parliament more family friendly and to encourage female MPs to bring their children into the chamber if they need feeding.

Last year, he apologised for falsely accusing a parliamentary staff member of rape leaving taxpayers to pay damages and legal fees of NZ$330,000 (€208,000) after the staff member took a case against him.

In February he turned the sprinklers on those protesting against the Covid-19 vaccination mandates outside New Zealand’s parliament in Wellington. He also played loud music in a vain attempt to scatter them.

In June, an opinion poll found that just 17 per cent of New Zealanders approved of him as speaker, 48 per cent disapproved of him and 35 per cent did not know.

A Labour ally of prime minister Jacinda Ardern, he has long been targeted by the opposition in New Zealand.

Mr Seymour said Mr Mallard was now being “rewarded for his bad behaviour” by a posting in Ireland.

“This is a man who has falsely accused a staff member of rape, who inflamed the Parliamentary protest with his immature behaviour and who refuses to be held accountable for his actions,” he added.

“He took the Office of the Speaker only to have the worst approval rating of any politician in modern history. Now he’s being rewarded for his bad behaviour.

“This appointment goes to the heart of the Ardern Government’s rotten values. The message to New Zealanders everywhere is bad behaviour gets good rewards under the Ardern Government.

“To all those people who toil away, fearful of losing their jobs for poor performance, getting a five year post on light duties in Dublin after screwing up year after year is unfathomable. People might come to the conclusion, why bother?”