Fire and Emergency chief executive Kerry Gregory resigns

Fire and Emergency New Zealand chief executive Kerry Gregory has resigned, effective immediately. Board chairperson Raveen Jaduram announced the resignation on Friday afternoon.

Gregory said it had become untenable for him to remain in the role after Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden publicly said she did not have confidence in him. Van Velden publicly withdrew her confidence in Gregory on 17 September. She said the board advised her of his resignation on Friday afternoon.

Van Velden has also accused Gregory of withholding significant information from her for a year. Gregory had been on extended leave for more than a month before he resigned.

Fire and Emergency, the national fire and emergency service, confirmed that a historical matter relating to administration of its levy scheme has been referred to the Serious Fraud Office, the government agency that investigates serious financial crime. The agency gets most of its funding through a levy on insurance policies covering property and vehicles.

Darry Purdy remains acting chief executive, and Megan Stiffler remains national commander. The board had earlier reappointed Gregory as chief executive for a further two years, starting 1 July, according to an announcement on the agency's website.