Sir Ian Taylor, the Cabinet Minister and the call that ended badly

Sir Ian Taylor says he hung up at the beginning of a conference call with Associate Health Minister Ayesha Verrall after he claims she asked him to stop writing “bad faith” columns in the Herald. 

He also claims she indicated that only the Government or Government-approved agencies could communicate publicly on anything to do with a self-isolation programme they were about to discuss. 

The comments from Verrall allegedly occurred in a call on Friday which included Air NZ chief executive Greg Foran and, what Taylor says, were so many Government officials he “lost count” of them. 

However, Verrall claims all that was requested of the parties on the call was that confidentiality be observed around commercial sensitivities. 

The call was held to discuss potential changes to pre-departure testing and merits of the Lucira Covid-19 test Sir Ian had used in his own self-isolation trial after returning from the US in November. 

Taylor says he found the opening remarks from Verrall on the call “entirely offensive” and “demeaning”. He has detailed his version of events in a column on nzherald.co.nz today. 

“The first item of the meeting was we all had to agree that the only people who would have anything to do with the comms [press release] about this meeting and our proposal, I mean the proposal that we put up, would be the Government and Air NZ,” Sir Ian said. 

“And I thought, that’s not right, what about the cross-sector group? Because I thought we were talking about the self-isolation trial and the use of Lucira.” 

Associate Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall. Photo / Mark Mitchell 

Taylor was at the meeting on behalf of Cross Sector Border Group – which represents the New Zealand business interests and their desire for a self-isolation plan that suits their international travel habits. 

“That’s who I represent. It doesn’t need to be me, but it does need to be them [involved] in the comms [press release],” he said. 

“I was about to have that discussion, which I think we might have got through when the next bombshell lands which was ‘and Sir Ian, you will have to stop your bad faith articles, like the one last week’.” 

Verrall would not address the specifics of Taylor’s allegations when questioned by the Herald on Sunday but said she made clear to him he was free to continue to question the Government. 

“On Friday I met with Sir Ian Taylor, Air New Zealand and Rob Fyfe to discuss pre-departure testing,” Verrall told the Herald on Sunday.  
“As is routine with commercially sensitive discussions, and reflecting the fact that future government decisions may need to be made, it was agreed by all parties, other than Sir Ian, that confidentiality would need to be observed. 
 
“I made it clear to Sir Ian that within those bounds he was free to continue to publicly question and criticise the Government. Our work with Air New Zealand on this matter is ongoing.” 

The Lucira plan Taylor wanted to discuss was based off his own self-isolation trial from Dunedin to the US and back in November which MBIE approved. 

The New Zealand businessman and former television presenter based in Dunedin has written more than a dozen…