Mallard’s tax payer funded legal battle is over.

An apology was issued by Mallard, well hidden in all the media noise of the anniversary of the White Island deaths, and the release of the Royal Commission on the mosque shootings.

Mallard apologised for calling a staffer a rapist. Apparently the alleged rapist is an over zealous hugger, which many co-workers didn’t enjoy. Mallard likened this to rape and was sued for defamation.

Defending the case using taxpayer funds to pay for the defence has ended with the apology.

It is very doubtful it was just an apology that was sought, and at a minimum the taxpayer will have paid the bill for not just Mallards legal bills but also the defamed. There will most likely be some form of a decent pay out to the defamed too.

This is an amount of money we will never be privy to even though us as the tax payer footed the bill.

Mallard will never be held to account for his idiocy and the squandering of our money.

Mallard even tried to name and shame the hugger during the proceedings, showing Mallards true colours. But he has spent enough of our money defending this to the point where he issued the following apology.

“On 22 May 2019, shortly after the publication and dissemination of the Francis Review into bullying and harassment in the New Zealand parliamentary workforce, the Speaker of the House the Rt Hon Trevor Mallard made a number of comments to the media about the findings of that report and in particular as they related to an individual working at Parliament.

“Some of Trevor Mallard’s comments gave the impression that allegations made against that individual in the context of the Francis Review amounted to rape.

“Trevor Mallard accepts that his understanding of the definition of rape at that time was incorrect and that the alleged conduct did not amount to rape (as that term is defined in the Crimes Act 1961) and that it was incorrect of him to suggest otherwise.

“Trevor Mallard apologises for the distress and humiliation his statements caused to the individual and his family.

“Trevor Mallard has provided a personal apology to the individual. Both parties consider the matter is now closed and no further comment will be made.”