Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is standing by her broadcasting minister but admits it was "not a good look" for Clare Curran to contact RNZ's chair about appearing at a select committee.
Ms Ardern accepted an apology from Broadcasting Minister Clare Curran last week for not being sufficiently transparent about a breakfast meeting Ms Curran had with former RNZ news executive Carol Hirschfeld.
RNZ chair Richard Griffin and chief executive Paul Thompson inadvertently misled a parliamentary select committee about that meeting, prompting Ms Hirschfeld to resign last week.
Yesterday Newstalk ZB reported that Ms Curran had suggested to Mr Griffin he could correct the record by writing to the select committee and did not necessarily have to appear in person.
However, Ms Curran said she only contacted the chair to say that if he could not appear in person, the record could be corrected with a letter.
Ms Ardern backed Ms Curran's version of events and told Morning Report today that it would have been better if Ms Curran had used the select committee or the office of the Leader of the House to pass on that message.
"Yes, it would have been better for somebody else to provide that advice."
Ms Ardern said it was not enough for Ms Curran to lose her broadcasting portfolio and the minister had been clear about correcting the record as soon as possible.
"People will make mistakes while I'm in government. They will. This won't be the last."
Watch a live stream of the interview on Morning Report here: