‘Untenable’: Maiki Sherman quits as TVNZ political editor

Friday, 8 May 2026

TVNZ political editor Maiki Sherman has resigned her role following the reporting of a comment she made a year ago.

Sherman has come in for heavy criticism after it was revealed she had allegedly used a homophobic slur towards another journalist at an evening event in the Finance Minister’s office.

“There is no excuse for the language I used,” she said in a post on X.

“The next morning, I apologised for my part in this both to the journalist and to the Minister, and those apologies were accepted. I also informed my manager.”

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The comments came to light in recent weeks after blogger and former National Party staffer Ani O’Brien revealed them.

Sherman said her comments were made in response to “inappropriate remarks” made to her that evening.

“This does not excuse my actions, I took responsibility for that a year ago, it is merely to help others understand why I reacted in the way that I did.”

Sherman called the level of scrutiny she has faced “unprecedented” and said it had placed “enormous pressure” on her.

“My role has become untenable and so I am finishing up with TVNZ today. I wish the team well.”

TVNZ confirmed in a statement that Sherman had resigned from her role.

“As the first wahine Māori to lead 1News’ political team, Maiki has made a significant contribution to our journalism.

“Her reporting - from presenting our polls, to covering general elections and bringing breaking news out of the Beehive - has helped keep audiences across Aotearoa informed and engaged with the decisions being made on their behalf.”

Sherman’s nomination in this year’s media awards for Political Journalist of the Year is a testament to the calibre of her work, the broadcaster said.

Deputy prime minister and shareholding minister David Seymour said in an interview this week that the scandal would be challenging for the TVNZ board.

'I'm sure that the board and management will be seeing that, you know, it's pretty difficult to have someone credibly fronting the news every night when everyone knows how she behaves. I think that's going to be tough for them,“ he told the platform.

Sherman was also suspended from Parliament by the Speaker for five days.

The ban follows claims made by National MP Simeon Brown on social media last week that TVNZ political staff followed party whip Stuart Smith into an area of Parliament where media interviews are not typically allowed and “aggressively banged on his door for several minutes”.