Maiki Sherman: everything we know so far

Maiki Sherman has been suspended from Parliament from May 1 to May 6. Maiki Sherman has emerged this Friday as one of the stories drawing attention in New Zealand.

Key facts

• Maiki Sherman has been suspended from Parliament from May 1 to May 6.
• Finance Minister shut down event after journalist's alleged homophobic slur 28 Apr 2026 TVNZ political editor Maiki Sherman is alleged to have used a homophobic slur against journalist Lloyd Burr Finance Minister shut down event after TVNZ political editor used alleged homophobic slur.
• TVNZ political editor Maiki Sherman has been suspended from covering Parliament for five days.
• TVNZ political editor Maiki Sherman had been suspended from Parliament for five days by the Speaker.
• Mike Hosking says TVNZ 'threatened to sue us' over Maiki Sherman story.

What we know

Going deeper, Finance Minister shut down event after journalist's alleged homophobic slur 28 Apr 2026 TVNZ political editor Maiki Sherman is alleged to have used a homophobic slur against journalist Lloyd Burr Finance Minister shut down event after TVNZ political editor used alleged homophobic slur.

On the substance, TVNZ political editor Maiki Sherman has been suspended from covering Parliament for five days.

Beyond the headlines, TVNZ political editor Maiki Sherman had been suspended from Parliament for five days by the Speaker.

More precisely, Mike Hosking says TVNZ 'threatened to sue us' over Maiki Sherman story.

It is worth noting that TVNZ political editor Maiki Sherman is alleged to have used a homophobic slur against journalist Lloyd Burr.

By the numbers

At this stage, In a 3.30pm all staff meeting at TVNZ, chief of news and content Nadia Tolich spoke of the dispute

On a related note, the five-day ban, imposed because of the way Sherman tried to interview National whip Stuart Smith in a corridor late on Tuesday last week, takes effect from tomorrow and ends next Wednesday, May 6.

Going deeper, Hosking told listeners that his producer, Sam Carran, had been investigating the alleged incident – in which Sherman allegedly directed the word “f***ot” at journalist Lloyd Burr – in the latter part of 2025.

“At the same time, I would point out that other outlets also breached parliamentary rules as they pursued a story relating to the National Party caucus activities on April 21,” Brownlee said in his statement today.

What they're saying

“Ms Sherman, the TVNZ political editor, has informed me that it was not her intention to go beyond the rules, but accepts that she did, and has accepted also the decision on this matter.”

“While I’m not able to identify individuals who were part of those breaches, I have been aware that the TVNZ political editor engaged in attempts to secure an interview that went beyond the prescription and spirit of the rules that had previously been agreed by the press gallery and Parliament.”

“We got to a point where we were going to say something about it,” Hosking said.

The wider context

On a related note, TVNZ's Maiki Sherman no longer on PM's Singapore trip, replaced by colleague.

Going deeper, the Speaker's office said Sherman "engaged in attempts to secure an interview that went beyond the prescription and spirit of the rules that had previously been agreed by the press gallery and Parliament".

On the substance, Sherman was also in the spotlight over a column by right-leaning political commentator Ani O'Brien, who wrote that the political editor had used a homophobic slur against Stuff journalist Lloyd Burr.

Beyond the headlines, He said that "other outlets also breached parliamentary rules as they pursued a story relating to the National Party caucus activities on April 21", but "I'm not able to identify individuals who were part of those breaches".

More precisely, Smith was being pursued for comment after being absent from a key caucus meeting during which Prime Minister Christopher Luxon had called a vote of confidence in himself in the wake of leaks from the caucus and consistent polling below 30 percent for National.

The bottom line

• In a 3.30pm all staff meeting at TVNZ, chief of news and content Nadia Tolich spoke of the dispute - but there was no mention of Sherman's suspension.
• The five-day ban, imposed because of the way Sherman tried to interview National whip Stuart Smith in a corridor late on Tuesday last week, takes effect from tomorrow and ends next Wednesday, May 6.
• The Speaker's office said Sherman "engaged in attempts to secure an interview that went beyond the prescription and spirit of the rules that had previously been agreed by the press gallery and Parliament".