A ministry has stopped sending employees to work in New Zealand First minister Mark Patterson’s office after complaints from staff.

The complaints are said to not be directly about Patterson, the Rural Communities and Associate Agriculture Minister. No one involved is willing to explain the nature of the complaints for privacy reasons.

However, the situation has led the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to not provide staff to the office. Ministries typically send specialist staff to ministers’ offices to assist with their policy work.

The Department of Internal Affairs’ Ministerial Services, which provides support to ministers, including employing staff, told the Herald it was “aware of complaints involving staff in Mark Patterson’s Office”.

“As this is an employment matter, we will not be providing further details. We can confirm the complaint is not related to the Minister,” a spokesperson said.