Clare Curran says she has resigned as a government minister because she is a human being who could "no longer endure the relentless pressure I've been under".

An emotional Curran made a small statement to media outside her electorate office in Dunedin on Friday afternoon.

She called Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Thursday night to resign as broadcasting minister after a horror week in Parliament and her demotion from Cabinet last month over not properly declaring a meeting.

CREDIT: Parliament TV Clare Curran folds under scrutiny of her use of a personal email account to conduct Government Business

Curran's resignation follows her demotion from Cabinet over a second failure to declare a meeting, and a horror week in Parliament answering questions over her use of a personal email account for Government business.

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Curran said she had made mistakes but they were not deliberate or meant to undermine the political system.

Hamish McNeilly Clare Curran - blaming pressure from the media for her decision to quit.

"Those mistakes have become greatly amplified, and the pressure on me has become unbearable," Curran said.

"I am like the rest of you a human being and I can no longer endure the relentless pressure I've been under."

She did not take any questions from media.

Kris Faafoi will become minister of broadcasting, communication, and digital media, but will remain outside of Cabinet. Peeni Henare will become the associate minister for ACC.

"Clare Curran contacted me last night to confirm her wish to resign as a minister and I accepted that resignation," Ardern said.

"Clare has come to the view the issues currently surrounding her are causing an unacceptable distraction for the Government and immense pressure on her personally.

MONIQUE FORD/STUFF Clare Curran has resigned as a Government minister. The MP said she is only human, and could not take "relentless pressure" from media and opposition.

"I agree with her assessment that resigning is the best course of action for the Government and for her."

In a statement earlier on Friday, Curran said the pressure seemed unlikely to lift off.

"I have come to the conclusion the current heat being placed on me is unlikely to go away. This pressure has become intolerable. For the benefit of the government, and my personal wellbeing, I believe that resignation is the best course of action," Curran said.

"I used my Gmail account infrequently for work, and it would have been discoverable."

Ardern told media on Friday afternoon Curran had made "an error of judgement."

"There is no doubt the minister made a mistake, she lost her position in Cabinet because of it, she's since made the decision that the scrutiny she was under as a result has stopped her being able to do her job."

"She had high expectations for herself and admitted she wasn't able to meet them."

"She will continue to be a proud and very staunch representative for Dunedin South."

Curran first came under fire when she failed to declare a December meeting with RNZ's then-head of news Carol Hirschfeld. Hirschfeld resigned over that meeting.

She was demoted from Cabinet in August when it emerged she had failed to declare a second meeting in response to a question from the opposition - this time an evening Beehive meeting with technologist Derek Handley, who was applying for a highly-paid government job.

That meeting was set up using her personal Gmail account, which led to further questions in the House this week - including one from National's Melissa Lee on Wednesday on whether she had used her Gmail account for any other Government business that saw Curran fumble through a non-response.

"To the best of my recollection, um, ah, ah, I haven't, um, I haven't used my, um I've answered um OIA, ah, ah, OIA responses and personal, um and parliamentary questions correctly and to the best of my recollection, um, ah, you know, that, that has, that's what I've done," Curran said.

This led to her seeking personal leave from Parliament for Thursday, which she was granted.

Curran is Labour's MP for Dunedin South and has held the seat since 2008.

National leader Simon Bridges said Ardern still had questions to answer over the Curran saga.

"Jacinda Ardern had two chances to show leadership and sack Ms Curran - when she first misled New Zealanders over secret meetings and then when she did it again recently," Bridges said.

"The prime minister also needs to explain whether the official emails sent by Ms Curran from her private Gmail account will still be released."

"The Prime Minister also needs to explain why she misled New Zealanders this morning by saying Ms Curran's job was safe when Ms Curran says she resigned last night."

PM: I DIDN'T MISLEAD PUBLIC

Ardern technically did not describe Curran's job as "safe" - but did say she had no intention of firing her.

Curran she had rung Ardern to hand in her resignation on Thursday night. The next morning, ahead of the announcement, Ardern was asked by Newstalk ZB whether Curran's job was in trouble, and Ardern said she was not considering firing the Minister - despite the fact she had already accepted her resignation.

"No, because I think she's paid her price. I have huge expectations of my ministers and those in the ministry but I also accept from time to time they will also have bad days," Ardern said.

Later on Friday she clarified that she was simply answering a question about whether she had asked Curran to resign - and since she had not, she had answered truthfully.