National’s new leader, Judith Collins, is keeping her rivals close as she reshuffles her caucus.
Simon Bridges been promoted from 17th to fourth on the party’s list and been given the Justice portfolio on top of Foreign Affairs.
Meanwhile Todd Muller is number eight. He's lost Small Business, but has been given Trade, which Collins said he was “very happy” about.
Mark Mitchell, who's believed to have run for Leader following Muller stepping down, has been demoted six spots to 15.
The new Health spokesperson, Shane Reti, has been bumped up to five, while his predecessor, Michael Woodhouse has been pushed down to 12.
Collins has promoted Chris Bishop, who was instrumental in helping Muller and Nikki Kaye topple Bridges and Paula Bennett, from 12 to seven.
Nicola Willis, who played a similar role to Bishop, remains at 13, and been has been given the Education portfolio.
The Housing and Urban Development portfolio she had under Muller has been passed to the lesser-known MP, Jacqui Dean.
Reforming the Resource Management Act has long been Collins’ solution to addressing the country’s housing woes. While this will presumably continue to be her pet project, Scott Simpson has the role of Planning (RMA reform).
Paul Goldsmith remains Finance spokesperson and is third on the list.
Todd McClay has jumped five spots to six.
Collins’ Deputy, Gerry Brownlee, will remain campaign chair going into the election. McClay will be his deputy.
Brownlee will also get the role of Covid-19 Border Response - a role akin to that Amy Adams said she revoked her retirement for when Muller became leader.
Collins said she would keep on all the staff in the Leader’s office and hadn’t received any resignations.
And while she said there wouldn’t be wholesale policy changes under her leadership either, she said her and Brownlee would bring a more “direct” approach to the election campaign.
Collins expected Muller to return to work in three weeks’ time.
Asked whether she had kept her friends close and enemies closer in the reshuffle, Collins said the MPs she had selected for top jobs were all “loyalists to the National Party”.
She stressed that National was a “broad church” party, with a "diversity of thought" in its front bench.
Collins also sang the praises of Kaye and Adams, clarifying she didn’t ask them to leave. She had no reason to believe they were culpable in the handling of the Michelle Boag/Michael Woodhouse/Hamish Walker Covid-19 patient detail leaks.
There have been reports that Woodhouse wanted to go public with the fact Boag had leaked the information to him too, but Muller said no on the advice of Kaye and Adams. Interest.co.nz cannot verify whether this is in fact correct.
Collins was calm and chirpy, as she made the announcement to media on Thursday morning - shortly after Kaye and Adams announced they would retire at the September 19 election.
They join Paula Bennett, Hamish Walker and Jian Yang, who have also announced their retirements in recent weeks.
A further seven National MPs will be retiring at the election - Maggie Barry, David Carter, Nathan Guy, Anne Tolley, Nicky Wagner, Sarah Dowie and Alastair Scott.
See the full National Party list here, and the old list here.
56 Comments
Attack plan A pre election, attack plan B post election. The latter is looking the more relevant. If Labour requires to, or unwisely chooses to, draw The Greens into a coalition and as far as actually being in cabinet, then undoubtedly there will soon be plenty to attack.
In the last published account of MPs' financial interests, Nathan Guy owned 21 residential properties. No wonder he couldn't do justice to the agriculture portfolio when National was last in office. With his upcoming retirement from parliament, and the possibility that another Chinese-led property boom would probably eventuate should Collins's National assume office down the track, he can now leisurely ready himself for another bonanza.
That was some strange fade considered the magnitude of the frightening portral of Brownlee and Brownlee Junior were about to take-out the whole security section. Its one of those airport wrecking ball episodes that I will never forget. Didn't Wong Key bar the Brownlee Boys from Bellamy's for a month.
I think she is lucky to have all the retirements - even though an old guard are in top spots it does allow a refresh of new intakes (and hopefully new thinking) depending on the election outcome.
They really do now need policies that look very different from the Key-era as well.
It was inevitable that as the epoch changed, some stories would become irrelevant. Flat-earthers don't figure much nowadays (although I think the Levellers might still have a place).
The tide is going out on globalism for physical reasons, and the mood seems to be less dog-eat-dog than it was. They have to morph or die; looks like they chose to die. We are overripe for a new political Party - nature abhors a vacuum.......
She does look like she is prepared to take the policy into places it hasn't strayed before;
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300058752/judith-collins-keen…
But benefits need upping given joblessness can no longer be a blame game. So, she's got a long way to go.
Wasn't Bishop instrumental in getting the two english ladies to Wellington. If so, he gets promoted. WOW. Crusher must be a Mullet Lover. I can't understand her promotions, Bridges is sure to implode on a number of occasions and therefore he will be ejected threw the naughty door. Isn't Muller on sick leave, the way he looked on announcing his resignation meant to me we wouldn't see him for some time in parliament. Why does she have a high opinion of Woodhouse, he has shown to be totally dishonorable. Now the two Graceful Golden Girls have resigned. Unbelievable series of events.
Bishop did not come out and redeem himself, Muller obviously covered it for him while Bishop disappeared into the shadows. So, lets just sweep that under the carpet shall we.Now, Crusher has promoted him hoping he can somehow redeem himself and hold on to his seat which has a paper thin majority. I think he is toast so he might as well grow his Mullet and go back to the Commune.
So if I am understanding this correctly, Bishop is not a Govt MP but he is responsible for signing this off even though he is powerless. Then he directly with all his might of non power said, hang on there do not test them before they depart because they maybe positive CV19.
Do you get the stupidity of blaming Bishop now?
The sooner Labour actually stands up and accepts it is a failure and no amount of PR spin can gloss over what has actually happened the better. Or maybe we just blame Trump, that seems to be another Labour gem.
I think you better do a little more investigating into Bishop. If Labour is in a PR spin then National is on a merry go round. Lets see who jumps off Crushers list tomorrow or will she just resign. Seems par for the course. I haven't seen Labour bash Trump. You are getting confused with National - they support the Demented Democrats and are therefore against Trump.
If so she is up there with Winston as a master tactician. It's a wait and see now and with Winston not polling well we may will see some serious fireworks and skeletons somehow finding their way into the public domain. Jacinda has shown a couple of times that her claws can come out but will the Crusher put her under an spotlight that she can not handle??? Whoop whoop game on.
I cannot see these events being positive to her reign. Its just more dirt that Cindy will throw at her. The latter made English look totally incompetent during the debates prior to the previous election. Maybe Crusher is just a caretaker leader until Luxton becomes available.
Jacinda is not a dirt thrower. We all know that. She will stick to Labour's second term policies for the election campaign. No point in mentioning the first term policies. CGT, Kiwibuild, etc, etc. Auntie J will steer well away from Jacinda and will attack Labour's past. present, and future policies, and Winston's party, and probably some of the weeds in Jacinda's government. Labour governing alone will suit the Nats down to the ground for the 2023 election. They will be trying to put broken down wheels back on their broken down trolley very early on in their second term, and will have no Winnie or Shane O to blame. We will be thoroughly entertained over the next three years. Then Jacinda will be off to the UN, although it might be WHO, as she has an old Auntie Helen there now.
We could talk about Jacinda not delivering. See didnt deliver the election last time, Winstion did, can she proform under the pressure that Collins is sure to bring? Don't forget the fireworks that Winston could lash out if NZF looks to poll badly....
Just how squeaky clean Jacinda is, will be in the microscope very soon.
Winny the while old dog would have been sitting in those meeting thinking 'wow you guys don't get how this game is played... '
There are sayers and doers in theis world, Labour is a sayer!
Jacinda, I will continue to hug people... one week later... LD.... A week earlier and the economy damage would have been half at least. Early and hard... is really a bit late and it cost NZ mega.
The elephant in the room is the economy oldbloke1 is Jacinda and her merry cohorts can not deliver and we are on the edge of crazy. History shows Jacinda as a one person Govt that can not deliver effectively.
Kezza,have a listen to this from an unbiased commentator for a realistic view on the Nats and the economy.
Less myopic than your views.
"Very interesting interview with Rod Oram talking to Heather Du-Plessis Allen regarding Nationals economic plan going forward,well worth a listen,approximately 18.40 Weds 15/07.
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-demand/week-on-demand/
It dosent matter what they say now days, it is all public image. Jacinda has it at present but it wouldn't take much to burst her bubble, she can not deliver and still long way to go to the election. Please note that Jacinda got in early and has tried to explain away that we will have community transition because her ship can not contain it due to being useless.
Bbeforebyou say she delivered a CV19 free NZ, no the Kiwis delivered a CV19 free NZ. Jacinda made it harder and longer than needed by not containing the boarders correctly. Look at anyway you want but that is how it happened.
No I haven't. What I will continue to look at is Labour and their history of non delivery. I don't think that can turn that arround. If a group can ot deliver the next group gets its shot to see if they can deliver. My biggest concern is how close National is to the CCP and if they can walk away from them.
The daily nuts and bolts are fairly much the same for both parties and much like watching a soap opera.
Sayers and doers...
Even the NBR and its commentariat were able to acknowledge that a lack of doing was the problem with John Key's wasted decade. In actual fact, you'll probably find if looking realistic that most of the hard decisions and actions have not been taken by National...e.g. Muldoon kicking the can down the road and leaving it for Labour to liberalise the economy.
Big contrast to COL.
PM has Housing Minister as Red Adair.
https://www.energyvoice.com/special-features-2/piper-alpha-25/175656/pi…
& Richie Cummingham, Minister of all of about everything, being across nothing.
- the all of govt response needs structure & a hierarchy.
She's nailed her first couple of days. And as a swing voter, the appeal of a more competent caucus in the current environment is pushing me blue. I mean Twyford, Genter, Davis, Jones, O'Conner, Faafoi, Lees-Galoway, Nash etc etc - it's embarrassing. These people are getting paid to be invisible.
National took it to a whole new level.Key was up there frequently. Generating, new levels of business like buying dwellings and setting up businesses in NZ. As a consequence, their are a number of ex National MP's on these boards. Then if all got too much for him, he could see the public turning against him because of what he created so he resigned giving seven days notice.
Apparently, Winston is not close to Judith.
As per Herald story, Speaking to media this morning, after unveiling her new party billboards today, Collins said National would not form a government with NZ First after the election.
"I don't know that his party is going to be there after the election."
She said she wasn't worried about him or his party vote.
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