The man who took on Christopher Luxon speaks on The Spinoff politics podcast, Gone By Lunchtime.
Nine days ago, Chris Penk was identified as the single rogue element, the solo-coup-mounter within the National Party caucus. Christopher Luxon announced that, having called a confidence vote in the leader at that emergency meeting, Penk the insurrectionist had been sacked as a minister. Within hours, Penk said he would not be standing again in his Kaipara ki Mahurangi electorate.
What has he been doing since that fateful day?
“I’ve been doing sort of baby-yak-like activities,” the former minister said on The Spinoff politics podcast, Gone By Lunchtime, with a nod to arguably New Zealand’s greatest story of post-politics serenity, that of former National Party leader Simon Bridges.
“For example, I’ve dropped off the kids at school and kindy more times in the last week than I think I had in the couple of months prior. So, you know, silver linings and clouds and all that.”
Asked whether he had been loaned a yak by Bridges, Penk said: “I haven’t had a yack with Simon, so to speak. But I’ve bumped into him around the place over the last few years, so we’ll have to catch up at some point.”
When the video feed failed on the podcast, Penk said not to worry: “I’m actually in disguise anyway. I’ve been rocking a big false moustache in the last week.”
Across the term of parliament, was there anything that stood out for him as particularly momentous? “I take it you’re you’re you’re alluding to the work that I led as minister for Land Information,” he said. “I know that’s been on everyone’s lips. So I’m happy to join you today on the pod and talk a bit more about that.”
When pressed on whether he pursued those Public Works Act changes, such as streamlining the role of the Environment Court in objection procedures for designated critical infrastructure, alone, or whether he was working on behalf of a larger group of people, Penk said: “Well, it’s always important to understand in any change process that if you work alongside others, as everyone understands each other and is on the same page, then then you get a good result. So that was certainly the case in the Public Works Act reform. So a valuable exercise, and I think we’ve ended up with a faster and a fairer process.”
Had he been confident he would have the numbers to get those changes to the Public Works Act through?
“I was confident from the start that there would be good, broad support, and so it proved,” Penk told Gone By Lunchtime. “And, you know, the results are not always what you expect, but certainly in the time since then, it’s appeared to me to be a good decision.”
Under further questioning, Penk did acknowledge there was an “elephant in the room”.
He elaborated: “Which of course is the events of last week, when my Twitter account was hacked… That is genuinely unconnected with any other events that may have taken place, by which of course I refer to the Warriors’ big win over the Broncos.”
Having published in 2020 an e-book critiquing the Covid lockdown, was he now writing another book? “I’m not. Although it’s not a bad idea. I mean, maybe it is a bad idea,” he said.
“I’ve had a few conversations with people where I’ve been encouraged to tell a story, let’s just say, in the last couple of weeks. But I think the best thing is that I give everyone a bit of space, including myself, from the hurly-burly of political life.”
Penk remained committed to his electorate for the time that remained, he said, adding: “I’ll be back in parliament next week. I’m not shying away entirely from what is still the day job for the next 78 days. Not that anyone’s counting.”
