Her resignation closes the chapter on one of politics’ most formidable figures – a minister of many portfolios, many enemies, and more than a few WTF moments, writes Catherine McGregor in today’s excerpt from The Bulletin.
To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.
Why she’s going – and what comes next
Judith Collins will leave Parliament after more than two decades, saying she is “sort of over it” and ready to step away from the “bear pit” of politics. She will take up the role of president of the Law Commission later this year, a move that RNZ’s Craig McCulloch says has raised some eyebrows given the body’s independent status, but one Collins insists she will approach with a “straight bat”. Her departure will be delayed until April to avoid a byelection, meaning she will remain a cabinet minister for several more months. That timing allows her to exit on her own terms, closing a parliamentary career that began in 2002 and saw her become the longest-serving female MP in the House, and one of its most recognisable – and divisive – figures.
Highs, lows and the WTFs
Few politicians have packed quite so much into a single career. Collins entered cabinet almost immediately after National’s 2008 victory and quickly built a reputation as a hard-edged, highly competent operator, particularly in law and order roles. As police minister she leaned enthusiastically into a tough-on-crime image, earning the enduring nickname “Crusher Collins” for her crackdown on boy racers – a label she later conceded was better than being ignored.
But controversy was never far away. The most damaging chapter came in 2014 with the Dirty Politics saga, which culminated in her resignation from cabinet over allegations she had undermined the head of the Serious Fraud Office. Collins has always dismissed the episode as a storm in a teacup; she was reinstated the following year after an inquiry cleared her of wrongdoing. Then there were the moments that veered from excruciating to hilarious. The Spinoff’s Lyric Waiwiri-Smith has collected them all, from the “my husband is Samoan, so talofa” line during the 2020 leaders’ debate, to the ill-fated Ponsonby walkabout, to her the eyebrow-raising claims to be “a woman of colour”.
The highs, lows and WTFs of Judith Collins
A reshuffle deferred
Collins’ pending exit has also reopened a question hanging over Christopher Luxon’s leadership, at least according to The Post’s Andrea Vance: is he waiting too long to reshuffle his cabinet? With Collins gone, the defence portfolio is widely expected to go to Chris Penk, while Paul Goldsmith is seen as a likely pick for attorney-general. So why not slot them in now, Vance asks. She says Luxon is making a strategic error by delaying the rejig until Collins formally leaves – because cabinet roles are not just administrative posts, but a way of managing ambition and dissatisfaction. John Key understood this; Bill English did not, placing too much weight on longevity. “The result was not loyalty, but frustration, manoeuvring, and endless leadership ructions that destabilised the party for half a decade,” Vance writes. Luxon, who benefited from that turmoil, is “now flirting with the same mistake”.
Budget Day announced
Collins will be gone by the time Budget 2025 is delivered on May 28, a date confirmed yesterday by finance minister Nicola Willis. She has promised a “responsible budget” focused on core services – health, education, defence and law and order – alongside tight control of discretionary spending, the Herald’s Rachel Maher reports. There would be “no splashing of cash”, she said, with most ministers expected to manage pressures with little or no additional funding outside priority areas. The budget will land just over five months out from the November 7 general election – a campaign period that will, for the first time in 24 years, be lacking one of politics’ strongest characters.
