The decisive ball relates to a pandemic-era commercial rent relief package. Nash wrote an email to Troy Bowker and Greg Loveridge: “I am as annoyed (and surprised) about the final outcome of the ‘commercial rent relief package’ as you are”.
National Party leader Christopher Luxon isn’t stretching political yardage when he describes Nash’s actions as “akin to insider trading”. Being offered access to Cabinet discussions is not something anyone should expect in a country ranked second equal on the Corruption Perception Index.
In political circles, talk often centres around “confidence”. At every step, a prime minister will be asked if they still have confidence in their MP or, in particular, ministers. Coalition arrangements typically include “confidence and supply” agreements.
And as Victoria University law professor Dean Knight points out, the nub of the matter was whether Hipkins could have any confidence in his minister.
“Constitutionally, the lifeblood of Cabinet ministers is confidence. Confidence of their ministerial colleagues. Confidence of their colleagues as expressed by the Prime Minister. The political judgment about whether collegial confidence remains or has been burnt up is also influenced by political heat — whether the confidence Parliament and electors have in the government risks being eroded by the actions of a minister.
“It’s no surprise the PM has finally drawn a line under it all to ensure the relationships of confidence that support government don’t tumble down. It’s important to recognise that the question of confidence is more important than the individual missteps and their intrinsic gravity or otherwise. These are, ultimately, political calls.”
This was the latest in a long line of scandals besetting the judgment of a man with master’s degrees in law, forestry science and management from the University of Canterbury.
He also danced close to detailing Cabinet discussions three years ago when he blamed NZ First, which was then in a coalition arrangement with Labour, for a delay in fitting cameras on fishing boats.
He has been repeatedly pulled up for gaffes but the career-ending plunge began when he boasted on-air to Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking that he’d called up Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to express his upset over a particular court ruling.
Another case of Nash improperly commenting on police operations soon came to light, then he was found to have contacted a senior Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment official over an immigration case rather than following established procedure.
None of this history of foot-in-mouth matters when compared with the email to former donors but it does complete the picture of a politician bereft of trustworthiness.
On Friday, April 14, Nash can leave his Napier seat without triggering an expensive by-election. He cannot stay a day longer.
