Minister and former National Party leader Judith Collins is retiring from politics to become the new president of the Law Commission.
Collins announced her decision in a statement, in which she thanked her family and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
“As all MPs know, our families are the unsung heroes who allow us to do the very public job that we do for New Zealanders,” she said.
“I want to say a huge thanks to the Prime Minister for his confidence in my abilities. I started this term with eight portfolios and I am announcing my retirement from politics with seven, having been a minister in four terms of government.”
Collins will remain an MP until mid-2026 when she would start her role with the Law Commission.
“Before being elected to Parliament I practised law for 21 years. Some might say law is my first love, so it seems fitting it will soon be my professional focus once again, she said.
Speaking to reporters, Collins pointed to last year’s Defence Capability Plan, which more than doubled the country’s defence spending, as one of her career highlights.
“I spent about 14 months trying to get that through ... and working with coalition partners. Also getting a pretty respectful and decent response from the Opposition was really important to me too and to defence.”
Asked for her career lows, Collins confessed National’s drubbing in the 2020 election with her as leader was “pretty bad”.
“My husband still tells me that I should not have done that but the thing is that sometimes you’ve just got to step up when you want to run away from it.”
With National struggling to out-pace Labour in recent polls, Collins dismissed any suggestion her departure would impair her party.
“In fact, I think people will see that there are other people who can step into some of these roles.”
She expected to remain in Cabinet with her current portfolios until Luxon decided on her successors.
Luxon, in a statement, said he felt “great regret and enormous gratitude” in announcing Collins’ new appointment.
“The role requires astute legal knowledge – something Judith is eminently qualified for. She will follow in the footsteps of other highly regarded New Zealanders such as Sir Geoffrey Palmer.
“Judith has given more than two decades of her life to Parliament and public service as a Member of Parliament, Minister, and Leader of the Opposition. Throughout that time, she has served this country with commitment and conviction.
“She has carried a wide range of portfolios in Government and fronted some of the most difficult challenges without flinching.”
Collins – the Attorney General – currently holds several key ministerial portfolios, namely defence and the public service.
Collins became leader of the National Party in 2020, while in Opposition against Jacinda Ardern’s Labour Party.
National lost that year’s election as Labour achieved MMP’s first-ever single-party majority.
Her ascent came at a tumultuous time for the party: she replaced Todd Muller, who had ousted former party leader Simon Bridges, and who stood down from the role after only 53 days.
Collins led the party from July 2020 until November the following year when she was rolled as leader after an attempt to discipline Bridges backfired.
At the time, Luxon, Bridges and Mark Mitchell were considered the front-runners to replace her.
Shane Reti, who was the deputy at the time, was installed as interim leader before Luxon was appointed as leader.
Collins was first elected to Parliament in 2002 after winning the then-Clevedon electorate seat.
She then won the Papakura electorate after Clevedon disappeared in boundary changes ahead of the 2008 election, and has held the seat since.
During her time in Parliament, Collins earned the nickname “Crusher” following her policy of crushing cars seized from criminals.
A number of current MPs have recently announced they will be standing down, including Labour’s Adrian Rurawhe, National’s Maureen Pugh and Paulo Garcia.
Green Party MP Celia Wade-Brown this morning also announced she would not stand in this year’s election.
Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.