Judith Collins to leave politics, head up Law Commission

2026-01-27 - 22:34

Senior National Party minister Judith Collins will retire from politics ahead of this year’s election to become president of the Law Commission, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced. In a statement on Wednesday morning, Luxon expressed “great regret” at Collins’ departure, thanking her for her service and welcoming her move to the commission. “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.” In her own statement, Collins said she was honoured to be appointed as commission president and thanked Luxon for his confidence in her abilities. “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.” One of the highlights of her last term in office had been signing off on the Defence Capability Plan, “a crucial recognition of the increasingly uncertain global climate”. “For those who would question why New Zealand needs to step up on the international stage, I have a question for you: why should anyone defend us if we do not defend ourselves? “We no longer live in a benign strategic environment – if we ever really did – and we need to play our part.” Collins said her other career highlights included banning smoking in prisons, improving the transparency of the courts and judicial processes, and becoming the first minister for technology and for space. Luxon said Collins would remain in Parliament until her new role began in mid-2026; it was not immediately clear whether she would retain her ministerial portfolios until then. The career of Crusher The eight-term MP entered Parliament at the 2002 election, winning the Clevedon electorate; after it was dissolved under boundary changes before the 2008 election, she secured the National Party’s nomination for Papakura and has held the seat for the last 18 years. When Sir John Key’s National won power in 2008, Collins entered Cabinet with the police, Corrections, and veterans’ affairs portfolios, earning the nickname “Crusher Collins” over her involvement in a government policy to crush the cars of boy racers. She endured a rocky ride under Key’s prime ministership, accused of a conflict of interest in 2014 after an overseas visit to the Shanghai offices of New Zealand dairy company Oravida – of which her husband David Wong-Tung was a director. The company later put a photo of her on its website, saying she had endorsed its products in what would have been a breach of the Cabinet Manual (Collins said she had told Oravida it could not use her photo or name to endorse its products). Also in 2014, Nicky Hager’s book Dirty Politics revealed Collins had passed on private information about public servant Simon Pleasants to right-wing Cameron Slater – a revelation that caused Key to place her on a second ‘final warning’. Collins subsequently resigned from Cabinet that year after a leaked email from Slater suggested she had been involved in attacks on Serious Fraud Office director Adam Feeley (an allegation of which she was later cleared following a formal inquiry). Key brought Collins back into Cabinet in 2015, where she stayed until National lost office at the 2017 election. After failed bids for the National leadership in 2016 and 2018, Collins took on the leadership in July 2020 – just months out from that year’s election – following the short-lived reign of Todd Muller. Faced with an uphill task, Collins led National to the second-worst result in its history, securing just 25.6 percent of the vote and 33 seats in Parliament (a decline of 18.9 percent and 23 seats respectively). She lost the leadership in November 2021, after her demotion of Simon Bridges over allegedly inappropriate behaviour sparked a vote of no confidence in her from National’s caucus. Collins took a significant role in Luxon’s government, serving as the Attorney-General and becoming the first female defence minister, while also holding responsibility for the country’s intelligence agencies among other portfolios.