Judith Collins has had a colourful and controversial political career. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Long-standing National MP Judith Collins has made another come-back picking up a raft of ministerial positions as well as the position of Attorney-General in the new government's line-up.
The controversial MP was first elected to Parliament in July 2002 as MP for Clevedon, later switching to the Papakura electorate in 2008.
Collins, who is one of National's most experienced MPs, has now been appointed to the following positions in the newly announced government:
- Attorney-General
- Minister of Defence
- Minister for Digitising Government Minister Responsible for the GCSB
- Minister Responsible for the NZSIS
- Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology
- Minister for Space
- Lead Coordination Minister for the Government's Response to the Royal Commission's Report into the Terrorist Attack on the Christchurch Mosques
A lawyer by profession, Collins has had a controversial and colourful political career that included a 499-day reign as National's leader which ended on 25 November 2021 after a vote of no confidence from her caucus.
That vote came after her shock demotion of then National MP Simon Bridges the day before.
The reason behind it was apparently a lewd comment some five years previous in the presence of Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean, and while Collins claimed to have the unanimous backing of the party board, the board itself disputed that, saying they supported an investigation with a right of reply for Bridges and no more.
Bridges later said he had apologised repeatedly to Dean, and criticised Collins' approach as lacking any due process.
Although Collins was voted out as National leader in 2021, she stayed on as MP for Papakura.
Collins' belief in law and order led to her nickname Crusher Collins which sprang from a crackdown on boyracers when she was police minister in 2009.
In 2020, Collins complained she was "sick of being demonised" for her ethnicity after tensions flared at Parliament over race relations.
Then prime minister John Key gave Collins a "final warning" in 2014 after it came out that she had visited the Shanghai offices of Oravida, a company which was owned by one of her close friends and of which her husband was a director, while on a taxpayer-funded trip.
Collins later admitted to having dinner with the company's bosses. She had claimed the visit was "on the way to the airport" but the offices are 30 kilometres in the opposite direction. The company later used her image for promotional purposes, without her consent.
It emerged swamp kauri had been stockpiled in Northland under the name Oravida Kauri, another business linked to Oravida and Collins' husband. She outraged environmentalists by telling a reporter she did not care, saying, "Am I the Minister of Wetlands?"
Also in 2014, Collins was accused of leaking information to her friend and right-wing blogger Cameron Slater in Nicky Hager's book Dirty Politics, released in August that year about a month before the election. She resigned from Cabinet after allegations she tried to undermine the Serious Fraud Office director. She was cleared after an investigation by a High Court judge, but the political damage was done.
Then prime minister John Key reinstated Collins as police minister and corrections minister in December 2015.
National had been under fire for not having any Māori MPs in its top 12, after its new line-up of MPs was revealed. Collins pushed back, asking reporters if there was "something wrong" her with being white.
Collins reacted to questions being asked by Labour MP Tamati Coffey about the treaty partnership and government procurement.
"Oh Jesus Christ, stupid questions," said Collins, with the committee chairperson Labour's Deborah Russell chipping in calling it "a white girl comment - crikey".
"Oh no," shot back Collins,"it's actually someone who is utterly sick of being demonised for my ethnicity thank you very much."