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National Party leader Christopher Luxon says he's confident in backing Sam Uffindell because he is not the same person he was as a 16-year-old bully.
The Tauranga MP was expelled from King's College as a teenager after he beat a younger boy at the boarding school. He didn't apologise to the victim for more than 20 years.
Luxon, who has been in damage control over the revelation, told Checkpoint it was not fair to judge Uffindell on the worst thing he did as a teenager - and he is a different person now.
"He's been genuinely contrite, he's been remorseful, he's been regretful, he's sincerely apologised to the victims and he's actually fronting and owning his own behaviour."
Asked why he is still backing him, Luxon said: "The reason is I think a 38-year-old Sam Uffindell is a very different person to a 16-year-old bully."
Luxon told media this morning he had been unaware of Uffindell's assault on the boy until yesterday.
National leader Christopher Luxon says he's been assured the King's College assault was the "worst incident". Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Uffindell had declared the details of the incident when he sought the candidacy, and there had been a thorough process including seeking comment from third-party references, he said.
However, Luxon said he should have been told and voters should have also known ahead of the election.
"The committee didn't think it was fair for him to be judged on the worst thing he did as a teenager, and in hindsight we got that wrong and it should have been made public."
Sam Uffindell Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Uffindell had described himself as being a bully in the past, and Luxon said he had been assured the King's College assault was the "worst incident".
"I do believe in forgiveness and I think that ultimately everyone gets a second chance and we wouldn't have many MPs here in Parliament if a perfect path was the standard for getting into this place. I think what we've got is in an individual who has genuinely changed and was assessed as such by doing so by virtue of the reference checking and the experience of him."
Thinking to the future, would Luxon ever make Uffindell a justice minister, police minister or youth affairs minister?
"It is a dilemma, right," he told Checkpoint.
"On one hand you've got bullying that is evident in New Zealand, I have huge feeling and empathy for the victim and I know how I'd react as a parent. On the other hand, I believe in forgiveness and that people should get a second chance and especially if they've genuinely changed and reformed. There has to be room in Parliament for people who have imperfect pasts and that have accounted for them and changed."
Checkpoint host Lisa Owen also asked Luxon if the National Party answered honestly when a media organisation asked it about situations with Uffindell's schooling. Luxon said he has no understanding of that, but he and Uffindell were fronting media and were trying to be honest.