The race for the National Party’s leadership has now grown to a party of five, with Simon Bridges, Amy Adams, Mark Mitchell, Steven Joyce and Judith Collins all throwing hats into the ring. Since any of these five could be fighting for the Prime Ministership in the next election, we’ve checked their records on key divisive issues, including drug reform, abortion, euthanasia and same sex marriage. Note that on most legislation, MPs vote along party lines, so we’re focusing on issues decided by conscience vote - where MPs vote individually - or where at least one of the candidates has taken a strong personal stance.
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Judith Collins
Collins has dubbed herself the “fun” National party candidate. “It will be a hell of a ride and so much fun, and you'll enjoy every minute,” she’s said, adding that her “style of fun is slightly more gladiatorial”. Dubbed the Crusher for her hardline stance on boy racers (which involved crushing cars of repeat offenders), gladiatorial fun is probably as apt a tagline as any. When accused of “backstabbing” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Collins responded: "No problem. I stab from the front".Self-Proclaimed Feminist?
Collins says she's a life-long member of the F club.Sex Worker Rights
Collins voted against the Prostitution Reform Bill in 2003, saying, "In my opinion, prostitution is rape accompanied by payment—if the prostitute is lucky." In 2006 she voted for a bill that aimed to allow local councils to ban street sex work.Same Sex Marriage
Voted to legalise same sex marriage.Abortion
Collins backed a law which would require girls under 16 to tell their parents if they sought an abortion. She’s said the current law is liberal enough, and shouldn’t be revisited: "I don't see why this is an issue for the Prime Minister. I think she should get on and do her job, focus on the economy and law and order and leave issues like this.”Indigenous Rights Voted against Labour's controversial Seabed and Foreshore Act in 2004, establishing the land was owned by the Crown and ruling out the possibility of Māori customary title.
Pitched as the ‘generational change’ candidate, Bridges, 41, is the youngest of the bunch, but falls on the conservative end of social and conscience issues. Perhaps most notably he was in the minority voting against gay marriage, which Collins, Joyce and Adams supported. Bridges has been tipped as a possible leader for years—and like National’s most successful frontman, John Key, he has a fondness for a good catchphrase. Where Key had “at the end of the day,” Bridges has “the truth of the matter,” which he uses 14 times in this interview alone. He's also bewildering fond of speaking about himself in third person. Bridges has previously described his politics as “Reasonably economically dry, reasonably socially conservative—but look, shit happens, you know?”Self-Proclaimed Feminist?
We don’t know.
The ‘stability’ candidate, Adams stands for incremental change over revolution, and has been emphasising her ability to bridge the gap between rural and urban New Zealand. Adams has had a series of hefty portfolios, including Minister for Justice, Courts, Social Housing, Associate Finance, and Social Investment. Dubbed the “quiet achiever,” she was the only candidate to announce her bid for the leadership with a cohort of supporters—including Maggie Barry and Nikki Kaye.Self Proclaimed Feminist?
When asked, said, “different women or different people have different interpretations of what that means”
Previous minister for communications, science and innovation, and finance, Joyce is one of the highest profile candidates and represents a continuation of the English/Key years. The ex-advertising and broadcast man has been central to designing a number of National’s successful campaigns. A dark cloud over Joyce’s credibility is the $11 billion fiscal hole he claimed to have found in Labour’s budgets. Joyce was never able to present evidence that such a hole existed, and a number of independent economists found he’d been mistaken. He was also, infamously, whacked in the face with a dildo on national television—a scene that his colleague Judith Collins says made her laugh out loud.Same Sex Marriage
Voted to legalise same sex marriage.
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Pitched as the ‘generational change’ candidate, Bridges, 41, is the youngest of the bunch, but falls on the conservative end of social and conscience issues. Perhaps most notably he was in the minority voting against gay marriage, which Collins, Joyce and Adams supported. Bridges has been tipped as a possible leader for years—and like National’s most successful frontman, John Key, he has a fondness for a good catchphrase. Where Key had “at the end of the day,” Bridges has “the truth of the matter,” which he uses 14 times in this interview alone. He's also bewildering fond of speaking about himself in third person. Bridges has previously described his politics as “Reasonably economically dry, reasonably socially conservative—but look, shit happens, you know?”Self-Proclaimed Feminist?
The ‘stability’ candidate, Adams stands for incremental change over revolution, and has been emphasising her ability to bridge the gap between rural and urban New Zealand. Adams has had a series of hefty portfolios, including Minister for Justice, Courts, Social Housing, Associate Finance, and Social Investment. Dubbed the “quiet achiever,” she was the only candidate to announce her bid for the leadership with a cohort of supporters—including Maggie Barry and Nikki Kaye.Self Proclaimed Feminist?
