National Party leader Christopher Luxon and party president Sylvia Wood have today batted away questions about the strength of the party's vetting process, after a candidate resigned last night.
National Party Taieri candidate Stephen Jack resigned following a revelation he had re-posted a poem on Facebook in 2021 which compared former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to Hitler.
Jack resigned after offensive social media posts surfaced. (Source: 1News)
It followed earlier reports Jack re-posted a sexist joke on social media in 2020 - that one saying "I like my Covid like I like my women - 19 and easy to spread".
It also follows an apology from National's Maungakiekie candidate Greg Fleming, after it was revealed he had compared civil unions to polygamy and incest in 2004 - a perspective he no longer holds.
Today, Luxon said the National Party's selection process had "strengthened incredibly" and he was "incredibly proud" of the candidates National had "been delivering into this election".
He said those candidates were diverse with skills to bring to caucus, and he was proud of the party's ability to "unearth talent".
However, he condemned Jack's behaviour.
"As a father of a 21-year-old daughter, I found those comments crass and offensive and sexist.
"It's a good thing that he's resigned... there's things the party will learn from this process."
He and party president Sylvia Wood had set clear expectations of candidates but they understood not all of them would be "perfect" and would need to declare things from their past.
"Our candidates have done a great job of often raising issues."
A source with knowledge of the process told 1News they felt the party was too focused on finding a "rural" candidate in Taieri - over one most adept at conveying National's message.
Stephen Jack responds
In a statement today, Jack hit back, describing coverage of his posts as "character assassination" which would discourage "Kiwis representative of NZ society" from running to become MPs.
"These attacks have been careless, orchestrated, out of context and demonstrably inaccurate," he said.
"They are incredibly damaging and revealing of the world of modern politics that I have decided I want no future part of after possibly the shortest political career in history at just 28 days.
"Comprehension of satire has been traded for woke stupidity.
"My kids said I'd be cancelled. They were right."
Sylvia Wood responds
A National Party spokesman provided a statement from Wood.
In it, she said the party had worked hard on selection processes but was continually seeking improvement.
"To date we have vetted almost 150 nominees over hundreds of hours. The reality is we won’t find everything there is to find about everyone who wants to stand for us.
"Candidates must also take responsibility for themselves. They are clearly told that social media can pose a problem if content doesn’t represent the party’s values and standards or has the potential to distract from the very real issues facing Kiwis right now."
She said once candidates were vetted, they went through a local democratic selection process.
"Most of the time local members get it right but just like any selection panel, sometimes they don’t."
It was the "right decision" for Jack to resign.
"The party is working through selection process timelines now but we expect to have a new candidate in place by the end of May."
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said today the issue was "a matter for the National Party".
There have been previous issues with candidate selection in the National party.
Violent incidents in Sam Uffindell's past were not made public until after he won the Tauranga by-election, although they were disclosed to the party during selection.
A former candidate, Jake Bezzant, left the party after an ex-girlfriend made serious allegations against him.
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