National Party MP Sam Uffindell said politics is a "tough place" to be under the spotlight and described politics as "a bit of a blood sport".
Uffindell, the MP for Tauranga, was under scrutiny last year after he admitted to a late-night assault of a younger boy while he was studying at Auckland's King's College as a teen. A Stuff report claimed it may have involved the use of bed legs, but Uffindell said he had no recollection of using anything other than his fists, but couldn't rule it out.
In September last year he was reinstated to National's caucus after an independent investigation into his behaviour as a university student - which has never been publicly released - found differing accounts. He was stood down while the investigation was completed.
Today, regarding news of former Justice Minister Kiri Allan's Sunday night car crash and arrest, Uffindell said he and his wife had sent Allan a message of support.
He said his text message was to the effect of: “G’day mate, I hope you’re doing alright. We’re thinking of you. It can be bloody tough in the spotlight, so keep your chin up."
Asked if Parliament and politics had too many personal attacks, he said a lot of it was put out in the media and Parliament was "a pretty tough environment".
"It’s a bit of a blood sport. You can do really well here and you can get punished as well. It’s a pretty tough place to be at times… that’s just the reality of this place. It’s a pretty brutal place and it’s not unique to the New Zealand political setting.
"It’s just the way it is for people in public life, particularly in politics, that you are open to this sort of scrutiny and when things go wrong for you, they go wrong in front of everyone and it can be pretty heavy.
"I would prefer if people didn’t come on as heavy at times when things go badly for folks but ultimately the media push a bit of that and people read about it and that’s the way the model works. I just turn up and try to do my job."
He said he didn't think the media was to "blame" but said people "enjoy sensational stuff".
"Unfortunately when things go badly for you - as it did for me last year, and it is for Kiri at the moment - you do get a lot of media coverage."
'Deeply distressing'
Other National MPs also weighed in on Allan's situation, including former leader Todd Muller, who resigned from the role citing mental health challenges in 2020.
Muller said he knew Allan personally and found her situation "deeply distressing" and "very sad".
"She’s a Te Puna girl and I’m a Te Puna boy, even though she hails at the moment from the East Coast.
"I can only speak about what I went through and what I went through was dreadful, absolutely dreadful.
"When I see Kiri I just get a sense of a huge amount of sadness and some empathy because you recall back to what you went through and you get a sense for what it’s like for her at the moment."
He said Parliament was a "fierce contest of ideas" and that shouldn't change, but believed political discourse had become "toxic".
"That doesn’t sit with any particular government, it’s just the reality of politics and society today. So we, of course, as representatives of the people reflect that to some degree.
"It’s very hard when people get sick, and they get sick. This is mental health sickness, just as people have cancer and other health issues and need time to recover."
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins earlier ruled out any chance of Allan returning as a minister under his leadership.
Muller said he had had a second chances in his life.
"What people look for I think is integrity - that you’re open about what you’ve done and not done and how you seek to improve yourself day by day. I have a lot of time for Kiri personally… I just hope that she’s surrounded by love, and can heal, because that takes time.
"If politics is still in her blood, and and that’s what she wants to give her considerable talents to, then of course as an individual and a friend I would hope that [returning to politics is] something that she could do."
National leader Christopher Luxon said he did not have "much more to add" on Allan.
"I don’t know the circumstances… but what I can tell you is this is a government that actually is falling apart. Again, we’re talking about another personnel issue at a time… when the New Zealand people are hurting.
"This is a government that’s lost its way. It’s out of time and out of ideas. What we need is a government that is going to be working for the New Zealand people and focused on their issues. Not this internal stuff, not this personnel stuff, not this beltway stuff."
Asked if he agreed with criticism from some he had politicised the issue, he said he disagreed strongly.
"We are doing our job as opposition to say very clearly… we really wish Kiri well.
"But equally our job is… to hold the government to account for its policies and ministers for their behaviour and also to propose ideas, and that’s what we’ll continue to do."
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