Judith Collins has named 10 MPs she credits with showing "courage" during National's most chaotic period, using a valedictory speech that mixed defiance, self-deprecating humour and a pointed message to the media.
The outgoing Papakura MP farewelled Parliament after 24 years, at least 18 ministerial portfolios and eight consecutive electorate wins, telling the House she was "over politics".
"I leave politics behind and move into an apolitical world with gusto and – even relish. I’m over politics and looking forward to going back to my first loves, my family and the law."
Collins described herself as "a resilient soul" and said she had never understood "that I should know my place, nor accept other people's limitations."
"I have never had patience for the concept of ‘doing my time’, or worse still, ‘knowing my place’; and the Parliament and the National Party caucus room of 2002 are a lot different from what they are today," she said.
"As one senior MP told us, “just because I smile at you, don’t think I like you.”
She told Parliament she was "genetically incapable of sucking up to hierarchy in order to get ahead" and had arrived in the House in 2002 as a lawyer with little political experience, "often oblivious to the way things would be portrayed by media."
"For a woman who has never known her place, I was not in my happy space," Collins said.
"In a caucus of a mere 27, I received a message that not much was expected of me. That I would either make something of not much or I would be an MP who came and went.
"So, I decided to make the most of what I had since I knew that I am genetically incapable of sucking up to hierarchy in order to get ahead."
Collins invoked former prime minister Sir Robert Muldoon in paying tribute to her staff, citing a saying she attributed to him that an ounce of loyalty was worth a ton of talent.
"In the case of each of you, both your talent and your loyalty are measured by the ton."
She said news of her resignation had prompted "an outpouring of love".
"I would like to acknowledge that the true news of my resignation, because I shall never retire, was greeted with an outpouring of love around Parliament.
"It was so lovely, that I thought I must have died," Collins said.
'We never gave up and we did not run away'
Meanwhile, in recounting her more than two decades in politics, Collins singled out 10 colleagues for their support during some of her party's darkest months.
She had been the third person to lead the party in seven weeks in 2020, taking the reins during Covid-19 after Todd Muller's abrupt departure, which itself followed his ousting of Simon Bridges. She led National to a heavy defeat against Jacinda Ardern's Labour.
Shane Reti will hold the party's reins for now until a new permanent leader is voted in by MPs next week. (Source: 1News)
Collins thanked Speaker Gerry Brownlee, Shane Reti, David Bennett, Jacqui Dean, Andrew Bayly, Stuart Smith, Nicola Willis, Todd McClay, Harete Hipango and Maureen Pugh for their "courage" and "friendship during the toughest of times."
"We never gave up and we did not run away," she said.
"It is often commented that I have a fair bit of resilience. Well, we don’t get to be resilient without having to be. I sometimes quip that adversity is just an opportunity to show character. But, I accept that I am a resilient soul."
Collins blamed her parents for that quality. "I just never understood that I should know my place, nor accept other people’s limitations."
Her father had told her to "never let anyone make me feel less than them," she said, while her mother told her she was "Mummy's little baby all the way from Heaven."
"I sometimes think I was better at living up to my father's expectations than my mother's."
'Get a pen and paper and sit down'
Collins saved some of her warmest words for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
"When you phoned me, following the formation of the coalition government, you told me to get a pen and paper and sit down. You then proceeded to rattle off eight portfolios.
"I thank you for your somewhat extreme confidence in me. Thank you for wanting me to stay a bit longer and thank you for letting me go a bit sooner."
Collins said it was in defence where she felt she had made her "most significant contribution."
She revisited the sinking of the HMNZS Manawanui, standing by her earlier comments. "It was not a tragedy. It also had nothing to do with gender."
The Defence Minister called on New Zealanders to be better in the wake of the sinking of the HMNZS Manawanui. (Source: 1News)
Among achievements, she highlighted banning smoking in prisons, giving police access to tasers, leading the Agent Orange inquiry for Vietnam War veterans, and settling the Nelson Tenths litigation as Attorney-General after what she described as "16 years of litigation and 180 years of injustice." She also joked about being "the first minister for Space in the world, or even, dare I say it, the universe."
'Not someone's reckons'
Collins — never one to hide her disdain for poor reporting in the past — directed a parting message at journalists, telling them to "report the news, don't be the news."
"Most of our media are utterly professional and give no indication of their political views. Be those people. Report the news, don’t be the news. And for the avoidance of doubt, the news should be the truth, the facts, not someone’s reckons," she said.
"Our Members of Parliament need to be resilient. It’s a tough gig. It’s got a lot tougher since social media and the way in which some mainstream media have chosen to adopt social media standards.
"I’m told that it’s all about advertising clicks these days and that’s why headlines often seem completely at odds with the substantive article."
Emma Chatterton will replace Collins as the National candidate in Papakura.
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