Stuart Nash resigns as NZ First candidate after 'sexist' text

Stuart Nash has quit as NZ First's Napier candidate - hours on from opting not to apologise for calling his National rival lazy after she took maternity leave.

NZ First leader Winston Peters confirmed the resignation in a tweet tonight, after Nash's comments about MP Katie Nimon were widely panned as being sexist.

"Stuart Nash has offered his resignation as a candidate and we have accepted," he said.

The announcement came an hour after Prime Minister Christopher Luxon ruled out Nash serving as a minister in any government he leads, in a social media post.

Stuart Nash branded a 'sexist dickhead' over text about National MP - Watch on TVNZ+

Nash did not apologise for his comments earlier today, instead saying this afternoon he wanted to be "judged on my own track record, achievements and work ethic".

The PM weighed in on Nash in an unusual social media post just before 9.30pm.

"Whether reports of Stuart Nash’s resignation as a NZ First candidate are true or not, I am making clear he will not serve as a minister in my government," he said.

"After several instances of poor behaviour, some politicians will claim he has changed.

"His lack of contrition after comments about one of my MPs’ maternity leave this evening shows he hasn’t."

Luxon said earlier today that Nash was "channelling the manosphere".

In a statement to 1News today, the former MP said the campaign was "about who shows up and delivers for Napier", and defended his own record.

"I'm happy to be judged on my own track record, achievements and work ethic. That's the contest I want. And, for what it's worth, I've got real respect for any working parent raising a newborn alongside a demanding job – that was never in question," he said.

"That is why I was part of a government that supported the extending of paid parental leave – the law change that the National Party voted against, twice."

Nash, a former Labour Party minister previously standing for NZ First in Napier, made the comments about first-term Napier MP Katie Nimon in a text message to former attorney-general Chris Finlayson on July 14.

In the text seen by 1News, Nash wrote: "Katie took nine months off on full pay, went back for a week, then took another month off.

"Laziest MP I have ever come across.

"Nice woman but ill-suited to the rigors of being an electorate MP."

Nash had been running against Nimon in the electorate at November's election. It's the second controversy the ex-Cabinet minister has faced in the past year over his remarks.

The text about Nimon was read out by Finlayson on his Cross Party Lines podcast last week with former Labour leader Phil Goff.

Nimon herself told media the believed the comments were "absolutely" sexist but her initial reaction was to laugh.

"I actually gave a little giggle because, of course, they're not true, and that's very much an expected thing from Stuart," she said.

She said she returned to work part-time in her electorate after about 10 weeks, and was back in Wellington after six months. Asked whether she expected to receive an apology from Nash, Nimon said she was "doubtful."

"I've achieved more with National for Hawke's Bay in three years with a baby than he has in nine years," she said.

Luxon today said Nash had a history of derogatory comments about women and defended Nimon as a hard-working MP who had taken parental leave with his encouragement.

"Every woman in the country, I think, would understand that those comments are sexist and they're grossly inappropriate," Luxon said.

"NZ First is channelling the manosphere. I think those comments are sexist."

Asked whether he thought women on maternity leave were working hard, Luxon said: "Yeah, I do. And I encourage my women MPs and ministers who get pregnant to take the full parental leave because I think it's really important."

Finance Minister Nicola Willis said the suggestion that people raising children could not cope with the rigours of leadership was "such an outdated view."

"I had to watch the video of the text message being read twice to believe that it was real. And frankly, it's not something I would have ever expected to hear in 2026."

Senior National MP Chris Bishop appeared shocked when told of the remarks, pausing for a moment. "You're joking. He said what?" he said.

Bishop said he was visiting Hawke's Bay while Nimon was on leave and had seen her bring her baby to a sod-turning event on the Hawke's Bay Expressway.

"Katie Nimon is one of the hardest working MPs I know," Bishop said.

"Honestly, I mean, this from a guy who claims the Labour Party left him. Last time I checked, he was booted from Cabinet for leaking secret information to his donors."

Bishop later called Nash a "sexist dickhead" in a social media post.

Separately, Finlayson told 1News the text had followed a podcast episode in which he had praised Nimon, predicting she would beat Nash "handily" in Napier.

"I don't know that this is the way politics should be conducted," Finlayson said.

"By all means, deal with the issues in a vigorous kind of way. If necessary, criticise your opponents. But a young working woman taking maternity leave - I think this kind of stuff's, as I say, not the way in which politics should be conducted."

Labour leader Chris Hipkins – who sacked Nash from his Cabinet in 2023 – said the remarks were "absolutely" sexist.

"I don't know the details of Katie Nimon's maternity leave, but either way, I don't think that's a grounds for criticising someone," Hipkins said.

"Anybody who's had a baby will know that there's nothing lazy about parental leave. It's exhausting, and it's long hours, and it's hard."

Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson called the comments "pretty vulgar" and said Nash had "had enough of undermining women for his lifetime."

NZ First's Shane Jones declined to weigh in, telling reporters he had not heard the comments and would not be commenting on them.

It is not the first controversy involving Nash and his remarks.

In a September interview with radio show The Platform, Nash described a woman as a "person with a p***y and a pair of t*ts", comments he later apologised for.

The remark resulted in Nash being dumped from a US investment trip with Trade Minister Todd McClay.

— additional reporting by Political Producer Tom Day