NZ First has moved quickly to replace the again-disgraced Stuart Nash in Napier, naming sitting city councillor Te Kira Lawrence as its candidate less than a day after Nash's resignation over a "sexist" text message.
Lawrence, who had been selected to stand in the East Cape, will now contest the seat against National's Katie Nimon in November.
The party said in a statement released this afternoon that Lawrence currently works as an outreach advisor in the NZ First leader's office, and had built a career around "serving people, strengthening communities, and delivering practical results".
She was elected to the Napier City Council last year and works on committees covering risk and assurance, community-led initiatives, flood resilience and waste planning.
National’s Chris Bishop and Labour’s Kieran McAnulty both agreed that Nash’s comments were "unbelievable" and "unforgiveable". (Source: Breakfast)
"Her earlier career included roles in health, business management, architecture, and the wool industry, giving her broad experience across both the public and private sectors."
Nash quit on Wednesday night
Nash, a former Labour Cabinet minister, stood down hours after opting not to apologise for a text message about Nimon's maternity leave.
Peters confirmed the resignation on X on Wednesday evening. "Stuart Nash has offered his resignation as a candidate and we have accepted," he said.
PM Christopher Luxon had earlier in the evening ruled out Nash from serving as a minister under any government he leads in the future.
National's MP for Napier Katie Nimon said Nash "acts before he thinks", and that he has made his views on women very clear. (Source: Breakfast)
The text, sent to podcaster and former attorney-general Chris Finlayson on July 14 and seen by 1News, described Nimon as the "laziest MP I have ever come across" and said she was "ill-suited to the rigours of being an electorate MP".
Finlayson read the message out on his Cross Party Lines podcast last week.
Senior National MP Chris Bishop, who later called Nash a "sexist dickhead" in a social media post, said Nimon was one of the hardest-working MPs he knew.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis said the suggestion that people raising children could not cope with the rigours of leadership was "such an outdated view".
Stuart Nash is "channelling the manosphere," says Christopher Luxon in response to Nash's remarks about an MP's maternity leave. (Source: 1News)
"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," she said.
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