Pressure on Collins mounts
A former press secretary for Judith Collins warns that the leader's 'paranoid style' and bad decisions are destroying the National party
Mōrena and welcome to The Bulletin for Wednesday, September 15, by Justin Giovannetti. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.
In today’s edition: The vast majority of Covid-19 hospitalisations are in the unvaccinated, the Wānaka couple apologises and a grocery giant denies food is too expensive in New Zealand. But first, Judith Collins.
Judith Collins speaking to media following the general election. (Lynn Grieveson/Getty Images)
An extraordinary assessment of Judith Collins. Janet Wilson has been deeply involved in the National Party for more than a decade and served as Judith Collins’ press secretary during last year’s tumultuous election campaign. She’s voiced her concerns with the party’s direction since leaving the opposition leader’s office, including in a column for Stuff, but today she goes further, speaking with The Spinoff’s managing editor Duncan Grieve for The Fold podcast. She pulls no punches about her former boss.
Wilson’s message is clear: Collins could destroy the National party. She provides an insider’s view of Collins from the moment she took over the leadership. While Collins’ delivered a calming influence within the party last year after the sudden resignation of Todd Muller, it didn’t last. The leader has now turned to “paranoid storms” and a caucus kept in fear. The full interview is striking and reveals Wilson’s fear that the damage now being done to the party risks becoming irrevocable.
The ‘brink of oblivion’. It’s clear that Wilson still sees the value of a party led by the likes of John Key and Bill English, and its balance of interests. But that’s now hanging by a thread, she says. What was once a party of farmers and urban liberals doesn’t have a single farmer on its board and Collins has largely demoted the few urban liberal MPs left. Instead, she warns that the party is on the precipice, “suffering endless entitleditis”.
She isn’t the only former insider to raise the same concerns that the National party is in a death spiral over the past week. Wilson’s view goes along with Matthew Hooton’s scathing recent analysis for Metro. Long-serving National MP and cabinet minister Chris Finlayson recently told Stuff that Collins’ leadership was corrosive to the party. “I don't think I've ever seen, in my life, brand destruction as devastating,” he said.
Wilson warns that the rise of Act and David Seymour is nearly inevitable. That is unless National is willing to make radical changes. For starters, it should focus on things people care about, an economy with red indicator lights, a broken housing market and the loss of affordability. Instead, Collins focused on Siouxsie Wiles.
Here’s an excerpt from her conversation:
She demands complete loyalty and focus from her caucus, which is what any leader should do. And then she, herself personally, doesn't display that same focus on what the real issues are.
That's part of the problem of her leadership, I believe, that she is consumed. As I said in the piece, she prizes loyalty above all else. But then her ugly stepsister, paranoia, steps in, and she has these almost paranoid storms. I think Friday's speech to the National Samoan group on Siouxsie Wiles was completely unacceptable in a National party leader. Completely unacceptable.
There is no doubt in my mind that the electorate will look at this and see it for what it is, which is a cheap shot at someone who's... Whatever you think of Siouxsie Wiles is neither here nor there. Empathy will always be extended to Siouxsie because of this attack by a political leader. Why aren't we talking about all the other things that New Zealanders are really, really worried about right now?
I asked Duncan Grieve how the interview with Wilson happened:
A few months ago, Stuff ran Wilson’s piece under the provocative headline “National rejects change, faces irrelevance”. As clicky as that was, the byline made it much more so: Janet Wilson. The words underneath didn't disappoint, a withering condemnation of what Wilson saw as an increasingly paranoid leadership style and a refusal to heed the clear lessons of the 2020 election.
In the aftermath I approached Wilson to see if she'd come on The Fold, my media podcast, to discuss it, and the role of the press secretary more broadly. I thought I had a shot, I know Janet a little, as we were both panelists on TV3's Firstline for a few years nearly a decade ago. She thought about it for 24 hours before demurring. Then, out the blue on Saturday morning, my phone buzzed. She was ready to talk. Yesterday we recorded an episode, and over 40 extraordinary minutes, she let it all hang out. She candidly discussed the campaign, the aftermath, the paranoid style and the bizarre attacks on Indira Stewart and Siouxsie Wiles in recent weeks.
It matters because Wilson is not some malcontent, but very much part of the National party machine. She helped prep John Key for his debates, and is close with former MP Nikki Kaye. She's doing this not because she has fallen out of love with the party, but because she genuinely fears for its future as a major force in our politics under what she sees as Collins' erratic and autocratic leadership. Which is precisely what makes her critique so compelling.
The full interview with Janet Wilson is on The Fold.
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Four out of five cases in delta outbreak are unvaccinated. Newsroom reports that the unvaccinated are disproportionately represented among new Covid-19 cases. About 84% of people in hospital with the virus are unvaccinated, nearly double the 42.8% of the general population that hasn't had a jab. The numbers reflect what is being seen overseas in populations that are more highly vaccinated but suffering new waves of infections. In those countries, the vast majority of hospitalisations are from the minority that has avoided the vaccine.
The double jab ute. To help boost vaccine levels in areas with low uptake, the government is launching "Mr. Whippy-style" vaccine buses that will start in Northland, according to The Spinoff’s live updates. The prime minister said yesterday that Auckland is in lockdown because of low vaccine levels. If you’ve got a good name suggestion for the buses, send it to me.
The Covid numbers: 15 new cases were reported yesterday and 26% (8) of the previous day’s cases were active in the community while infectious. All the cases were in Auckland. 970 cases have now been detected in the delta outbreak and 394 have recovered. 22 people are in hospital, 4 in ICU. 54,877 people were vaccinated yesterday.
Couple who flew to Wānaka apologise, no longer seeking name suppression. RNZ reports that the two, who broke lockdown rules, are a judge’s son and his barrister partner. They got name suppression on Monday night, but after a day of rampant speculation online, have dropped it. William Willis, a 35-year-old equestrian from Karaka, and Hannah Rawnsley, a 26-year-old barrister from Pukekohe, crossed the Auckland boundary by misusing essential worker exemptions and then taking a flight south, police have said. Charge are expected for the pair. The man’s mother said she was “appalled” by his actions.
The Cook Islands won’t reopen to New Zealanders until community transmission ends. The Cook Islands’ prime minister has said there will need to be no community transmission for 14 days in New Zealand and travellers will need to be double jabbed before a getaway to Raro, according to Stuff.
Foodstuffs has denied food prices are high in New Zealand and doesn't think it has high profits. In late July, the commerce commission concluded that the country's two big supermarket operators are excessively profitable, anti-competitive and charge high prices. The commission gave the government a number of options, including breaking the companies up. According to Stuff, Foodstuffs’ chief executive has denied nearly all the commission's findings, but conceded that he’d be willing to consider a code of conduct and undoing land covenants the company created around the country to stop competitors from setting up shop.
Te Pāti Māori has launched a petition to make Aotearoa official and restore place names to their original te reo Māori names. The Guardian reports the party wants names across the country to be restored within five years. “Aotearoa is a name that will unify our country rather than divide it,” party co-leader Rawiri Waititi said. The prime minister has said the use of Aotearoa alongside New Zealand is a positive thing, but has not backed a full change. Act is opposed to the change, National has considered banning the use of Aotearoa by officials and Winston Peters made an appearance on Twitter to dismiss the suggestion as “left-wing radical bull dust”.
Man who tackled terrorist named as eight victim in Auckland attack. According to footage of the incident, policy say Rodney Khan ran straight towards the terrorist when he saw people in distress and distracted him. RNZ reports that Khan is likely to have saved lives and is now recovering from a dislocated shoulder from the scuffle. Other bystanders are now being thanked as well, including New Zealanders who came to help victims with their wounds and keep them safe before ambulances arrived.
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Tupou Neiufi (Getty Images/Tina Tiller)
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For something different, an exciting battle in baseball to get into the postseason. After a post-pandemic season marked by home runs, baseball’s attention has turned to a duel between three to qualify for the postseason. The top teams are assured a spot for the World Series. These are the best of the rest according to CBS. The Toronto Blue Jays are being led by a bunch of young players who are doing ridiculously well. There's a sense it can't last. Right behind them are the New York Yankees, a team whose payroll is the size of a small country's economy. Right behind them are the Boston Red Sox, a team that needs no introduction. Two of them will qualify.
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