Christopher Luxon’s parting words for outgoing National MPs
Christopher Luxon has paid tribute to “giants of the National Party” who are leaving Parliament after the party’s third-worst party vote performance of the MMP era.
Several of the party’s most senior and high-performing members are out of politics after last week’s election performance resulted in the party target="_self" rel="" title="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/election-2026-clutch-of-senior-ministers-including-nicola-willis-paul-goldsmith-likely-out-of-parliament/QYIWXJ4CJZFUPBFJMHMTCWF3NM/">not being entitled to any list MPs.
“Politics can be tough,” Luxon wrote on social media today.
“One of the hardest parts of this election came this week, when we said goodbye to some giants of the National Party. These are my colleagues, but more than that, they’re my friends.”
The party held a caucus meeting on Tuesday, where it presented an engraved silver tray to each of its seven departing MPs, as per party tradition.
Deputy National leader and Finance Minister Nicola Willis was the highest-ranked National MP to lose her job after the election – she was number two on the party’s list.
“Nicola,” Luxon wrote, “we started out as two newcomers with a big job to do, and she’s been beside me every step of the way.
“As Finance Minister she took on the toughest job in government at one of the toughest times.
“She got the books back in order, brought inflation down and put New Zealand back on the path to surplus, so our kids aren’t left with the bill.”
He described Willis, who has been an MP since 2018, as “super smart and hardworking”, saying she “never stopped caring about the people behind the numbers”.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better deputy or a more loyal friend,” Luxon said.
Number three on the party’s list was Chris Bishop, also out of Parliament after losing the tight Hutt South race to Labour’s Ginny Andersen.
The National leader described Bishop, or “Bish”, as an “absolute powerhouse”.
“He ran the 2023 campaign that put us back in government, then went straight to work on the problems that have held New Zealand back for decades.”
Bishop was initially the campaign manager for this year’s election, before losing that role to Simeon Brown in a reshuffle, with suggestions at the time his fate was influenced by a rumoured coup attempt against Luxon last year.
Luxon pointed to Bishop’s work on the fast-track regime and Resource Management Act reform as some of his most consequential work over the term, saying Kiwis will “feel the benefit for generations”.
“Nobody works harder, nobody knows the detail better, and nobody loves Parliament quite like Bish.”
Paul Goldsmith, a senior front-bench minister, held the most portfolios of any minister in New Zealand’s recent political history.
Goldsmith, who has been a list MP for the party since 2011, tried to win the Epsom seat this election but failed, meaning he too is out of Parliament.
Luxon said “Goldie” is “the ultimate team player” who made the party’s caucus laugh like no one else.
“As Justice Minister he kept his focus on victims, and today there are 37,000 fewer victims of serious violent crime. Those are real people in real communities who are safer because of his work,” he wrote.
Gerry Brownlee is leaving Parliament as the father of the House, having served for 30 years, most recently as Speaker.
Luxon noted both he and Brownlee started their schooling at Loreto College, a Catholic boys’ primary boarding school in Papanui, which closed in December 1978.
“Speaker [Brownlee’s] wisdom and wit were legendary, and the House was better for it,” Luxon said.
He spoke of Brownlee’s tenure as Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister, saying when the garden city was “on its knees, Gerry carried great significance”.
“He helped Christchurch get back on its feet, it’s an incredible legacy, and Canterbury owes him a great deal.”
Luxon also noted the departures of Melissa Lee, Vanessa Weenink and Nancy Lu from Parliament.
Lee, a former minister who held the portfolios of Economic Development, Ethnic Communities, and Media and Communications, lost her ministerial positions and was booted from Cabinet in a surprise reshuffle in 2024.
Lu, a first-term MP, was the highest ranking non-MP when the party released its list ahead of the 2023 election and climbed the list to 15th before this year’s election.
Weenink, also a first-term MP, won the Banks Peninsula seat in 2023 but lost it to Labour’s Dr Tracey McLellan this time around.
On Tuesday, Weenink spoke out against her party, saying it was pulled too far to the right by its coalition partners on issues like the Treaty Principles Bill, which she said cost the party support.
“My God, it cost us and my God, it hurt us as a country,” she told RNZ.
She also shared her concern the party would move further to the right with the loss of senior urban liberal MPs like Willis and Bishop.
Luxon shared a photo of himself and Weenink wearing Crusaders rugby jerseys, alongside a series of images of the party’s departing MPs, saying each of them “should be incredibly proud of their service to their communities and to our country”.
“I’m so grateful I had the chance to work with every one of them,” he wrote, signing off the post with a blue heart emoji.