Do we like Judith Collins?
Our score: 5 out of 10. A long public-service record and no harmful campaigning found, offset by one contested vote and a run of ethics rows, lands her squarely in the middle.
Collins spent 24 years in Parliament, first elected in 2002, and held 18 portfolios, including Corrections, Police, Defence, Attorney-General and most of the justice jobs. Her tough-on-crime reputation earned her the nickname Crusher, and she won her electorate eight times in a row. She also led National into the 2020 election, which ended in the party's second-worst result and which she has described as 16 months of sheer hell.
Her scandals are the stuff of Beehive legend. In 2014 she visited a Shanghai company whose board included her husband and didn't declare it until forced to, earning a final warning from John Key. Weeks later, Nicky Hager's Dirty Politics book and an email purportedly from blogger Cameron Slater alleged she'd been involved in efforts to undermine the Serious Fraud Office boss. She denied it, called it a “two-year smear campaign”, resigned from cabinet and asked for an inquiry, which found no wrongdoing and saw her reinstated in 2015.
On the harm test, the big mark is the conversion therapy bill. In April 2021 she'd said National would back a ban, but that August the caucus voted against the bill at first reading, with Simon Bridges saying the definitions were too loose and could catch good parents. The Young Nats broke with the party over it. It's a real stain for an LGBTQ+ audience, but it's one contested vote, not a campaign, and we found no sustained campaigning from her against trans people or other groups.
On science, the record is more about priorities than prejudice. As Science Minister she disbanded the Marsden Fund's humanities and social sciences panels in December 2024 and tied about half the grants to economic benefit. Documents released later showed she'd asked officials in July 2024 how to remove social science from the fund. Her climate record turned up thin in what we read, so we can't say more than that.
The fresh row is her next job. The Law Commission presidency went to her with no recruitment process, panel or rival candidate, according to written answers the Greens obtained. Chlöe Swarbrick called it deeply concerning, and Otago law professor Andrew Geddis said it looked “nakedly political”. Minister Paul Goldsmith rejected any suggestion of cronyism, said Collins recused herself from the Cabinet decision, and Collins has said the commission is not there to play political games.
The good stuff is mostly in her own telling, so read it that way. In her May 2026 farewell she said that as Attorney-General she settled the Nelson Tenths litigation after 16 years of litigation, though she noted legislation still has to pass. She also said she led the push for an Agent Orange inquiry for Vietnam veterans and backed a smoking ban in prisons. She thanked ten colleagues for their courage and friendship through National's toughest years.