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Judith Collins says she’s “revitalized” after The press Leaders debate and are eager to leave behind an explosion of division in their party as it heads into the final ten days of the campaign.
“I don’t need distractions,” Collins said Stuff on Wednesday, the morning after his fighter’s uproarious municipal-style debate against Labor leader Jacinda Ardern over the response to Covid-19, the price of milk and the cars they drive.
The last 24 hours have been difficult for Collins’ campaign.
A national MP leaked against her, there were murmurs of dissatisfaction with her campaign strategy and Ardern was considered the winner of the debate, having received the loudest applause from the crowd of 750 in Christchurch.
JOE JOHNSON / STUFF / Stuff
Both National Leader Judith Collins and Labor Leader Jacinda Ardern gave spirited performances at The Press Leaders Debate on Tuesday night.
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“It was a little free for everyone. There was a lot of energy in the room … I enjoy the atmosphere of the city hall, although it was definitely not an indecisive crowd,” Collins said Wednesday morning.
Collins said National had been working “really well” together, despite recent questions about the fractures in his party’s caucus.
On Tuesday, a national deputy said Stuff Collins had shared “zero” communications or polls with MPs for over a month, and the campaign strategy was “whatever Judith comes up with.”
Another deputy said there was a disgruntled group within the party.
This followed a leaked email, reported by Newshub, which showed MP Denise Lee telling her colleagues that the Auckland Council’s promised review by Collins was “a very troublesome idea” and “another working group.”
The email appears to have been leaked by another deputy; Lee said Tuesday that he supported Collins and disagreed with the leaker’s actions.
Collins said Lee was not “Machiavellian” and, although he would not say who he suspected of leaking the email, suggested that it was someone with little interest in the outcome of the election.
“I don’t know who did it, well, I mean, kind of … I’d say it’s someone who possibly feels like they don’t care what happens.
“And I think that’s kind of sad, and frankly, I’m not worried about them … I just can’t be bothered to mess around with people who aren’t focused.”
The campaign continues, and on Wednesday morning Collins headed to Auckland for a tour of Ponsonby with the party’s Auckland Central candidate, Emma Mellow.
Collins said there would be no more major policy announcements in the next 10 days. The rest of the campaign focused on spreading the party’s message.
“This election shouldn’t be about what happened in the past … It should be about economic recovery.
“You just need to think about who pays the bills. Do you want your kids to pay the bills?”
