The ‘reflective’ National Party meets for the first time since the electoral beating

The National Party will hold its first conference since the election, and leader Judith Collins hopes the mood will be ‘reflective’ as members absorb the devastating result.

National Party delegates will gather today in Wellington to hear from Collins and former leader Sir John Key will also give a short speech.

It will be the first major conference in more than a year, after Covid 19 forced the party to cancel the launch of its campaign.

Collins said that while some people would be upset, many had been at the party for a long time. “They know that sometimes things go wrong and sometimes good.”

“People will understand that we have had a very tough election campaign. We have a result that was less than perfect, less than ideal and certainly not what we wanted, and that it is time for us to think about how we can best achieve it. .

The main focus of the annual meeting is electing new board members, a contest that could see the acting president, Peter Goodfellow, ousted after 11 years in office.

There are three spots available on the board, including Goodfellow’s, and four people are vying for those spots: Goodfellow, former MP David Carter, Rachel Bird from Southland and Grant McCallum from Northland.

The elections could be more tense than usual as calls for a change of direction increase after the election result and problems with candidate selection.

The last elections saw problems in particular with Auckland Central after Nikki Kaye resigned.

The board members were accused of interfering in the selection that should have been left to the local delegates and the party was forced to reopen it.
One of the board seats at stake was vacated by Roger Bridges, who had served on the board since 2002. He retired during the campaign after he was caught pretending to be a man named Merv calling Newstalk ZB for comment on the Auckland Central national team.

After the elections, the nine at the table will elect the president and the result will be announced tonight.

If they both make it onto the board, Goodfellow’s biggest challenge for president is expected to come from Carter.

Carter confirmed that he was submitting his name to the board. “I believe that my association with the caucus is advantageous, not disadvantageous, and I have skills and experience that can bring value to the board.”

Goodfellow said he could offer the continuity and experience that was needed when the game was about to embark on its review.

“I don’t see re-election, if I am re-elected to the board, as a reward. I am standing because I strongly believe that we need continuity to rebuild.”

Collins did not say how he would vote in the election or who he preferred as president. As a leader, she is on the board, so she also gets a vote for the presidency.

He said the board had faced some problems in recent years, including in Auckland Central.

“That was useless. It was not good, and the board is well aware of that. They know it themselves.”

“However, there are always people willing to criticize the people on the board, but I would also say that they are volunteers and they don’t have to. They do it because they love the National Party.”

The meeting began at 8.30 am.