National Party report due but few will see it
A review of the National Party’s 2020 election campaign has been completed and delivered to the party’s board.
Despite the review focusing on the party’s campaign, in which individual MPs played a major part, the board won’t guarantee that MPs will be able to actually see the final report.
Party president Peter Goodfellow will head to caucus with the party’s MPs this morning.
He told Stuff he would discuss releasing the report with MPs at that meeting. ‘‘We are taking it to caucus and enlightening caucus,’’ Goodfellow said.
But he would only commit to discussing the review with MPs, not releasing it to them.
Only the party’s nine-member board would see the full report.
The review was announced in the aftermath of the party’s loss in October’s election.
Goodfellow said all party members would eventually see something from the review, although the full review would not be circulated to the wider party rank and file.
‘‘It is a good comprehensive report. We have got a process for taking it to our members.’’
The terms of reference were to focus on ‘‘preparations throughout the three-year term by all elements of the party, including candidate selection and caucus performance’’, as well as the campaign ‘‘including the political environment, strategy, narrative and execution’’.
The review was also meant to look at ‘‘strategic internal, social, and economic challenges and opportunities facing the National Party in the next term’’, and make recommendations for the next campaign.
The review panel was chaired by Mark Darrow, and included former party president Judy Kirk and former minister Kate Wilkinson as well as Jamie Beaton and June McCabe. Another review into the National Party, this time from former leader Jim McLay, has also recently been finished.
McLay was reviewing the party’s structure and governance, and recommendations were to be put to members in coming months.
Those recommendations could change how the backroom party structure functions.
‘‘We are going out to members with the recommendations from that probably in a month or two,’’ Goodfellow said of McLay’s report.
‘‘We are going to progress that reasonably rapidly,’’ he said.