Beehive diaries
The past week has Simon Bridges laying on the charm and Kieran McAnulty showing discernment about insults tossed his way.
Simon Bridges — ready for takeoff
Some MPs are looking forward to the return of international travel more than others, and National’s Simon Bridges was clearly keen to get on the first plane out.
As he lambasted Labour for rushing through a law change on Māori wards, Bridges threw shameless flattery in the direction of Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta.
She is the minister in charge of the Māori wards legislation — but she is also the Foreign Affairs Minister, and foreign affairs ministers tend to travel a fair bit when pandemics allow it. So Bridges screeched to a halt in the midst of his speech criticising her to remind Mahuta about the tweet he sent after she was appointed to foreign affairs after the election.
“I said how good she would be, how fantastic we would be.” He then put in his naked pitch: “and when she leads international delegations, when they finally open up, I’m ready and willing to come”.
Bridges appeared to have forgotten that soon after that tweet, National’s leader Judith Collins took Bridges off foreign affairs, giving it back to Gerry Brownlee instead.
He was less interested in travelling under his other portfolio of Crown-Māori Relations — Bridges did not bother going to Waitangi last week. He is, however, taking te reo Māori lessons.
Call me smarmy, just don’t call me d***head
Labour’s whip Kieran McAnulty showed self-awareness rare in an MP after he was called “a smarmy guy” and a “d***head” in quick succession by National MPs Simon Bridges and David Bennett.
McAnulty objected, noting “I don’t mind being called smarmy — there might be an element of truth to that. However,
I do believe that being called a ‘dickhead’ by the honourable Mr Bennett is unparliamentary.” Bennett withdrew and apologised.
Luxon off to a running start
MPs usually wait until their maiden speech before facing any glare of publicity but not Christopher Luxon, National’s new MP for Botany.
He was in as much demand by media as Judith Collins going into Tuesday’s caucus over what he knew as Air NZ chief executive about the airline’s deal with the Saudi Arabian navy. Answer: nothing.
And that night as local government spokesman, usually a low-key job, he led the party’s debate on the controversial bill to abolish the local veto on council’s Māori wards. His formal maiden speech is next Wednesday at 5.45pm.