Nash sacked

Stuff reports:

Stuart Nash has been sacked as a minister, after Stuff revealed he had emailed business figures, including donors, detailing private Cabinet discussions.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed the people Nash emailed were donors to his campaign, which he said was a serious breach of trust and expectations for ministers.

“His conduct is inexcusable,” Hipkins said. “He is no longer a Cabinet minister and won’t be coming back.”

Nash had already had three previous warnings, so this was a case of finally out on his fourth strike.

While there is no question Hipkins had to sack him, he will be a loss to Labour. He was one of their few moderate MPs who actually understood the private sector. He had good instincts on law and order issues, and not having him around the Cabinet table will weaken Labour.

Nash was not a tribal politician. I met him before he became an MP, and have always had a friendly relationship with him. He isn’t one who thinks his side is right on everything, and the other side are wrong on everything.

Presumably this means Nash will not contest the election. He was always far more popular in the seat than Labour were, so if he does stand down, this makes it more likely National wins it back.