61 Comments
User's avatar
Heather Thompson's avatar

He always did a great Judith.

Mac Stevenson's avatar

A much more balanced and nuanced post than I would have written Nick. Well done for providing more factual snippets than I had recalled.

Nick Rockel's avatar

Thanks, Mac. 🙂 I'll save my unhinged rant until Willis goes.

Mac Stevenson's avatar

You'll need to take your place in the queue.

Jeremy Coleman's avatar

You’d need to take your lunch, your dinner, a tent, sleeping bag, weather appropriate clothing and all other stuff you might need. It’s going to be a bloody long queue!

Judith Paulin's avatar

I’ll look forward to seeing that asap, Nick!

Kate's avatar

You were right about the cars, I think. A total of 3, and of course the whole boy racer episode was performative. I never knew until recently that one of my daughters' former partner was the owner of crushed car #1. His subsequent behaviour has proved that it was he, rather than his car, that needed crushing.

kathleen Murdoch's avatar

One of the first to leave the sinking ship. Collins slips onto a generous perch on the Law Commission.

I can't say I ever thought well of her what with Oravida and slater etc. ( I hated her perennial smirk)

Heather Thompson's avatar

The role at the Law Commission will involve big picture thinking and a firm grasp of the consequences of law change. Neither of these have seemed to be her strengths

Jan Kearvell's avatar

Respectfully distrusted the woman. The dirty politics was sickening. She managed to survive well in her roles. Perhaps Luxon could take a portfolio and get a bit of brain gym.

Jacqueline's avatar

Oh please no!! He's safer not working.

Jan Kearvell's avatar

Another silly error could be useful… 😊

Ken Emmens's avatar

Luxon taking a portfolio would be comparable to Seymour asking for a frontal lobotomy or Peters agreeing to retire immediately.

Jan Kearvell's avatar

We live in hope…

wenz99's avatar

Being compared to Maggie 'Poll tax' Thatcher says it all...

kathleen Murdoch's avatar

Falklands (right of conquest) dead sailors

Jacqueline's avatar

Thatcher, Mrs Hatchet....who managed to kill the coal miners' union.

These tories can't stand unions, so it's quite amazing that Collins got on well with at least one of them.

Diana Coleman's avatar

I don’t think comparing her to Thatcher is fair. Thatcher was an incorrigible snob and social climber and as is often the way with these types, she despised the “lower orders”. I don’t think Judith is genuinely nasty, Thatcher certainly was.

wenz99's avatar

maybe but she picked some odd friends like saying Noem was her BFF?

John Farrell's avatar

Is this appointment to the Law Commission our equivalent of Trump's appointments to the American supreme court?

Judith Paulin's avatar

No, I don’t think so – Judith’s still got all her marbles!!

John Farrell's avatar

That's what we should be afraid of...

Heather Thompson's avatar

Take a look at what they do. They review and make recommendations about Law Changes. https://www.lawcom.govt.nz/

It is not directly related to current cases in the courts

John Farrell's avatar

So - a long term plan then?

Heather Thompson's avatar

That's my understanding. I'm not an expert. A friend worked there and I've listened to Sir Geoffrey Palmer on his work there.

John Blyde's avatar

My take, she was the clandestine mover behind the Bish coup, it failed, she was found to be the culprit and was given the golden handshake.

Nick Rockel's avatar

Interesting theory. I'd love to know what, if anything, went down.

wikitoria's avatar

Those politicians sure know how to look after themselves.

Jo's avatar

I commend you for your balanced article Nick. Sometimes I can forget the good - as small as it may be 😳

Ngā mihinui

Brian's avatar

Each week I write a tribute piece on Facebook to my loving wife Lynne who passed away 49 weeks ago today. I thought I would try my hand a poetry last week. Most weeks I include a real poem or a song lyric ( Thanks Nick for the idea - bloody copycat moi ). I think maybe I should put my hands to better use, I am not a great poet. Anyway little was I to know that Judith would retire a week later. To prove that my poetry is almost at Vogon level here is what I wrote:

The first line begins, with the intentional word Poem

Which happens to rhyme with one Krusti Gnoem

A more vile hateful creature you'd be hard pressed to find

'Tis said she was birthed from the Donalds behind

The pie-faced Crusher Collins considers her a bestie

I'd love to see her go a few rounds with Cheryl the Westie

Our Cheryl, Pike River Robyn, is a national treasure

For her to slap down the Crusher would be such sweet pleasure

Crusher is famous for giving many a dose of the shits

Robyn the brave would verbally smash her to bits

They say you can tell a person by the company they keep

Collins other good friend is the Whale Oil Slater, an odious creep

In Dirty Politics they're both up to the balls of their eyes

Come November, vote her mob out, say your goodbyes

I purposefully changed Kristi's name just in case the FB algorithms kicked me to touch.

Jeremy Coleman's avatar

Brian, you just put Kristi’s name in your sign off. Oops, forget about FB, the FBI will be on to you soon!

Great poem though👍🙂

Brian's avatar

Cheers Jeremy. Of course we have our own office now to deal with dangerous insurgent superannuants like myself. As someone more adequately worded than I once said " I fart in their general direction ".

Diana Coleman's avatar

A good summing up Nick. I have always thought of Judith as a bit of a conundrum. She’s certainly driven, and a survivor, and like a lot of women in her generation, she’s had to be tough to get anywhere. I think Chloe Swabrick’s comment hints that there was more to Judith than meets the eye. I really couldn’t agree with her politics though.

Neil's avatar

She behaved so well for Luxon. A demonstration of his corporate management skills. Her new role is not a bad bonus on retirement.

Jacqueline's avatar

Gosh...really? He's got skills?

Diana Coleman's avatar

You read my mind there.

Neil's avatar

yes, middle-manager people staff skills. Not leadership skills.

Diana Coleman's avatar

Nope, I don’t think he’s even got those. Unless of course the bar is lower for men than women.

Vicky Fletcher's avatar

Rats and sinking ships immediately came to mind when I heard about her departure yesterday .... I'll grant her one compliment in that she has a strong work ethic given all the portfolios she's held and managed, I'd so love to hear her truthful assessment of the lazy craven and cringe worthy leader of the party she obviously loves, I think it would be both scathing and entertaining!

Shell's avatar

Wouldn’t it be nice if some of the others decided it was time to say goodbye?

Jeremy Coleman's avatar

Don’t worry Shell, they will be doing that on Nov 7😀😀

Shell's avatar

Fingers crossed! It seems like all the moral )I was dying to type ‘normal’, but both work, I think) people want them gone…but the non-critical thinkers just carry on believing the slop and imagining they are experts.

Dean Reynolds's avatar

Collins has no redeeming features, she is vile in every sense of the word. She represents all that is loathsome about the national party