Judith Collins has fired a warning shot to the National caucus by demoting Michael Woodhouse for his involvement in the Michele Boag leaks, and has promoted Shane Reti to the health spokesperson role and also to the front bench, solving two issues.
RNZ: Michael Woodhouse stripped of National Party’s health portfolio
Dr Shane Reti will replace him and has been promoted to the front bench.
Woodhouse was given the Pike River Recovery and Regional Economic Development portfolios.
Woodhouse was tangled in the Covid-19 leak saga, revealing last Friday he too had received private patient details from National stalwart Michelle Boag.
Woodhouse did not tell the party’s former leader Todd Muller or health officials that Boag had sent him four emails containing the private information for two weeks and deleted the data the day a State Services inquiry was announced.
Speaking to media this afternoon, Collins said Woodhouse should have acted sooner.
“When he received the information from Ms Boag, people’s personal private information, I feel the right thing for him to have done would have been to advise her not to send him anything and it would’ve been better if he’d advise the minister of health straight away.”
Woodhouse fully understood and supported her decision, Collins said.
He was a competent, hardworking MP, she said, adding she still had confidence in him.
“Michael Woodhouse I believe is delighted with the outcome. He has been given two great portfolios.
“I have no doubt at all that Michael will never make that mistake again.”
When asked by reporters if this was her drawing a line under the saga, Collins said “I think we need to move on don’t we.”
Collins said Reti was “delighted” to have been promoted to health spokesperson
Dr Reti is a good choice for the health role and will add ‘diversity’ to the front bench.
I think this is an appropriate demotion for Woodhouse, something is seen to being done but it wasn’t major poor judgement (I think it was largely overblown) as it was for Hamish Walker.
Collins will announce her full reshuffle tomorrow.
Your NZ 
Duker
/ 15th July 2020“wasn’t major poor judgement (I think it was largely overblown) as it was for Hamish Walker.”
Wow, just wow. Seems like anything goes for one party
Pete George
/ 15th July 2020Don’t be stupid.
What actually do you think Woodhouse did wrong? And why do you think he should have been dealt with more harshly?
Alan Wilkinson
/ 15th July 2020Duker may have misread your comment mentally omitting the closing parenthesis?
Duker
/ 15th July 2020It was Hamish Walker that was the wow. ..not only his data leak but aslo his clumsy attempt to ‘push Muller around’ with a lawyers letter, hes the stupid one
Woodhouse was pushed aside to do some tick boxes for Shane Reti.
Only 55 days ago he was way down the ‘order of merit’ of Nationals rankings ..cant be true 55 days ago but is different today. With a nothing job
Historically Medical doctors have never faired well on the internal party rankings, and Reti was never mentioned at all till this year , what light has he been hiding under a bushel. Was he too smart for the caucus colleagues previously ?
Alan Wilkinson
/ 15th July 2020As I guessed.
Alan Wilkinson
/ 15th July 2020PDT too stupid to understand. 😏
Kitty Catkin
/ 15th July 2020NZ owes Michael Woodhouse a huge debt for his exposure of the Keystone Kovid Kwarantine that let two Covid patients out, untested, to drive the length of the country and have physical contact with unsuspecting people on the way !!!
duperez
/ 16th July 2020Are you filling in the forms to nominate him for a NZ Order of Merit for his speed in alerting officials that two Covid patients were out, untested, driving the length of the country and having physical contact with unsuspecting people on the way?
Or do you think the responsibility he showed means a higher one? Do you want to do it? 🙂
[A couple of your comments this morning have gone into moderation due to name typos in case you’re wondering why they have not appeared straight away. PG]
Human Being
/ 18th July 2020What did Woodhouse do wrong?
He intentionally put the entire country at risk by withholding information from the Ministry of Health, regarding the two women that left isolation without being tested for Covid-19, from Tuesday the 16th of June to Wednesday the 17th of June.
Woodhouse confirms he deliberately withheld this information, around 46 seconds into his interview with RNZ on the 18th of June [https://www.rnz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=2018751173].
Any number of contacts could have unknowingly contracted and spread Covid-19 during the time he withheld this information.
Alan Wilkinson
/ 18th July 2020Different issue but cool to blame the whistleblower instead of the culprits.?
Human Being
/ 19th July 2020Good point, it’s entirely plausible that others new this information was being intentionally withheld, for political gain, while our lives were being put at risk.
Pete George
/ 15th July 2020A successful first day for Collins. She fronted up to a number of interviews, seemed at ease handling questions, hasn’t made any mistakes that the media have highlighted, and she got a mostly positive top billing on 1 News (and Ardern got just an odd quote in about the election).
Good. The election is shaping up to be a reasonable contest now. Labour must still be hot favourites, but they will have to front up with some substance in policies or be hammered for lack of a plan.
Blazer
/ 15th July 2020Yet to see a plan from National,unless more roads qualifies as…one.
Pete George
/ 15th July 2020https://www.national.org.nz/our-plan-to-get-new-zealand-working
It’s not comprehensive, but it’s a start and more than what Labour have announced.
Blazer
/ 15th July 2020Thats the previous Nats leader …though.
Alan Wilkinson
/ 15th July 2020She said she is not changing announced policy.
Blazer
/ 15th July 2020Waste of time then.
PartisanZ
/ 15th July 2020Labour don’t need to announce it … THEY’RE DOING IT!!!
Gezza
/ 15th July 2020…and she got a mostly positive top billing on 1 News (and Ardern got just an odd quote in about the election).
Yes, she did get positive coverage from 1 News at 6. I watched Newshub an hour later to see how they compared. Their coverage was negative. Their angle was that disgruntled National MP’s are still leaking to them:
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/07/still-leaking-details-of-national-party-leadership-caucus-meeting-revealed.html
Alan Wilkinson
/ 15th July 2020I guess we’ll see how long the “leaks” continue. Don’t seem terribly contentious. The contests were pretty much as expected with no obvious reason to keep them secret and a couple of snide anonymous remarks just read like embellishments of a nothing story. The main story from the story is Newshub’s bias when you line up their reportage with what Collins actually said.
Gezza
/ 15th July 2020The only “obvious reason to keep them secret” was that Collins, yesterday, on the AM show, consistently refused to tell Duncan Garner whether there was even a contested bid for the new leader & deputy leader positions. As far as I’m aware, she still hasn’t personally said how the selections were made.
So this information supposedly coming from within her united caucus is either being “leaked” with her tacit permission as part of some strategy for dealing with Newshub, or if not it may perhaps trigger an internal hunt for leakers or loose-lipped MPs.
Kitty Catkin
/ 15th July 2020I found Jacinda Ardern’s statement about how she hadn’t given the various National leaders much thought rather disingenuous. She must have.
Duker
/ 15th July 2020Kiwiblog posts on Collins today …ONE
Yournz posts on Collins today Three plus one last night
Pete George
/ 15th July 2020Your point?
My reaction may to do another few tomorrow to cheer you up, you seem a bit glum for some reason.
Alan Wilkinson
/ 15th July 2020That’s probably why we are here and not there, Duker.
Duker
/ 15th July 2020Maybe , as I’m sure KB moderators haven’t timeline fatwas….to improve the quality of discussion no doubt
artcroft
/ 15th July 2020Well stuff is at it again, using positive photo images of Ardern juxtaposed with negative photos of Judith. I can concede Ardern is the more attractive but really there are better photos of Judith to use.
Blazer
/ 15th July 2020Judith is 60 now….what photos do you want?
Kitty Catkin
/ 15th July 2020It’s not a beauty contest.
But the PM can look very drawn and plain, and all that grimacing is already leaving lines; she sometimes looks more than her age (40)
Gezza
/ 15th July 2020I don’t think Judith Collins looks all that well on tv. Might just be my imagination though.
duperez
/ 16th July 2020I saw an interview last night. aCollins looked okay. Sort of …. One early bit with the raise of the eyebrow I thought and said “Muldoon!” A few moments later not an eyebrow but some other mannerism and at my comment someone else in the room “Yes! That’s it, that was him!”
Call me Ishmael...
/ 16th July 2020LOL, Kitty, you do take the cake sometimes.
The gist of your comment: “It’s not a beauty contest … but” let’s make it one.
Pete George
/ 15th July 2020Alan Wilkinson
/ 15th July 2020Hmm. Sounds like a “leadership team” well out of its depth.
Alan Wilkinson
/ 16th July 2020Media reported Kaye/Adams copping party blame for that.