Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Politics will be a little less fun without Ju‑Co in it

Right, so the biggest political news of the day is that Judith Collins has announced she’s retiring from politics to take up a new job as the head of the Law Commission mid‑year.

I, for one, am going to miss Judith Collins being in politics, because she has that thing very few politicians have.

Winston Peters has it, John Key had it - the ability to be a bit cheeky and have a laugh, but then get on and do the job.

Too many politicians only have one or the other: they’re either so serious about their work that they’re boring, or they’re having so much fun that they get distracted from the work.

Collins, though, could crack a joke, smirk, raise an eyebrow, giggle, enjoy firing off a handgun - and still keep a lid on whatever portfolio she was managing that day.

It hasn’t always worked for her, obviously. Talofa became a meme, and praying in church during the 2020 campaign was probably one of the weirdest things you’ve ever seen. She was, you’d have to say, a better National Party leader on paper than in reality.

But she has been the Minister of Justice, Police, Corrections, ACC, Defence, the intelligence agencies, the public service, Revenue, Ethnic Affairs, Energy, Space, and the Attorney‑General - and that’s not even the comprehensive list. You don’t hold that many portfolios across two different Governments without being capable, and Prime Ministers know that.

But what I think Judith Collins was best at was the comeback.

There was the Dirty Politics scandal a decade ago that cost her Cabinet jobs - but she made it back into Cabinet.

There was the failed 2020 election campaign as leader - and she somehow managed to come back from that, something not everybody could have done.

And now, finally, here in 2026, she has quit on her own terms.

There’s a life lesson in this for all of us - wait around long enough, do things the right way, and you’ll make a comeback. And politics will be just a little less fun without Ju‑Co in it.

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