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National Party insiders claim a flurry of meetings over the weekend are normal and not related to speculation of party instability or the position of Christopher Luxon as leader. National ministers from Auckland met on Sunday night, a fact which leaked out on Monday, promptings speculation about Luxon’s leadership on Tuesday. Answering those questions, Luxon confirmed there was a meeting but said there was nothing unusual about it. “I talk to ministers all the time,” Luxon said. He did not clarify whether the meeting was only ministers or whether others were involved. “I talk and meet with ministers regularly,” Luxon said. The meeting included Luxon’s kitchen Cabinet, along with other MPs who were bringing papers to Cabinet the next day. The meeting was designed to discuss those papers before putting them to the full Cabinet. Multiple ministers brought papers to the meeting. It is normal for ministers to meet ahead of a full Cabinet meeting to discuss issues. Meetings of Auckland-based MPs occur in person, while it is normal for MPs based elsewhere to connect via Zoom. On her way into caucus, senior Auckland Minister Erica Stanford said she attended a meeting, but was not aware of any controversy around it. She said she was only present for about half of the meeting. “I don’t talk about what happens at our senior ministers’ meetings,” Stanford said. Ministers meet regularly over the weekend. Pictured, Ministers Chris Bishop, Nicola Willis, Simon Watts. Photo / RNZ Finance Minister Nicola Willis, who is a member of the kitchen Cabinet but is Wellington-based, said she was not at the meeting. The controversy may have stemmed from the fact there were multiple ministerial meetings through the weekend, and on Friday too, as ministers grappled with fuel supply concerns. No doubt fuelling the speculation is the obvious grumpiness among National’s Auckland MPs, as they detect a growing impatience in the city that the party so dramatically snatched from Labour at the 2023 election. Recent policy U-turns have highlighted the anxiety of the party’s Auckland base. On Tuesday, Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced the Government was again walking back its housing intensification policy in Auckland - a walk back that follows several previous backdowns since National’s bipartisan intensification deal with Labour in 2021. National is also keen to take credit for Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones, an MP from NZ First, u-turning on a plan that would have ditched most commercial size limits, effectively allowing commercial vessels to land and sell baby fish, including snapper and tarakihi. As the Herald reported earlier this year, this spooked Auckland’s National MPs, who have been getting an earful from members of their electorates, concerned Jones’ reforms would harm recreational fishing. When a backdown came, Luxon attempted to take credit for it, alongside Jones’ leader, Winston Peters. Another larger concern relates to selections in the city. With National currently polling around 30%, the party is likely to lose many electorates and return with fewer list spots. Prospective candidates face a far tougher road to Parliament than in 2023, when the party’s improving fortunes made it easier. The biggest controversy occurred in the South Auckland Papakura electorate. Senior MP Judith Collins had been selected as the party’s candidate in the seat, but earlier this year announced she would retire from politics. That opened up a contest in the safe Auckland seat - a rare opportunity in what is likely to be a difficult year for National. The selection was won by Emma Chatterton, who had previously run against Chris Hipkins in the safe Labour seat of Remutaka, in Wellington. She came close to entering Parliament on the list in 2023, completing an induction for new MPs. Chatterton has family connections to the seat but has been living in Wellington, where she works as a staffer for Erica Stanford. Chatterton is tipped by party inside...
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