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The National Party has announced its election year list, which shows who the party wants to bring into Parliament.
Missing from the list is Michael Woodhouse, a long-serving National Party MP who made a last-minute request to withdraw from the list.
National leader Christopher Luxon said Woodhouse would stand for election in Dunedin, but that’s a seat he is unlikely to win.
Woodhouse is currently a List MP for National, and returned to Parliament in 2020 with a high ranking – 12th on Judith Collins’ list.
Ryan Attwood/Stuff
National leader Christopher Luxon and party president Sylvia Wood announce the party’s election year list.
During a Saturday afternoon call, Luxon said Woodhouse told him he didn’t want to be on the list anymore, thus effectively announcing his retirement.
“He made it very clear to me, he wanted to withdraw from the list,” Luxon said during a news conference.
Luxon wouldn’t say what Woodhouse had been ranked as, before he asked to be taken off the list.
Woodhouse confirmed he asked not to be included on the list, after being offered a ranking he wasn’t happy with.
Luxon wouldn’t say where on the party list Woodhouse had been ranked, but Woodhouse confirmed he asked to be taken off the list after being offered a ranking he wasn’t happy with.
“It was clear from the ranking offered that I was not part of the leadership’s thinking regarding ministerial positions, so I feel the best thing to do is to stand aside and allow a fresher face into the caucus,” he said in a statement.
Woodhouse acknowledged that by refusing a list ranking, he had effectively retired from Parliament.
“I do so somewhat sad about the process of my departure from political life but overwhelmingly grateful,” the MP of 15 years said.
ROBERT KITCHIN/STUFF/Stuff
Michael Woodhouse (top right) is gone from the National Party list.
Luxon and party president Sylvia Wood announced the party’s 74-person ranking on Saturday, which also brought other changes to the current National Party lineup.
A few new faces have leapfrogged ahead of sitting National MPs. These include MPs ranked 20th to 23rd, Nancy Lu, Suze Redmayne, Katie Nimon and Catherine Wedd. They sit just ahead of sitting MPs Tama Potaka, Maureen Pugh and Harete Hipango. Of these three, only Potaka holds an electorate.
There were also big drops for a few sitting MPs.
This group includes MPs with winnable electorates, such as Southland MP Joseph Mooney, Tāmaki MP Simon O’Connor, Coromandel MP Scott Simpson, Kaikōura MP Stuart Smith, Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell and Waikato MP Tim van de Molen.
National is the last major party to release its list. The Labour, ACT and Green parties had all confirmed their lists earlier.
This is National’s full list going into election 2023:
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