Former Labour minister Stuart Nash declares allegiance to NZ First
Saturday, 6 September 2025
Former Labour Cabinet minister Stuart Nash has declared his allegiance to NZ First, telling the party’s members Labour has “abandoned” working people.
Nash, who was sacked from Cabinet in 2023 for breaching confidentiality by emailing donors about policy discussions, has in recent months been publicly talking up NZ First and its leader Winston Peters.
On Saturday he was a guest speaker at NZ First’s annual convention, rejecting the Labour party and declaring his support for Peters’ economic nationalist party, which is in coalition Government with the National Party.
He stopped short of promising to run for NZ First, which he said was a decision for the party. And despite in his speech saying he would not attack his former Labour colleagues, he afterwards laid into Labour leader Chris Hipkins.
“I think Winston’s ruled out working with Chris Hipkins probably for the same reasons that I'm standing here at the moment. I don't think that the current leader of the Labour Party represents the values that I espouse,” he said.
“The thing that disappointed me most is not the fact that I was sacked from Cabinet. The thing that really disappointed me was the guy that I thought had my back, was a good mate, actually didn't.
“Even a very experienced politician like I was didn't expect to be stabbed in the back by someone I considered a friend.”
Despite this, Nash insisted his conversion to NZ First was not personal, or about personal ambition.
“I don't think that I've abandoned the Labour Party. I suspect the Labour Party's probably abandoned me.
“I suspect it's also abandoned a whole lot of other people who grew up with those values and are now looking at the Labour Party going, this is not the party that my grandfather or my father talked about.”
NZ First leader Winston Peters, standing next to Nash at a press conference, said he was “delighted” that Nash came to speak about pragmatism and common sense.
“We’re a democratic organisation, I don’t want to presage what the decision making is,” he said, of the prospect of Nash representing the party at the 2026 election.
Hipkins, in a brief statement, said “Stuart will have his views”.
“Labour is working on solutions every day to address the challenges people face.
“We know this is what New Zealanders ultimately care about - and that’s exactly what we’re focused on.”
Nash, whose great-grandfather was Labour prime minister Walter Nash, emphasised in his speech to the NZ First crowd that he believed the party was about pragmatic politics, which spoke to working New Zealanders in a way Labour no longer did.
“Nicola [Willis] tells those who are doing it hard to stop whinging that the glass is half empty. We’re not.
“We just don't think that Wellington has our backs anymore. They used to, but not now that the cost of living has skyrocketed and the Greens are more worried about toilets for transgenders, and the Māori Party are more interested in trading insults than turning around lives.”
He said he would not “launch a broadside” against Labour, instead recounted policies of the Labour Government from its time in coalition with NZ First.
“The Labour Party always stood for people before privilege, making sure society is organised for the many and not just the few. These are still my underlying values, and it's one of the reasons why I accepted an invitation to speak here today.
“NZ First provides stability. They negotiate hard, they expect agreements to be honoured, and they put their heads down and work exceptionally effectively at delivering for all New Zealanders.
“I'm here because I believe that Winston understands the issues that bedevil New Zealand society right now, and is prepared to make the tough calls that all New Zealanders expect from their politicians.”
Many in the room stood to give Nash a round of applause at the end of his speech.
Nash was not the only former MP to reveal themselves as a member of NZ First on Saturday. Also in the crowd was former National MP Harete Hipango.