Christopher Luxon rips out Chris Bishop’s tendrils of power

Friday, 3 April 2026

Christopher Luxon at his reshuffle announcement on Thursday.

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OPINION: Chris Bishop is a politics lifer. His father was a political reporter. He worked in Parliament after university for Gerry Brownlee and Steven Joyce, with some lobbying in-between. He was, unsurprisingly, in debating society and youth Parliament.

This kind of experience meant that Bishop knew how to build relationships when entering Parliament in 2014. He started writing members' bills for other MPs. Even when he backed the wrong horses in Opposition ‒ Amy Adams, Todd Muller ‒ his clear work ethic and political smarts got him top roles in Opposition, including Shadow Leader of the House and campaign chair in 2023.

Upon coming to Government Bishop took on the chunky portfolios of Housing, RMA Reform, and Infrastructure ‒ which all fit together like an interlocking jigsaw ‒ adding the final piece of Transport early last year. But he also kept those two more National Party roles in his tent ‒ Leader of the House and Campaign Chair. Yesterday, Christopher Luxon stripped him of both of them.

Leader of the House is a behind the scenes role with incredible power. Its holder sets the Government's legislative programme into actual Parliamentary time, manages Question Time, and is the crucial decider on many other routine Parliamentary decisions. Former holders include Chris Hipkins, Simon Bridges, and Michael Cullen. It gets you in everyone else's business ‒ deciding when their laws can go up or whether they should do a ministerial debate on various issues.

Of course, a lot of politics does not happen in the chamber. But Bishop's campaign chair role gave him a great reason to be involved in all of that too ‒ from decisions about advertising to run to wider strategic questions about how much policy to roll out.

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown greets Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters as he arrives in Rarotonga.

In sum, these two roles gave Bishop a great way to build power and alliances within the National Party. It didn't matter if you saw him as a bit liberal ‒ and many do ‒ if he was the one who would turn up and help you with your campaign or your legislative problem, it was hard not to feel like you owed him a favour.

Luxon's removal of Bishop from these roles has the fig-leaf excuse of the attorney-general position. But there's a reason Bishop was quite clearly not happy with these changes ‒ they attempted to unpick years of work gaining power across the National Party. The changes are quite obviously in response to sustained conversations about Bishop wanting Luxon's job. But Bishop has been a central figure in the National Party for so long that it is hard to see this level of influence really fade. You can rip out some tendrils but the plant just keeps on growing.

Read all about Luxon's thinking in my boss Luke Malpass' excellent column here and see the winners and losers in my colleague Nick James' piece here.

Worth the jet fuel

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters left on a hastily arranged trip to the Cook Islands this week to sign a new defence and security declaration with the realm country, after about a year of the usually warm relationship going into the deep freeze. The agreement will see New Zealand funding return to the nation and close what was becoming a gaping wound in our Pacific diplomacy. My colleague Anneke Smith travelled with Peters and has all the details.

Question time psychodrama of the week

Every year on April 1, a huge range of Government benefits get automatically raised to match the past calendar year of inflation ‒ for super it’s wage inflation, for other main benefits it’s cost inflation. And every year governments make a song and dance of these changes, all but suggesting these were special things that they are delivering for voters, rather than shifts that are mandated by law. (To be fair, they still have to find the money.) Labour did this in Government plenty, and National took several patsy questions in the House this week to promote their own rises ‒ often mingling in the more discretionary boost to Working For Families Nicola Willis announced last week. This greatly angered the Greens, who spent all of every answer yelling 'it's automatic'.

TikTok around the clock

TikTok's government relations team were in town from Sydney last week, but their schedule includes more than the usual ministerial meetings. They also offered every MP personalised training in how to use their app. One wonders how Catherine Wedd, who is very focused on banning the app for teenagers, took that offer.

Quote of the week

'Chris Bishop will be able to get cricket tickets, it'll be all right.' Christopher Luxon on abolishing Bishop's associate sports portfolio.

Most awkward clout chase

Labour's Kieran McAnulty got a big win this week as his members’ bill to amend Easter Trading laws passed just in time for Easter itself. The new law will allow on-licenses to sell alcohol over Easter and some other public holidays. ACT is the only party that voted entirely in favour of the bill, and were very keen to make sure the public knew that one of its MPs had made some quite crucial amendments to it ‒ posting on Wednesday night 'BREAKING: A bill amended by ACT's Cameron Luxton has just passed, scrapping Easter Trading rules for bars + pubs'.

Number of the week

60: The number of Select Committee reports tabled in the House in one go on Tuesday. The clerk won a round of applause after getting through all the names of them, and the former high school teacher Gerry Brownlee suggested MPs should read them all before the “test tomorrow”.

Comings and goings

The new Ministry of Cities, Environment, the Regions, and Transport (MCERT) has appointed its first head ‒ Jeremy Lightfoot. Lightfoot comes from Corrections which he has led since 2020. Alice Sciascia will take over as acting head of Corrections.

Penny Simmonds' press sec Amy Stapleton finished up with the minister on Thursday, just as Simmonds was promoted to Cabinet.

Heather Simpson, once Helen Clark's feared enforcer (she was known as 'H2'), has taken on the role of deputy chair of Antarctica New Zealand.

The week ahead

Parliament is in recess next week (and the week after) and a lot of MPs will be enjoying a proper break, or at least some time in their electorates. But the fuel crisis ain't going anywhere ‒ so expect some more there.

Until next time!

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