LATEST: Justice Minister Judith Collins, has officially resigned as a minister of the New Zealand government. In a press conference Prime Minister John Key announced the Cabinet Ministers resignation, just weeks after Dirty Politics was published. After recent revelations in connect with the Serious Fraud office in 2011 the Prime Minister wisely accepted Ms Collins resignation from her cabinet portfolio. The Prime Minister says her resignation follows new information that had arisen in regards to her conduct as a minister. Mr Keys office was informed by an anonymous source of the ministers intentions in 2011. This new information suggests Ms Collins may have been engaged in discussions with a blogger in 2011 aimed at undermining the then director of the Serious Fraud Office. He said that while this revelation adds to allegations mounted against Ms Collins, he sees this as an isolated issue. Youth in Politics understands that although she has resigned as a minister, she is still effectively a Member of Parliament, and will continue to campaign in her electorate. It has been made clear that she is still a member of the National Party. However, her re-election now seems very slim. It has been made quite clear to Ms Collins that if National is in Government after the election on September 20, she will not be in Cabinet, he said. Youth in Politics Political Analyst Michael Riley concludes This is controversially the impact of Dirty Politics and means there could be more. An source in parliament has told me there is more to come Vice-president Michael McLeod says It is the right thing for any minister to do. We have seen ministers resign before, and we will see ministers resigning in the future. However, these will be issues of todays youth once the next generation take their rightful place in Parliament. The minister has apologised to her friends and families, but more importantly her supporters, saying she was very distressed at this present time. She hopes that with her resignation she is able to clear her name, and allow the National party to run their campaign trail without any further interruptions from her past. Christopher Finlayson will be Acting Minister of Justice, Craig Foss will be Acting Minister for ACC and Hekia Parata will be Acting Minister for Ethnic Affairs. Its clear to John Key that when Ministers do something wrong, they cant stay. Should her resignation have came earlier? Comment your thoughts. Youth in Politics to update as the story develops.
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 02:52:36 +0000