New National Party leader Todd Muller: 'I'm not interested in ...

New National Party leader Todd Muller: 'I'm not interested in opposition for opposition's sake'. 4:38 pm on 22 May 2020. Share this. NavigationforNewsCategories NewZealandWorldPoliticsPacificTeAoMāoriSportBusinessCountryLocalDemocracyReportingComment&AnalysisInDepthWeather ToddMullersayshis"absolutefocus"asthenewNationalPartyleaderwillbeNewZealand'seconomicrecoveryfromtheCovid-19pandemic. MullerhasaddressedhisfirstmediaconferenceasthenewNationalPartyleaderafterdefeatingincumbentSimonBridgesinaspecialcaucusmeetingthisafternoon. Watchthemediaconferencehere: "FirstandforemostIamaboutwhat'sbestforyouandyourfamily,notwhat'swrongwiththegovernment. "I'mnotinterestedinoppositionforopposition'ssake.We'realltiredofthatkindofpolitics. MullersaidNewZealandershavemademanysacrificesoverthepastfewmonths. "Youhaveputalotonthelinetogetusthroughthiscrisisandnowwemustbegintakinganotherstepforwardtorebuildourcountry,torebuildoureconomy,andtorestorethelivelihoodsofNewZealanders. "OnlyaNationalgovernmentcanprovidetheleadershiptodothat.Thatiswhywemustwinthenextelection. "Weshouldallbeproudofwhatwehaveachievedtogether.Covid-19hashurtus.MyabsolutefocusastheNationalPartyleaderwillbeNewZealand'seconomicrecovery." Photo:RNZ/DomThomas Hesaidthesizeofthetaskwasenormous. "Iwillbringmyalltoit.Yes,Ihaverunabusiness,IcanreadabalancesheetandaPandL(profitandlossstatement),andIknowagoodonefromabadone.AndIwillbringthoseskillstothePrimeMinistership.Butthatisnotwhatdrivesme. "Whatdrivesmeiscommunity,thepeoplewhohelptheirelderlyneighbourswiththelawnsontheweekend,thedadwhorunsthefoodstallatthelocalschoolfair,themumwhocoachesalocaltouchrugbyteam." Hesaidthemainfocusofthiselectionwouldbetheeconomy. "Butnottheeconomythatbureaucracytalksabout,it'llbetheeconomyyoulivein.Theeconomyinyourcommunity,yourjob,yourmainstreet,yourtourismbusiness,yourmarae,yourlocalrugbyleagueclub,yourlocalbutcher,yournetballcourts,yourfarms,yourshopsandyourfamilies.AndthisistheeconomyNationalMPsaregroundedin." NationalMPsmetbehindcloseddoorsatmidday,hearingaddressesfrombothBridgesandMullerbeforecastingtheirballots. AucklandCentralMPNikkiKayewasalsonamedasthenewdeputyleader,replacingPaulaBennett. Mullersaidtoday'svotewasbysecretballot,andtheydidnotknowwhatthenumberswere. "Weneverdo,it'snotpartofourtradition. "Wealwayshavemoments,everypartydoes,wehaveinternaldebate,thefeelinginthatcaucuswasincrediblyfocusedonthetaskathand." National'snewleaderToddMuller. Photo:GettyImages Mullerpraisedthegovernment'shandlingoftheCovid-19coronaviruspandemic,butsaidthegovernment'seffortselsewherewerenotgoodenough. "Iamthefirsttoadmitandacknowledgethatthegovernment'shandlingofCovid-19wasoverallimpressive,andIthinkmostNewZealanderswouldfeelthesame. "ButtomeasureyourperformanceasaCabinetonyourabilitytomanageacrisis...againstthethresholdofdoyouhavethecapacitysittingaroundaCabinettodesignaneconomicrecoverywhenallyourperformancemeasuresintheprevioustwoandahalfyearshavebeenafailure?Ithinkthatdoesn'twork,Ithinkthecountryknowsthatdoesn'twork." "We'reacaucusofremarkabletalent...theproblemwiththisgovernmentisthey'vegottwoorthreestrongperformers,and17emptyseatsinCabinet." MullerconfirmedthatPaulGoldsmithwouldstayonasfinancespokesperson-apparentlythefirsttimeGoldsmithwashearingofit-andalsothankedBridgesandformerdeputyleaderPaulaBennett. "Simonhasworkedhardasleaderandhasgiventhejobhisall.BothheandPaulahaveservedthecountrywell." HesaidBridgeswasaverytalentedpoliticianandhewouldwelcometheformerpartyleaderifhewantedtocontinuecontributingtotheNationalPartyataseniorlevel. UnlikeBridges,MullersaidhehadnotruledoutworkingwithWinstonPetersandNZFirst. Mullersaidinastatementafterwardsthathewasfocusingon"TeamNational"anditsroleinhelpingthecountryrebuildaftertheCovid-19pandemic. "Myfocusasleaderisourcountry'seconomicrecoveryandthestrengtheningofeverycommunitythroughoutNewZealand,"hesaid. HesaidhisperspectiveonsocialviewscomefromhisCatholicfaith-hehasbeenCatholicsincehewasasmallboy. HesaidKayehadadifferentview,butthatrepresent'stheparty's'broadchurch'. KayesaidMullerwasprobablythemostdecentpersonsheknewandhadincrediblestrengthandauthenticity. Shesaidhehadanextraordinaryabilitytopullpeopletogether. Forhispart,Bridgessaidheregrettednothingandthepasttwoyearshadbeena"heckofaride". BridgespostedatweetthankingNewZealandandsayingtheresultwillleavehimwith"moretimeforthemostimportantjobIhave"referringtohisfamily. MoretimeforthemostimportantjobIhave.ThankyouNewZealand.pic.twitter.com/q47X9r3bK8—SimonBridges(@simonjbridges)May22,2020 Twopollsthisweekthatshowedasharpdeclineinvoters'supportforNationalandlittletasteforBridges'leadershipseemedtosealthepreviousleader'sfate. Tags: politics Sharethis ShareonTwitter ShareonFacebook Shareviaemail ShareonReddit ShareonLinkedIn Copyright©2020,RadioNewZealand SubscribetoRNZ'sDailyNewsletter     Viewlatestnewsletter NextstoryinPolitics ToddMullermakingswiftchangestoNational'sfrontbench RelatedStories Asithappened:ToddMullerwinsbattleforNationalPartyleadership 22May2020 ToddMullerhasdefeatedSimonBridgesinavoteforNationalPartyleader,withNikkiKayenamedthenewdeputy.Seehowtheday'seventsunfoldedwithRNZ'sliveblog. Asithappened:SimonBridgeslosesNationalPartyleadershiptoToddMuller WhoisnewNationalleaderToddMuller? 22May2020 UntilthisweekthenameToddMullerwasunfamiliartomany.Today,hehassteppeduptowrestletheleadershipoftheNationalPartyfromSimonBridges. WhoisnewNationalPartyleaderToddMuller? Politics Covid-19Māoriresponse:'ItisnotpartnershipwhenCrownignoresadvice' TreatysettlementlegislationforHawke'sBayhapūpassesfinalreading Governmentplantostopdomesticandsexualviolence'onlyastart'-Women'sRefuge GettheRNZapp forad-freenewsandcurrentaffairs TopNewsstories FranzJosef,FoxGlaciertouristspotsprepareforsummerwithstaffingshortfalls Covid-19Māoriresponse:'ItisnotpartnershipwhenCrownignoresadvice' LakeAliceHospitalabuse:RoyalCommissionrejectsSelwynLeeks'lawyer'ssubmission TreatysettlementlegislationforHawke'sBayhapūpassesfinalreading Covid-19:Northlandbordercheckpointstostickercars Subscribe SubscribetoRNZ'sDailyNewsletter     Viewlatestnewsletter PoliticsRSS FollowRNZNews