Prime Minister Chris Hipkins must immediately dismiss Stuart Nash as a Minister, following new revelations that Mr Nash has breached Cabinet rules on more than one occasion, National Deputy Leader Nicola Willis says.

“NewstalkZB has revealed that Stuart Nash was formally reprimanded by Attorney-General David Parker for publicly commenting on a criminal case that was before the courts during his first stint as Police Minister in 2020.

“The offence was serious enough that the Solicitor-General considered prosecution and the Attorney-General, David Parker formally reprimanded Mr Nash.

“It is reasonable to assume Mr Hipkins knew about this - certainly his Attorney-General did.

“This revelation proves that yesterday's outburst was not a one-off. Mr Nash has form: he has shown a pattern of bad judgement and a dismissive attitude to Cabinet rules.

“Mr Hipkins must explain why he did not immediately remove repeat-offender Mr Nash from Cabinet yesterday and he must further explain why he saw fit to reappoint him to the Police role.

“Mr Nash is unfit to be a Minister.

“Mr Hipkins must uphold long-standing principles of our democracy and sack Mr Nash. To not do so would represent a serious lowering of the standards of behaviour expected of Ministers.

“The Prime Minister simply must uphold previously well-accepted standards of Ministerial ethics, conduct and behaviour.

“A failure to act will leave a permanent stain on our democracy.”

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