Outgoing National minister Judith Collins says "you don't get resilient unless you have to be", as she farewells Parliament.
"I sometimes quip that adversity is just an opportunity to show character.
"So much adversity, so much character," she said, to chuckles throughout the Debating Chamber this afternoon.
Collins, who has held 18 portfolios and rose to become National's leader during her 24-year Parliamentary career, is set to become President of the Law Commission.
In her final speech to Parliament, she described being told when she started out her political career that "not much was expected of me".
"That I would either make something of not much, or I would be an MP who came and went.
"So I decided to make the most of what I had since I knew that I am genetically incapable of sucking up to hierarchy in order to get ahead."
She said she'd never had the patience for "doing my time" or "knowing my place".
Collins said as a lawyer entering politics she did not always consider how her fearless prosecution of issues could be seen as confrontational.
"I can be a bit brutal," she said, laughing.
She highlighted some of the things she was most proud of, including holding to account a senior minister who had leaked to the media while Collins was still a first-term MP.
Another achievement was banning smoking in prisons: "yeah - I did that."
"I really did not have the support of the government," she said, despite being in government.
During this term of government, she said she was "proud as punch" to be the one who, "after 16 years of litigation and 180 years of injustice", settled the Nelson Tenths litigation.
Collins highlighted a trip to Ukraine as Minister of Defence in 2025.
"I would like to congratulate our parliament for its unstinting support for the freedom of Ukraine. I am proud to say everywhere I go in the world that our parliament supports Ukraine and good on us."
She also said she stood by her comments at the time of the sinking of HMS Manawanui, when she lashed out at what she called "deeply misogynistic" comments.
She thanked a number of people directly - including Speaker Gerry Brownlee, Shane Reti and Nicola Willis - for standing by her during the "toughest of times" when she took over as National leader in 2020, "the third leader of the opposition in seven weeks, during the global pandemic and a few months before the election.
"Despite us all wishing to, we never gave up and we did not run away."
She said that MPs needed to be resilient, and acknowledged "it's a tough gig".
"It's a lot tougher since social media and the way in which some mainstream media have chosen to adopt social media standards.
"I'm told that it's all about advertising clicks these days, and that's why headlines often seem completely at odds with a substantive article."
Collins offered some advice to the fourth estate: "love you as I do."
"Most of our media are utterly professional and give no indication of their political views - be those people.
"Report the news. Don't be the news.
"And for the avoidance of doubt, the news should be the truth, the facts, not someone's reckons. Everyone has an opinion. Don't mistake it for news."
Collins then said the true news of her resignation was greeted with an outpouring of love around Parliament, "it was so lovely that I thought I'd died".
She concluded her speech to a standing ovation from the Debating Chamber, where most party leaders were present, and the public gallery, which was about three-quarters full.
In attendance were Don Brash, Jenny Shipley, Don McKinnon, Harete Hipango, Richard Chambers, Brian Roche, David Farrar and Una Jagose.
Her resignation will not trigger a by-election in her electorate of Papakura because of its proximity to the election.
