Considering 2025 and how our local politicians performed, we’re going to use the crude measure of "got stuff done", "got some stuff done" and "needs to get some stuff done."
Got stuff done
Penny Simmonds
Whether you agree with her wholesale reform of vocational education, there is no denying that the Invercargill National MP got it done.
Also, commendably, Simmonds got it done after a shaky 2024 during which she lost the disability affairs portfolio in a manner which may have made some question whether she was indeed a pair of safe hands.
The first government press release of 2026, at 8am no less, trumpeted that 10 regionally governed polytechnics and eight new industry skills boards had officially begun operation.
Albeit there is the caveat that also beginning operation was the federation of polytechnics — ministering to the needs of institutions the government deems unable to stand on their own two feet — Simmonds has indeed, mostly, done what she said she would and returned control of vocational education to local communities.
However, questions persist about how strongly her out-of-Cabinet voice as Environment Minister is heard. The proposed new mega planning ministry, the Ministry of Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport, will do little to quell suspicion that environmental concerns continue to be sidelined by this government.
Rachel Brooking
As noted last week, taxpayers get value for their money from Ms Brooking in terms of contributions in the House: her 263 interventions ranked her fifth out of all MPs.
Quantity does not always equate to quality of course. While the Labour Dunedin MP has undoubtedly improved as an orator, she can still get bogged down in the minutiae of the planning law which she spent most of her year interrogating and deliver something tangled as a result.
She is never going to incite a crowd to storm the barricades, but Brooking asks cogent, carefully considered questions; her main rival, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop, would likely concede that his fiendishly complex legislation is the better for her scrutiny.
Mark Patterson
The New Zealand First Taieri list MP is also not one given to flights of rhetorical fancy but he is what he is: a sensible, solid Lawrence farmer.
Patterson got into politics to deliver gains for the rural sector, and although there is only so much an associate minister can achieve he did put some runs on the board. Although his zealotry in advocacy of wool has made him the subject of some good-natured ribbing (including from this column), the wool sector is seemingly in a stronger place today and well placed to exploit trade agreements signed last year.
New Zealand First is also polling solidly so he should have fewer backroom anxieties about it hitting the 5% threshold come election time.
Francisco Hernandez
Even if certain government MPs still cannot tell the difference between the Dunedin Green list MP and his senior party colleague Ricardo Menendez March, Hernandez very much forged his own path in 2025.
In 2024 he came to the House late, and in unfortunate circumstances, and took his time to find his feet.
Last year he hit his straps, making sterling use of the underappreciated written questions mechanism to hold the government to account, and he was also ready and willing to play his part in forensic analysis of government policy in the House.
Like most of the Green MPs, his future hangs on the party list rankings and then the percentage of party votes the Greens glean, but one would think his efforts this year had assured himself a higher placement this year.
Got some stuff done
Ingrid Leary
An almost year for the Labour Taieri MP. She made some headway on the government’s patchwork quilt of mental health reforms, albeit being up against a minister who is not one of the coalition’s standout performers, and she also asked some pointed questions in her seniors spokeswoman role — especially concerning the rules governing licences to occupy a home in a retirement village.
However, that work was undone, in terms of perception at any rate, with the revelation that AI had likely generated some of those pointed questions.
That, in itself, was not a major, but her mishandling of media inquiries on the matter was embarrassing.
A mention in despatches for senior Labour MP Damien O’Connor, whose recent move to Dunedin is noteworthy but he is yet to make an impact on the local political scene. He is a canny operator so watch this space.
Joseph Mooney
The Southland National MP has had a solid year; his chairing of the social services and community select committee, especially during the emotionally fraught abuse in care legislation hearings, has been commendable, and is also a willing helper on whipping duties.
Every party needs its solid midtable MPs and Mooney is certainly that; this year may be the test of whether he can rise to a higher level or not.
Todd Stephenson
Mooney’s Southland neighbour, Act New Zealand list MP Todd Stephenson, also had a solid year. While as party whip much of his work is done behind closed doors, Act seldom misses a call and its caucus demonstrates admirable discipline compared with some.
Yet to make a major mark in his spokesman roles, but he is just two years into his first term and has the capacity to step up in future.
Needs to get some stuff done
Miles Anderson
The Waitaki National MP is an affable chap and active in local affairs and on select committees, but seems determined to follow the "Holyoake rule" that first-term backbenchers should be out of sight and out of mind.
House speeches are limited and strongly reliant on his written notes, but he is better in the more congenial setting of a select committee. Dependable but could deliver more.
Scott Willis
What goes for Anderson also goes for the Taieri Green list MP; he is a first-term backbencher in a sizable caucus, and there is only so much headline-garnering work to go around.
Willis strives to make the most of his opportunities; he has been particularly good on his specialist subject of energy and also been a valuable and different voice on Nicole McKee’s Arms Act reforms.
Still establishing himself, a big year lies ahead.
