Outgoing Labour MP Stuart Nash has broken his silence over the events that led to his political demise, telling Newshub he does not regret interfering in an immigration case nor criticising the judiciary - in fact, he says he'd do it again tomorrow.
An emotional Nash sat down for an exclusive interview with Newshub to reflect on his career ahead of his valedictory speech in Parliament on Thursday night.
Stuart Nash likes collecting things: protein powder, deadly weapons, and even a rocket.
It's all heading home as times up he's outta here.
Nash tumbled from grace earlier this year after a cascade of Cabinet manual breaches.
He first lost his police portfolio after admitting to calling up the Police Commissioner to tell him to appeal a sentence he thought was too light.
"When I criticised that judicial decision I knew what I was doing," he told Newshub.
Asked if he believed MPs should have the ability to call out the judiciary, Nash said: "I do, you know I get the judicial independence but I do think judges need to be as accountable for their decisions as MPs are."
His next transgression was calling a contact at MBIE to try and unclog an immigration case.
It resulted in two doctors staying in New Zealand.
He said he doesn't regret that.
"We need decent healthcare in the bay. These guys were literally heading outta town."
He would "do it again tomorrow".
The final nail in his ministerial coffin was a leaked email.
"Should I have sent that email? Of course, I shouldn't have sent it. I know that."
Nash had told a party donor about a sensitive Cabinet conversation. His staff broke the news to him it'd been leaked to the media in the midst of his scandal season.
"I read it and went, 'I'm gone'. So I knew. It was expected," Nash said.
One of his donors had betrayed him.
"Absolutely gutted, absolutely gutted but it's the game I play. That hurts though, eh? Oh hell yeah."
Within hours, his ministerial career was over.
"Five and a half years in Cabinet. Man, I've been one of the lucky ones."
Nash welled up.
He was Police Minister on our darkest day. He was the minister that banned military-style-semiautomatics.
He doesn't count it a legacy.
"Very proud of that but that's a legacy of the Jacinda Ardern Government. That's not a legacy of Stuart Nash."
There's one particular policy he wishes he could've implemented.
"I'm a big supporter of a capital gains tax and I was disappointed we couldn't get that across the line," Nash said.
There's no great party hop on the horizon.
"If I'm not in Labour then I'm not in politics."
He's Labour to the core, like his great grandfather, former Prime Minister Walter Nash.
The outgoing MP thinks he has done the Nash name proud.
"Yeah, I think so."
Nash number two, over and out.
