Face of the Day

Former National Party candidate James Christmas, who was tipped as a potential minister and Attorney-General, will contest this year’s election as a candidate for the ACT Party. [...]

Christmas, a barrister who worked under senior National figures including Sir John Key, Sir Bill English and Chris Finlayson, will be considered a significant loss for National given he was considered a possible option to take on the Attorney-General role and act as a Treaty Negotiations Minister.

With a deep understanding of Treaty settlements and New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements, Christmas also presents as an ideal candidate to articulate the party’s next attempt at constitutional reform after the failed Treaty Principles Bill, which Christmas’ former mentor Finlayson condemned as divisive.

“I’ve looked at where I can make the biggest contribution, and I made a positive decision to [join ACT],” he said.

“It’s no more complicated than that, there’s no hidden story there.”

NZ Herald