"He's got credibility": Who could fill the vacant Finance Minister role?

On Air
Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

Author: Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2026, 10:50am

National deputy leader Nicola Willis, with fellow MP Paul Goldsmith, arrive at the party's election HQ and address media. Photo / Dean Purcell

Don Brash, the former leader of the ACT and National parties, has admitted he wouldn’t give the Finance Minister role to another party if he were in Christopher Luxon’s position.

But with ACT’s David Seymour gunning for the role, Brash told Ryan Bridge that Seymour was the only person who seemed to care that government debt was “going up like mad”.

It was unclear who in National could do the job with Nicola Willis leaving Parliament, but Simeon Brown, Erica Stanford, or Todd McClay were possibilities, he said.

NZ First leader Winston Peters would “obviously” oppose Seymour becoming Finance Minister, but the role couldn’t go to his party as its policies —including keeping NZ Super at 65 and buying BNZ— would mean big increases in public debt.