Judith Collins facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Honourable Judith Collins KC MP
Collins in 2023
34th Attorney-General of New Zealand
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 November 2023
Prime Minister	Christopher Luxon
Preceded by	David Parker
43rd Minister of Defence
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 November 2023
Prime Minister	Christopher Luxon
Preceded by	Andrew Little
Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 November 2023
Prime Minister	Christopher Luxon
Preceded by	Andrew Little
Minister Responsible for the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 November 2023
Prime Minister	Christopher Luxon
Preceded by	Andrew Little
3rd Minister for Digitising Government
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 November 2023
Prime Minister	Christopher Luxon
Preceded by	Ginny Andersen
1st Minister for Space
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 November 2023
Prime Minister	Christopher Luxon
Preceded by	Office established
22nd Minister for the Public Service
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 January 2025
Prime Minister	Christopher Luxon
Preceded by	Nicola Willis
28th Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology
In office 27 November 2023 – 24 January 2025
Prime Minister	Christopher Luxon
Preceded by	Ayesha Verrall
Succeeded by	Shane Reti
Offices held in Opposition 2020–2021 39th Leader of the Opposition In office 14 July 2020 – 25 November 2021 Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Deputy Gerry Brownlee Shane Reti Preceded by Todd Muller Succeeded by Christopher Luxon 14th Leader of the National Party In office 14 July 2020 – 25 November 2021 Deputy Gerry Brownlee Shane Reti Preceded by Todd Muller Succeeded by Christopher Luxon
Ministerial Offices 2008–2017 29th Minister of Revenue In office 20 December 2016 – 26 October 2017 Prime Minister Bill English Preceded by Michael Woodhouse Succeeded by Stuart Nash 16th Minister of Energy and Resources In office 20 December 2016 – 26 October 2017 Prime Minister Bill English Preceded by Simon Bridges Succeeded by Megan Woods Minister for Ethnic Affairs In office 20 December 2016 – 26 October 2017 Prime Minister Bill English Preceded by Sam Lotu-Iiga Succeeded by Jenny Salesa In office 14 December 2011 – 30 August 2014 Prime Minister John Key Preceded by Hekia Parata Succeeded by Sam Lotu-Iiga 35th Minister of Police In office 14 December 2015 – 20 December 2016 Prime Minister John Key Bill English Preceded by Michael Woodhouse Succeeded by Paula Bennett In office 19 November 2008 – 12 December 2011 Prime Minister John Key Preceded by Annette King Succeeded by Anne Tolley 10th Minister of Corrections In office 14 December 2015 – 20 December 2016 Prime Minister John Key Bill English Preceded by Sam Lotu-Iiga Succeeded by Louise Upston In office 19 November 2008 – 12 December 2011 Prime Minister John Key Preceded by Phil Goff Succeeded by Anne Tolley 47th Minister of Justice In office 12 December 2011 – 30 August 2014 Prime Minister John Key Preceded by Simon Power Succeeded by Amy Adams
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Papakura
Incumbent
Assumed office 8 November 2008
Preceded by	John Robertson (1996)
Majority	13,519
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Clevedon
In office 27 July 2002 – 8 November 2008
Preceded by	Warren Kyd (1996)
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Majority	12,871 (34.9%)
Personal details
Born	Judith Anne Collins (1959-02-24) 24 February 1959 (age 66) Hamilton, New Zealand
Political party	National Party (1999–present)
Spouse	David Wong-Tung
Children	1
Alma mater	University of Canterbury (LLB) University of Auckland (LLM) (MTaxS)
Signature

Judith Collins is a well-known politician from New Zealand. She was born on 24 February 1959. Currently, she holds important roles in the government. These include being the Attorney-General and the Minister of Defence. She started these jobs on 27 November 2023.

Before her current roles, Judith Collins was the leader of the National Party. She also served as the Leader of the Opposition from July 2020 to November 2021. She has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for Papakura since 2008. Before that, she was the MP for Clevedon from 2002 to 2008.

Judith Collins studied law at university. She worked as a lawyer before she became a politician. She was also a director for Housing New Zealand. She first joined the Parliament in 2002.

Judith Collins: A New Zealand Politician

Judith Collins has held many important jobs in the New Zealand government. She first became a minister in 2008. This was when the National Party formed the government. She was one of the highest-ranked women in the Cabinet.

She served as the Minister of Police and Minister of Corrections for several years. Later, she became the Minister of Justice. After a break from Cabinet, she returned in 2015. She then served as Minister of Revenue and Minister of Energy and Resources.

After the National Party lost the election in 2017, she took on different roles in the shadow cabinet. In 2020, she was chosen to lead the National Party. This made her the second woman to lead the party. She led the party in the 2020 election.

In 2023, the National Party won the election. Christopher Luxon became the Prime Minister. He appointed Judith Collins to seven different ministerial roles. She is the first woman to be the Minister of Defence. Because she has been an MP for a long time, she is known as the "Mother of the House."

Early Life and Education

Judith Collins was born in Hamilton. Her parents, Percy and Jessie Collins, were dairy farmers. She grew up in Walton in the Waikato region. She was the youngest of six children.

She went to Walton School, Matamata Intermediate, and Matamata College. She studied at the University of Canterbury and later at the University of Auckland. She earned several law degrees. In 2020, she also got a diploma in occupational health and safety.

At university, she met her husband, David Wong-Tung. He was a police officer who had moved from Samoa as a child. They have one son. Judith Collins has said she is a liberal Anglican. She was a supporter of the Labour Party when she was young. However, she joined the National Party in 1999.

Becoming a Lawyer

After finishing university, Judith Collins became a lawyer. She focused on areas like employment, property, business, and tax law. She worked for different law firms from 1981 to 1990. Then, she started her own law firm, Judith Collins & Associates, which she ran for ten years. Before entering Parliament, she worked as a special lawyer for Minter Ellison Rudd Watts.

She was also very active in legal groups. She was the President of the Auckland District Law Society from 1998 to 1999. She was also the Vice-President of the New Zealand Law Society from 1999 to 2000. She was the chairperson of the Casino Control Authority and a director of Housing New Zealand Limited.

Starting in Parliament

Judith Collins was first elected to Parliament in the 2002 election. She became the National MP for Clevedon. This area was similar to the old Hunua electorate.

In Parliament, she first worked on health and internal affairs. Later, she focused on justice and tourism. She was known for doing a good job. In 2005, she became the spokesperson for Social Welfare. She also worked on family and Pacific Island affairs.

In 2003, while in opposition, Collins pushed for an investigation. She wanted to know if New Zealand soldiers were exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. The investigation found that troops were indeed in a toxic environment. This led to an apology from the government in 2004. It also created a plan to support veterans. Collins received an award for her work on this issue.

For the 2008 election, the Clevedon area changed. Collins decided to run for the Papakura seat. She won Papakura with many votes.

Important Government Roles (2008–2017)

The National Party formed the government after the 2008 election. Judith Collins became a Cabinet Minister. She was given the roles of Police, Corrections, and Veterans' Affairs. In 2009, she also became the Minister Responsible for the Serious Fraud Office.

After the 2011 election, she was appointed Minister of Justice, Minister of Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), and Minister of Ethnic Affairs. She was the highest-ranked woman in the Cabinet at that time.

Minister of Corrections

Collins at the National War Memorial, 2010

In 2009, Collins questioned the leader of the Department of Corrections. She wanted to see improvements after some negative news.

She also increased the number of work programs available in prisons. New Drug Treatment Units were built. She oversaw the completion of a new prison in Mount Eden, Auckland. She also arranged for a private company, Serco, to manage this new prison.

Minister of Police

Collins supported the use of tasers by the police. In 2009, she announced funding to give tasers to police across the country. She also supported giving frontline officers more access to firearms. However, she did not support police officers carrying firearms all the time.

In 2009, she earned the nickname "Crusher Collins." This was because she suggested a law to crush the cars of people who repeatedly drove dangerously. She described herself as the minister who brought back "deterrence."

Minister of Justice

In 2012, Collins made some changes to legal aid. Legal aid helps people who cannot afford a lawyer. She reduced fees for family and civil cases. She also made it easier to pay back legal aid debt.

Minister for ACC

In 2011, there was a big privacy issue at the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC). Personal details of 6700 people were accidentally released. Collins wanted to improve privacy and information security at ACC. The head of the board and the chief executive both left their jobs after this incident.

Leading the Opposition (2020–2021)

Collins in 2016

In July 2020, Judith Collins was chosen to be the leader of the National Party. This also made her the Leader of the Opposition. She was the second woman to lead the National Party.

She led the party into the 2020 general election. The Labour Party was very popular at the time. This was partly because of their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2020 election resulted in a big win for the Labour Party. The National Party lost many seats. It was one of their toughest election results ever. Despite this, Collins kept her own seat in Papakura.

In 2021, Collins confirmed that the National Party would run candidates in the Māori electorates. This was a change from their previous policy. As Leader of the Opposition, she spoke out against policies she called "racist separatism." These included policies that created separate Māori health and governance groups.

In June 2021, Collins supported the government's apology for the Dawn Raids. These raids happened in the 1970s and targeted Pasifika communities. She said it was right to acknowledge this historic discrimination.

Judith Collins was removed as leader of the National Party in November 2021. This happened after a vote by her fellow MPs. Christopher Luxon was then elected as the new party leader.

Current Government Roles (2023–Present)

In the 2023 election, Judith Collins won her Papakura seat again. She won by a large number of votes.

On 27 November 2023, she took on seven different ministerial roles in the new government. These include:

• Attorney-General
• Minister of Defence
• Minister for Digitising Government
• Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB)
• Minister Responsible for the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS)
• Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology
• Minister for Space

She is the first woman to serve as the Minister of Defence. She holds the most ministerial jobs in the current government. In December, she was appointed King's Counsel. This is a special recognition for her legal career and her important role in government.

In January 2025, she also took on the public services portfolio.

Minister for the GCSB

Collins (right) and Marsden Fund Council Chair Gillian Dobbie at an event to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the Marsden Fund

In December 2023, Collins, as the GCSB Minister, joined New Zealand's allies. They condemned Russia's security service for cyber attacks. These attacks targeted British politicians and other public figures.

Attorney-General

In December 2023, Collins confirmed six new judicial appointments. These included judges for the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, and High Court.

In October 2024, Collins gave a speech at Western Sydney University. She talked about challenges to law and order around the world. After her speech, she was named an adjunct professor at the university's law school.

Minister of Defence

In January 2024, Collins supported airstrikes by the US and UK. These strikes were against Houthi forces in Yemen. The Houthis had been disrupting international shipping. Collins said the airstrikes were a good example of countries working together for security. She also confirmed New Zealand's support for maritime security.

In February 2024, Collins announced that New Zealand's military deployment to Europe would be extended. This deployment trains Ukrainian soldiers. The training will now include combat first aid and engineering.

In November 2024, Collins used a special power to cancel holiday leave for Defence Force staff. This was to cover for striking security guards at military bases. Some groups criticized this decision.

Ministry of Science, Innovation and Technology

In August 2024, Collins announced a new law. This law would end the ban on genetic modification and genetic engineering outside of labs. The new law will be similar to Australia's. She also said a new national group would be set up to manage the risks.

In December 2024, Collins announced changes to research funding. The government would stop funding humanities and social science research. Instead, they would focus on "core sciences" like physics and chemistry. The goal is to boost economic growth and technology.

Her Political Ideas

Judith Collins is often described as a conservative politician. She is seen as representing the more traditional side of her party. In her past roles, she supported strong law and order policies. She has also praised former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

In August 2021, Collins suggested a public vote. This vote would decide on the increasing use of Aotearoa, the Māori-language name for New Zealand. This was despite her having used the name herself when she was a minister.

Images for kids

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  Judith Collins' signature