Stuart Nash has resigned as a New Zealand First candidate after describing National MP Katie Nimon as lazy for taking maternity leave, comments that drew condemnation across Parliament and a direct rebuke from Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.

NZ First leader Winston Peters announced the resignation in a social media post late on Wednesday night. "Stuart Nash has offered his resignation as a candidate and we have accepted," Peters wrote on his official Facebook page. Nash confirmed his withdrawal on Thursday, saying he had reached the decision after discussion with NZ First leadership.

The controversy stemmed from a private message Nash sent in which he called Nimon, National's Napier MP, lazy for taking nine months off at full pay. Nimon had in fact taken six months' maternity leave after having a baby. MPs at Parliament roundly condemned the comments as sexist on the Wednesday before the resignation was announced.

Luxon was blunt in his response. He called Nash's comments "sexist" and said Nash was "channelling the manosphere." The Prime Minister also stated on social media that Nash would not serve as a minister in a government he leads.

Nash, a former Labour minister who had switched to NZ First, said the private message had become a "significant distraction" and he did not want it to cost NZ First or the people of Napier the campaign they deserved.

The resignation brings to a close a candidacy that had already attracted scrutiny. In September 2025, Nash resigned from his position at recruitment agency Robert Walters after a formal review was initiated following separate comments he made about women. That incident predated his NZ First candidacy resignation but added to the pattern of controversy surrounding his public statements about women.

The political fallout cuts across several lines. Nash was seeking the Napier seat, which Nimon holds for National. His comments about her maternity leave struck at a sensitive intersection of gender, workplace entitlements and campaign conduct. Nimon's actual leave period, six months, was misrepresented by Nash in his message as nine months at full pay.

Luxon's intervention was notable for its directness. By publicly ruling Nash out of any ministerial post in a National-led government, the Prime Minister effectively made the candidacy untenable regardless of NZ First's own deliberations. That Peters accepted the resignation the same day MPs roundly condemned the comments suggests the political calculation was straightforward.

For NZ First, the departure removes a candidate who brought name recognition and ministerial experience but also carried significant baggage. Nash's transition from Labour minister to NZ First candidate was itself unusual; the subsequent resignation means the party will need to find a replacement candidate for Napier.

The wider context here is one of parliamentary norms around maternity leave and the treatment of sitting MPs who take parental leave. Nash's characterisation of Nimon as "lazy" for taking time away from Parliament after childbirth drew criticism not only for its inaccuracy but for framing a statutory entitlement as a personal failing. That framing is what prompted the cross-party condemnation on Wednesday.

Nash's statement that he did not want the matter to be a "significant distraction" signals an acceptance that the controversy had overtaken his ability to campaign effectively. Whether NZ First can reset its Napier campaign without him remains a question for the party to address in the coming days.

The resignation was announced on July 22, 2026.