Why one leaving MP says politics has turned nasty
Outgoing National MP Andrew Bayly says leaving Cabinet was one of the most brutal times of his life. He says abuse aimed at MPs is stopping good people from standing for Parliament.
Bayly spoke in his last speech to Parliament and in an interview with RNZ published on 18 September RNZ. He leaves at this election after 12 years. He arrived in 2014 as MP for Hunua, later stood for Port Waikato, and chaired the Justice Committee, a small group of MPs that looks at justice laws.
In that last speech, reported on 16 September RNZ, Bayly said he quit his jobs as a minister on a false premise. He had wrongly thought a staff member had complained. He said he still backs the decision to quit. He called what came after brutal.
He said social media has brought a "real degree of nastiness" to the job. He said personal attacks and threats stop skilled people leaving safe jobs to enter politics. He said the problem hits recruitment, not just current MPs.
He pointed to his own early story. Early on, The Post ran a piece headed "MP Shoots Brother" about an accident involving his brother when Bayly was 15 or 16. The Post later took it down after readers asked why an old incident was raised again. Bayly said if that happened now he would face intense press and social media and "would just be brutalised".
When asked what help is offered to MPs under strain, Bayly said "Very little". He said MPs find their own ways to cope. He said help from fellow MPs matters most.
Part of that help came from his 2014 intake. Like classmates starting together, those new National MPs met often to talk. Only five of the first ten are left. Bayly and Shane Reti both leave at this election.
After leaving Cabinet, Bayly wrote a book he hopes to publish soon. He enjoys mountaineering, tramping and endurance racing. In 2019 he spent a lot of time setting up the Antarctic Parliamentarians Assembly in London.
He ended by asking MPs to behave well in the House. He said every MP is there for the right reason, to do good, and should respect different views.
The broader picture here is what happens next. The first problem is loss of experience. Ten down to five, with two leaving now, leaves a gap. The second is support. If MPs rely on their own methods and chats with mates, there is little to fall back on when those groups break up. For party whips and Parliamentary Service, the staff who keep Parliament running, the question is whether support stays informal or becomes more organised before new MPs arrive in 2026.
