Stuart Nash resigned as a New Zealand First candidate on Wednesday night. He had called National MP Katie Nimon "lazy" for taking parental leave, and politicians from all parties condemned the comment as sexist. RNZ

Napier councillor Te Kira Lawrence has been named as NZ First's new candidate for the Napier electorate. She had already been picked to stand for the party in the East Coast seat but will now move to Napier instead.

Nash's comment was about Nimon's parental leave after the birth of her son, Lochie. Nimon went back to electorate work when Lochie was ten weeks old and to Parliament after six months. Nash said she took nine months off, which was not correct.

Nimon has said that Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Speaker Gerry Brownlee, and National MP Stuart Smith, who manages party discipline, all told her to take whatever time she needed. Nash's comment was criticised by MPs from well beyond the National Party.

Minister for Women Nicola Grigg, a National MP, said Nash had to resign. "There is absolutely no place for people like that in our House of Representatives," Grigg said. Her parliamentary office has a portacot, pram, nappies, and teddies in it. Grigg handed out leaflets during the 2023 election campaign while heavily pregnant.

The episode has drawn attention to what it is like being a mother in Parliament. A baby bouncer has been shared among mothers in the House, from Labour MP Camilla Belich to National MP Nicola Grigg to National MP Katie Nimon. The bouncer crosses party lines.

Belich said being a mum in Parliament was hard work. She credited the mothers who came before her for showing it could be done.

For NZ First, replacing a candidate in Napier partway through is something the party will need to manage. Lawrence is already an elected councillor, so she brings local government experience, but she will need to build name recognition in a new electorate.

The broader context here is that parental leave for MPs has gone from being a side issue to something everyone in Parliament now expects. Luxon, Brownlee, and Smith encouraging Nimon to take leave, baby gear in a minister's office, and Labour and National MPs sharing a baby bouncer all show that change. Nash's comment stood out against that backdrop, and the speed of his departure suggests NZ First saw the political cost of defending it.

Sorting out a new candidate when someone resigns mid-campaign is something party organisations rarely have to do. NZ First moved quickly to put Lawrence in place, but because she moved from East Coast to Napier, the party now needs to find someone else for the East Coast seat, and time is limited.