Former Journalist Jessica Rowe Named as National's Candidate for Kaipara ki Mahurangi
The National Party has selected former Newshub journalist Jessica Rowe as its candidate for the Kaipara ki Mahurangi electorate, replacing Chris Penk, who withdrew after being stripped of his ministerial portfolios following a challenge to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's leadership (RNZ).
Rowe brings an unusually cross-partisan CV to the selection. She began her career in journalism before completing a Masters in Global Diplomacy and joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT). While at MFAT she was seconded to the offices of Nanaia Mahuta, then Foreign Minister in the Labour government, and National's Simon Watts. She is currently a ministerial advisor in Louise Upston's office.
Her connections extend into the senior public service. Rowe is engaged to Ben King, secretary and chief executive of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) — the lead government department advising the Prime Minister. That relationship will attract scrutiny in a Parliament where the boundary between political staff and the politically neutral public service is already under close watch.
Rowe also co-chairs the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum's emerging leaders programme and sits on the board of the Student Volunteer Army. Her family runs a century-old haberdashery business in Auckland, and she holds her own wool and property business interests.
She said she is excited to meet locals across the electorate to re-elect a National Government and become Kaipara ki Mahurangi's next National MP. Rowe said she supports National's pledge of no new taxes and claimed the alternative is at least nine new taxes under a Labour, Greens, Te Pāti Māori, TOP government.
Her selection fills the vacancy left by Penk's withdrawal. Penk pulled his candidacy after losing his ministerial portfolios in the fallout from a leadership challenge against Luxon. He had separately been the subject of a potential conflict of interest between his responsibilities as Land Information Minister and his role as the Kaipara ki Mahurangi MP, according to his ministerial declaration (NZ Herald).
National's broader 2026 election platform pledges to grow the economy, keep taxes low, stay strong on crime, and improve education and health (National Party). On 3 September the party warned that Labour would introduce at least nine new taxes including a land tax. Two days later, on 5 September, National announced it would back first-home buyers by widening access to 5 per cent deposits.
The party has also been highlighting its foreign policy and trade credentials. On 4 September, New Zealand joined the Pacific Islands Forum Troika — a three-member leadership group within the regional body — taking on an expanded leadership role ahead of hosting the forum. The same day, National flagged that international education export earnings had surged to nearly $5 billion, surpassing pre-Covid 2019 levels.
For the party, the Kaipara ki Mahurangi selection plugs a visible gap in its candidate line-up caused by the leadership upheaval. Rowe's MFAT background, business interests, and trans-Tasman connections give National a candidate whose profile aligns with several of its 2026 campaign priorities. Her current role as a ministerial advisor means she is already embedded in the policy machinery of government, though the relationship with DPMC chief executive King will be something both the party and the public service manage carefully through the campaign.
The wider question is whether a candidate with Rowe's establishment credentials can hold an electorate that now has no incumbent. Penk's earlier conflict-of-interest declaration around Land Information responsibilities, dating from October 2025, adds a layer of context: the seat has already been associated with questions about where a local MP's interests and ministerial duties intersect. Rowe's business interests in wool and property may attract similar attention as the campaign progresses.
