Paul Goldsmith has rocketed up the National Party rankings in the wake of Simon Bridges announcing his retirement, but the political party continues to be plagued by a lack of diversity.
Deputy leader Nicola Willis was announced on Wednesday as Bridges' replacement as finance spokesperson, with Chris Bishop taking Willis' housing portfolio and moving to Bridges' former number three ranking. Health spokesperson Dr Shane Reti also climbs one spot to number four.
Social development spokesperson Louise Upston would be next in line to enter the top five, but Goldsmith has been catapulted into the fifth position from number 12.
It's a surprise move for Goldsmith, who is close to Bridges and served as finance spokesperson from mid-2019 to after the 2020 election. He was relieved of the finance role after the election campaign, during which the party made a number of economic blunders.
"We all make mistakes," leader Christopher Luxon said on Wednesday when asked if Goldsmith had redeemed himself.
"It's how you get off the floor. You get beat up pretty badly in this job and so it's how you respond to it, I think is important. I think he's done that very well."
Goldsmith, who served as a minister under Sir John Key and Sir Bill English, holds the justice and workplace relations portfolios, two areas Luxon wants to keep pressure on the Government over. He name-checked the Government's fair pay agreement and hate speech proposals as two matters he wants to zero in on.
"You've got to balance experience and emerging talent in a lineup. It is how you build good teams," Luxon said.
Upston arguably has just as much experience. While Goldsmith was elected to Parliament in 2011, Upston entered in 2008. She's also held a number of ministerial roles.
Luxon also said on Wednesday that National is at its best when it considers a number of different political perspectives. With the departure of Bridges, who comes from the more conservative side of the party, the leader wants to ensure there's a similar voice in his top five, something Goldsmith can represent.
"This party, when it's at its best has got a moderate liberal and moderate conservative tradition and he represents that perspective on our party as well. I want to have that encapsulated and captured in that top team."
Luxon was seen as a conservative coming into the leadership (his opposition to abortion was widely reported), but has since voted in support of safe spaces around abortion clinics and backed legislation banning gay conversion therapy. Both Willis and Bishop come from the liberal faction of the National Party.
The former Air New Zealand chief executive also maintains he wants to see a move away from a seniority hierarchy towards a "performance, talent-type lineup".
But National still has a lack of Māori representation in its shadow-Cabinet. It's a problem the party has faced for a number of years now, with Goldsmith even at one point being referred to as a Māori MP by former deputy leader Nikki Kaye at the start of the very short-lived Todd Muller reign.
However, the issue worsened after the 2020 election when a number of its MPs from different ethnic communities lost their seats.
Dr Reti is the only Māori member in National's current top 20 and Melissa Lee, who was New Zealand's first Korean MP, is at number 12. Willis is also the only woman in the top five.
Luxon knows it's a problem.
"We've got a challenge around diversity," he said. "I've been very upfront from that from the very beginning. We didn't have the diversity that we wanted post the election result. We are going to work really hard. Watch 2023, make sure it comes into the bloodstream of the party."
He said his top 10 had a great mix of MPs from across New Zealand and he wants to consider diversity when considering the party's candidate for the upcoming Tauranga by-election. Luxon said he has experience developing diversity in businesses.
