Judith Collins claims inaccurate claim on prisoners ‘was a joke’

New NZ National leader Judith Collins claims she was ‘joking’ when caught out in an inaccurate boast about her success.

National Leader Judith Collins speaks to media on her way to question time at parliament. Picture; Getty Images.

The brief honeymoon of New Zealand’s new National leader appears to be over after she was forced to allege she was “joking” when caught out in an inaccurate boast about her success as a cabinet minister.

What began as a bad week for Judith Collins, lagging far behind her rival Jacinda Ardern as preferred Prime Minister on a weekend poll, got even worse when she was accused of misleading the public over a claim that “no one escaped” when she was Corrections Minister.

Ms Collins made the boast during an address to an audience in the North Island city of Palmerston North.

In fact, Stuff.co.nz reports, while she was Corrections Minister between 2008 and 2011,

24 people escaped.

Asked by reporters on Tuesday why she had given the public false information, Ms Collins insisted she was joking at the time

“You want to actually understand a joke when you hear it,” she said. “When my eyebrow goes up, it’s a joke.

“It’s very OK to have a joke.”

One reporter asked how the joke was funny, to be told grimly: “Bone up on your comedy skills”.

Just to take the week further downhill, a young National candidate had to apologise on Tuesday after sharing a “Hitler” photograph of himself.

The photograph of William Wood, 18, showed him giving the Nazi salute and boasting a toothbrush moustache apparently painted onto his upper lip.

19% for National on election night? https://t.co/5gxhDtQqvi

— Ben Ross (@BenRoss_AKL) July 28, 2020

However as he was 14 at the time the picture was taken – and shared with friends – Mr Wood’s misdemeanour has been dismissed by politicians across the board as youthful folly.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters and Act leader David Seymour were both sympathetic. “We all make mistakes when we were young – I would think it’s part of the growing up process,” Mr Peters said. However, he added: “By the looks of it, he’s still growing up”.

Ms Collins defended Mr Wood against bullies who had targeted him online over the picture and said his apology was a sign of “immense maturity”.

“And I would like to say to him don’t worry, we’ve got your back,” she said.

Ms Collins is trailing far behind Ms Ardern, just two weeks over taking over as National leader. On Monday a Newshub/Reid Research poll showed her party had just 25.1 per cent of the vote against Labour’s 60.9 per cent.

If the poll was replicated at the 19 September election, Labour would be able to govern alone with a sizeable majority, and Ms Ardern would be the first NZ leader to do so since 1990.

Ms Collins has dismissed the poll as “rogue,” saying internal polling showed her party enjoyed more support than that shown in the poll However she has refused to make those results public.