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teawamutunews.nz
APRIL 30, 2026
Kuriger: It wasn’t me
By Dan Tasker
Taranaki–King Country MP Barbara Kuriger is denying rumours she is one of five National MPs leaking information about Prime Minister Chris Luxon to the media. Last week Luxon put his National Party leadership to the test with a motion of confidence vote at a caucus meeting in Wellington, which he survived. But later in the week, Newstalk ZB named Kuriger along with Joseph Mooney, Andrew Bayly, Sam Uffindell and Tim van de Molen as the National culprits leaking information to the media. Kuriger, who attended Tuesday’s meeting, told The News she denies any part in the leaking allegations and is fully supportive of Luxon continuing as National’s leader. “(Luxon’s) the leader and we’ve chosen him as the leader and he’s gone through the confidence vote the other day, so absolutely I support him. We’re all there for the same reason; we have a leader and we support him on the way through,” Kuriger said. “I was really disappointed with Newstalk to put my name up there without first asking me. I’ve had a couple of mainstream journalists ask me in Wellington and I’ve just said categorically no. I only talk openly to the media, I don’t go round little corners. “I went back to the Hosking Show and said, ‘You should have asked me before you published my name, because I don’t know who your source was, but they’ve got it wrong. It’s misinformation,” she said.
National has steadily been on the slide in the polls, with most having them under the 30 percent threshold, which Kuriger believes is driving the uneasiness in the party as it moves towards the November 7 election. “I won’t talk about what happened in the caucus room, but I would say it was a pretty tense time. It’s public knowledge that the PM put himself up for a vote of confidence, that’s always going to be tense,” Kuriger said. “There’s a lot of people in caucus who look at the polls and everybody’s worried, everyone
wants to be back in government. There’s a lot of people that are on the list and on tight seats and there’s a lot of concern.” As she draws to end of her fourth term as an MP after being first elected in 2014, Kuriger has not been spared from the controversy and drama that often comes with politics. In 2020, she publicly defended her son Tony after he was found guilty of ill-treating cows while managing a farm in Eketahuna three years earlier. This led to Kuriger contesting a personal dispute connected to
her son’s case with the Ministry for Primary Industries, which was identified as a conflict of interest and resulted in her resigning from her agriculture, biosecurity and food safety portfolios. She was also in parliament following the golden years under former Prime Minister John Key, when National’s popularity tanked as leaders Simon Bridges, Todd Muller and Judith Collins came and went. “I was actually the senior whip in the party when Simon Bridges was up for a challenge and I know
Barbara Kuriger
Past and present
Anzac ceremonies throughout Waipa and the Northern King Country underlined the importance communities in the Good Local Media circulation area continue to place on the service men and women who have protected the nation for more than a century. Hundreds attended dawn and civic services in Waipa and hundred more marked Anzac Day at in-house services. Speakers noted ongoing conflict and Cambridge RSA chaplain Ants Hawes told the dawn service in Cambridge “war is just that little bit more real all of a sudden, isn’t it?” While acknowledging the past, services also acknowledged the present - in Te Awamutu Anna Swney, head student at Te Awamutu College spoke of the Anzac spirit and the importance of keeping it alive and learning the stories. • See further Anzac stories on pages 2 and 3 and at From left, Te Awamutu College head students Cameron Howells, Anna Swney, Maddison Millin and Zac goodlocal.nz Green pictured after the Te Awamutu dawn service. Photo: Jesse Wood.
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