With the election campaign in full swing, it’s a pleasure to host Finance Minister and Deputy Leader of the National Party, Nicola Willis, for Episode 72 of Leaders Getting Coffee.

When former Finance Minister Steven Joyce resigned from Parliament in the aftermath of the 2017 election, his departure created an opportunity for a relative unknown to enter Parliament from the not-so-lofty position of 48 on the National Party list.

Her name was Nicola Willis. She had just lost the Wellington Central electorate contest to another future Finance Minister, Grant Robertson.

At the time, she was largely unknown to most New Zealanders. But she’d already completed a political apprenticeship that most new MPs could only dream of, working first as a policy adviser to Bill English and subsequently as a senior adviser to Prime Minister John Key.

For the next five years, she had to bide her time in Opposition. It was a period that gave her the opportunity to learn the parliamentary ropes, take on a wide range of portfolios and establish herself as one of National’s emerging leaders.

Then came 2023. National was able to form a government alongside ACT and NZ First, and Nicola Willis was appointed Minister of Finance.

On this episode of Leaders Getting Coffee, Nicola talks to Bruce Cotterill about being at the centre of the coalition negotiations that led to the formation of the current government. She also discusses the state of the government’s finances they inherited, and the rapid-fire decisions required during those early days in office.

There’s plenty of discussion about the performance of the government she’s been part of: the difficult decisions, what they got right, and what they might have done differently.

And then there’s the current election campaign.

Nicola and Bruce agree to disagree on National’s policy for the supermarket sector. And she is refreshingly open when asked about the possibility of National winning electorate seats at the expense of her own position on the party list.

This is a wide-ranging conversation with the Minister who has held the government’s purse strings for the past three years. It provides an informed look behind the scenes of government, coalition politics and economic management — as well as some insight into the person behind the portfolio.

Nicola Willis is bright, articulate and ambitious for the country. She also speaks candidly about the very real personal sacrifices that come with pursuing those ambitions in public life.

It’s well worth a listen.

Leaders Getting Coffee – Episode 72 with Bruce Cotterill and Hon Nicola Willis, Minister of Finance