Labour’s Ginny Andersen and National’s Mark Mitchell both see a bright future ahead for Chris Bishop, who is leaving Parliament after his 12-year career ended in a “soul-destroying” defeat to Andersen in Hutt South.
Speaking to Mike Hosking on Politics Wednesday, Mitchell congratulated Andersen on her win against Bishop, the incumbent MP, calling it a “hard-fought fight … that came down to the wire”.
Andersen said Bishop made a good effort over a “really tough” campaign, with both out door-knocking daily, knowing how “incredibly close” it would be.
“He’s hard working enough and smart enough that he could apply himself to just about anything and do okay,” Andersen said.
“I think there’s a lot of opportunities out there, whether they’re in New Zealand or further afield … I mean, essentially, when you’re a cabinet minister, you’re a project manager – you’ve got to manage a whole lot of different things to coordinate, so those sorts of skills are really transferable.”
Mitchell noted that while MPs choose to do public service through government, there are “lots of different areas in our country where you can make a contribution”.
“Look at the likes of Nicola Willis, Chris Bishop, Paul Goldsmith, and Gerry - I mean, there’s lots of things that they can go and do that would contribute to our country and I’m sure they’re going to do that.”
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