Judith Anne Collins KC MP (born 24 February 1959) is a New Zealand politician who has served as the attorney-general and minister of defence since 27 November 2023.

In August 2014 Collins was compelled to resign following email leaks alleging she had undermined the head of the Serious Fraud Office whilst she was police minister.

Collins was removed as leader of the National Party by its caucus on 25 November 2021,[4] the day after she suddenly demoted Simon Bridges, a political rival, for allegations of making a since-resolved inappropriate comment in 2017.

In 2003, while in opposition, Collins campaigned for an inquiry to find out whether New Zealand troops were exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War and if so any effect this subsequently had.

[17] Despite previous inquiries stating otherwise, the committee established that troops were exposed to defoliant chemicals during their service in Vietnam, and therefore operated in a toxic environment.

She originally announced her intention to seek the National Party nomination for Howick, which comprises the urban part of her former Clevedon electorate.

[21] In 2009, Collins questioned the leadership of, and later refused to express confidence in, Department of Corrections chief executive Barry Matthews, after a spate of bad publicity.

[45] In December 2012, Collins revealed she had concerns about the robustness of a report authored by retired Canadian Supreme Court judge Ian Binnie, which recommended that David Bain should be paid compensation for the 13 years he spent in prison before being acquitted at retrial in 2009.

[47] Collins had provided a copy of the report to the police and the Solicitor-General and ordered a peer review by former New Zealand High Court judge Robert Fisher, sending a "34-point list of issues attacking the case" along with her letter of instruction.

This fact, combined with the circumstances around the peer review by Fisher, led to accusations from Bain's team and from Justice Binnie that Collins was not following an "even handed process".

[54] In May 2012, Collins sued Labour MPs Trevor Mallard and Andrew Little for defamation over comments they made on Radio New Zealand linking her to the leak of an e-mail from Michelle Boag about Pullar's case.

[56] In March 2014, Collins was accused of a conflict of interest after an overseas trip where she 'dropped in' and endorsed the milk produced by Oravida – a New Zealand company which exports to China – of which her husband is a director.

[61] In August 2014 the book Dirty Politics, written by Nicky Hager, revealed that Collins was friends with right-wing blogger Cameron Slater and had passed on private information to him about Simon Pleasants, a public servant at Internal Affairs.

[62] A 3News-Reid Research poll taken at the time revealed that 63% of voters believed Prime Minister John Key should have stood Collins down over this incident.

"[65] On 30 August 2014 Collins resigned her Cabinet positions following the leak of another e-mail written by Slater in 2011, which suggested she had also attempted to undermine another public servant, Adam Feeley.

[66] After the 2014 election, John Key left Collins off the "Roll of the Honourables" due to the ongoing inquiry into her role with Adam Feeley.

[74] Collins was endorsed by former National leader Don Brash,[75] and political commentators Duncan Garner,[76] Mike Hosking,[77] Cameron Slater,[78] and Chris Trotter.

[85] Collins faced criticism during her campaign for being out of touch with common New Zealanders after she severely underestimated the price of a block of cheese after being asked how much it cost during an interview.

Collins, although more popular than her predecessors Todd Muller and Simon Bridges, still significantly lagged behind Jacinda Ardern as preferred prime minister by 30 to 40 points.

[92][93][94] In mid-June 2021, Collins supported the Labour Government's apology for the Dawn Raids of the 1970s and early 1980s, which disproportionately targeted the Pasifika communities.

"[95] In early September 2021, Collins drew controversy when she described immunologist and science communicator Siouxsie Wiles as a "big, fat hypocrite" during a virtual conversation with a Pasifika group aligned with the party.

[98] Collins was removed as leader of the National Party on 25 November 2021 following a caucus vote of no confidence, which took place the day after she sacked rival Simon Bridges over a crude comment he made to fellow MP Jacqui Dean five years prior.

[103][104] In the 2023 election held on 14 October, Collins retained her Papakura electorate seat by a margin of 13,519 votes over Labour candidate Anahila Kanongata'a-Suisuiki.

[107] On 15 December, Collins was appointed King's Counsel by Christopher Luxon in recognition of "her career achievements and the responsibility she holds on behalf of the Crown".

[110] On 8 December 2023 Collins, in her capacity as GCSB Minister, joined New Zealand's Five Eyes allies in condemning the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) for conducting a series of cyber attacks on British politicians, civil servants, journalists, think tanks, academics, and other public figures.

[112] Collins delivered a keynote address on constitutional and rule of law challenges in the current global environment to Western Sydney University on 29 October 2024.

[113][114] On 12 January 2024, Collins expressed New Zealand's support for Anglo-American airstrikes against Iranian-backed Houthi forces in Yemen, which had been disrupting international shipping in response to the 2023 Israel-Hamas war.

Collins' decision was criticised by the lobby group Mission Homefront, who said that the "use of the temporary power undermined the crucial interdependency with civilian staff.

[128] In 2005, Collins voted for the Sale of Liquor (Youth Alcohol Harm Reduction) Act, a bill aimed at raising the drinking age to 20 years.

[138][139] She has won a mixture of light-hearted admiration and disapproval for her "tough image"[140] and tongue-in-cheek hubris, to the extent that she was indirectly referred to by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern as a "Karen" in 2021.