Nicolas Rex Smith[1] (born 24 December 1964)[2] is a New Zealand politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the National Party from 1990 to 2021.

[3] Following his defeat in the Nelson electorate in the 2020 election, he served as a list MP for less than a year before retiring from parliament on 10 June 2021 after multiple allegations of bullying were made against him.

As well as the full ministerial posts mentioned below, Smith has also been an Associate Minister of the Immigration, Social Welfare and Treaty Negotiation portfolios.

The Speaker, Jonathan Hunt, held that contempt of court was insufficient to warrant expulsion from Parliament, as it did not fall within the statutory definition of a crime.

[2] In April 2010, The New Zealand Herald reported that Smith had his legal fees for two separate defamation cases in 1999 and 2005 paid by the taxpayer.

In May 2005, Smith, while criticising the Labour Government's proposed carbon tax, stated to Parliament that the National Party intended to move to a comprehensive emissions trading permit system.

In one speech, he stated there was no question that the destabilising of the Earth's climate, caused by increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, was the “number one environmental issue”.

[31] On 24 September 2009, Smith introduced the Climate Change Response (Moderated Emissions Trading) Amendment Bill for its first reading in Parliament.

As it is a complex diabolical problem with huge economic implications for societies based on fossil fuel use, climate change policies must be substantive and realistic.

[35] In accepting the resignation, John Key said "it's quite clear he should have made his conflict of interest also known, he shouldn't have had anything to do with the complainant, he should have delegated that responsibility as other ministers do".

[2] Nick Smith was re-elected in Nelson during the 2017 general election, defeating Labour candidate Rachel Boyack by 4,283 votes.

[41] He became National's Spokesperson for Electoral Reform and State Services (including Open Government) portfolios in the Shadow Cabinet of Simon Bridges.

[46] Smith, in his capacity as National's electoral reform spokesperson, criticised in March 2019 the Labour members of Parliament's Justice Select Committee for blocking China expert and political scientist Anne-Marie Brady from testifying at a select committee hearing about interference from the Chinese Communist Party and its local proxies in the 2017 general election.

[52][53] Smith had also been named on two earlier occasions: in 2001 by Chairperson of the Committee of the Whole House Geoff Braybrooke,[54] and in 2003 by Speaker Jonathan Hunt.

[58] During the 2020 New Zealand general election, Smith lost his seat in Nelson to Labour candidate Rachel Boyack by a final margin of 4,525 votes.

[60] Owing to the resignation of fellow National MP David Carter at the 2020 general election,[61] Smith became the sponsor of a private member's bill seeking to repeal the controversial Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Act 2018.

Smith's member's bill was defeated during its second reading on 9 June 2021 when the Labour Party used its outright majority to block its passage.

In his statement he said that he had decided some time earlier that he would not serve the full parliamentary term, as following the loss of his electorate seat, he had found that being a list MP "is just not me," and there had also been "recent changes in family circumstances which require me to give greater support."

"[4] 1News reported that "Smith had a complaint from a male staffer saying he was being bullied by the veteran MP,"[5] while the New Zealand Herald understood the altercation to be "with a young staff member who had worked there for less than a year prior to the incident.

[64] Former staffers claimed that Smith's behaviour was well known to everyone in parliament, including all National Party leaders as far back as Jim Bolger.

He further suggested that Collins was likely to have known of the incident since it occurred in July 2020, and noted that Smith's presumptive replacement in Parliament, Harete Hipango, had told the Whanganui Chronicle that experienced political figures had briefed her that it was only a matter of time before she returned.

[76] In early April 2024, Smith opposed calls to ban alcohol advertising at sports games, telling AM "that the economic benefits for the region outweigh the "minor issue" of concerns about social harm.

"[77] In early May 2024, Smith stated that he had been reassured by Crown agency Te Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand) that changes to the long-awaited rebuild of Nelson Hospital would address the shortage of beds and seismic issues at the facility.

[82] In his valedictory speech in 2021 he said that this vote was “an issue I got wrong,” a change of view that he credited in part to family circumstances, and he apologised "to New Zealand's LGBT+ community.