By Christopher Finlayson. Published by Allen & Unwin, 2022. (NZD 37). Reviewed by Ann Hassan

Yes, Minister is the political memoir of the Hon Chris Finlayson, senior minister in the John Key-led National Government and New Zealand’s Attorney-General from 2008-2017.

It is a professional rather than personal memoir. We are not privy to the details of Finalyson’s early life, nor invited into his psyche, nor are former colleagues slandered salaciously.

But Yes, Minister is no tedious account, and the man is revealed as well as the politician. Whatever you think of his politics, Finlayson is shown as articulate, witty, occasionally biting and uncompromising, and with an abundance of good sense.

This good sense is compelling. When Finlayson offers a prescription for the National Party’s selection and training of candidates, the bullet-pointed list seems inarguably prudent, and would have prevented some of the nightmare MPs of the last few years. And when he (a Catholic) comments on the building and rebuilding of two cathedrals in post-quake Christchurch, Anglican and Catholic, he again sounds eminently sensible: “Why they cannot join forces and use the same cathedral escapes me [...] the Catholics are now going to spend huge resources on building their own cathedral — a waste of money in my opinion.”

Finlayson is respected especially for his work as minister for Treaty of Waitangi negotations. It’s easy to see why: Yes, Minister reveals him to be a pragmatist with a keen sense of justice — alas, a rare combination.

Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 281 May 2023: 31