Chris Penk

Christopher Aidan Penk (born 1979) is a New Zealand politician who has been a member of Parliament in the House of Representatives with the National Party representing the western/northern Auckland electorates of Helensville and Kaipara ki Mahurangi since 2017. Following the 2023 general election, he was assigned the ministerial portfolios of building and construction, land and information, veterans, associate defence, and associate immigration, and then small business and manufacturing also in 2025. In 2026, Penk gained the defence and space portfolios, along with the portfolios for the intelligence agencies New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) and the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), and associate emergency management. In August 2026, Penk was dismissed from all his ministerial portfolios by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon after triggering an unsuccessful leadership challenge. Following his dismissal, Penk announced that he would retire from Parliament at the 2026 New Zealand general election.