I actually think Mallard has been the worst Speaker we've ever had and I think he rates about a 2-out-of-10.
And with his diplomatic posting now official, ACT leader David Seymour has come out firing, saying it's "an outrage" that Mallard has scored the job.
As soon as Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta formally announced it yesterday, Seymour put out a scathing statement saying: "To send someone with such a lengthy political rap sheet and zero diplomatic ability is an insult to our friends in Ireland."
Seymour went on to say: "He took the Office of the Speaker only to have the worst approval rating of any politician in modern history. Now he's being rewarded for his bad behaviour."
Now I don't necessarily agree that Mallard's being rewarded for his bad behaviour but I certainly think the Prime Minister - for whatever reason - is turning a blind eye to it. And if it was me, I wouldn't be sending him to Ireland or anywhere, for that matter.
That approval rating that Seymour mentioned was back in June when a 1News-Kantar poll found that only 17 per cent of people approved of the way Mallard was doing his job.
And the main beef people have with Trevor Mallard is his appalling treatment of the parliamentary staff member he accused of being a rapist - and the $300,000 it cost the taxpayer to clean up that mess. And his carry-on during the protest at Parliament earlier in the year.
Barry Manilow music screaming out of the loudspeakers and the sprinklers being turned on the protesters. I didn't have any time for the protesters but I thought the way Mallard handled things was appalling.
Judith Collins once said he was the biggest bully she had ever seen in Parliament. And I can't argue with that. I remember seeing him on TV recently when he appeared before a select committee at Parliament and he was grilled about his handling of the anti-mandate protest.
From what I saw, I thought he was menacing towards the MPs. And I thought he was just a bully-boy the way he barged through journalists when he left the meeting room.
Just awful, in my honest opinion.
Earlier today, Megan Woods was on Newstalk ZB defending Mallard. She was banging on about his 35-year political career and how he's held about 13 ministerial portfolios in that time and how his diplomatic skills got the Rugby World Cup happening in New Zealand.
She was saying it's not unique what's happening with him moving on to the job in Ireland because of the last five Speakers in Parliament, three have gone on to diplomatic postings.
Where she really got interesting - and started to really push it uphill - was when she started going on about the bullying behaviour not being the sum total of Mallard's career.
Which was a ridiculous thing to say. Because, of course, those things don't represent everything Mallard has done, but they do put a cloud over all the good stuff. And I didn't hear her say the same thing about her old mate Gaurav Sharma who, you could say, shouldn't be judged just by the monkey business that's been going on.
But the bit that made me laugh out loud, was when she said people acknowledge that Mallard has flaws, that he's a human being like the rest of us, and that New Zealanders see a bit of themselves in Trevor.
I think that would have to be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard Megan Woods say. Because I don't see anything of myself in Trevor Mallard. You might, but I don't.
And I think despite all the good stuff Megan Woods says he's done, the New Zealand Parliament will be a far better place without Trevor Mallard.
