Labour MP Adrian Rurawhe Announces Retirement from Politics

Labour MP Adrian Rurawhe has announced he will retire from politics next month. The former Speaker has been in parliament for more than a decade, starting in 2014 as the MP for Te Tai Hauāuru. He was Speaker of the House of Representatives from August 2022 to December 2023. He says he spent the summer thinking about whānau and church, and retiring now will allow him to be more involved. "I want to express my gratitude to the people of Te Tai Hauāuru, the Labour movement, and the countless individuals and communities I have served over the past twelve years," said Rurawhe. "I also want to acknowledge my whānau for their continued support. I would never have become an MP without them, and I will be forever grateful." Labour leader Chris Hipkins said Rurawhe was respected across the House in his role as Speaker, he was a valued member of the Labour team, and a passionate advocate for Maori. "I'd like to acknowledge Adrian for the significant contribution he has made to our team and to New Zealand. "We will miss him and wish him all the very best as he moves away from the political arena." His last day will be Waitangi Day and he will be replaced by Georgie Dansey. 'Loss' to Labour's Māori caucus Senior Labour MP Willie Jackson paid tribute to the outgoing MP saying it's "quite a loss" to Labour's Māori caucus and he was very proud of how Rurawhe conducted himself as Speaker. Jackson said Rurawhe was "one of those guys who seems to have the crossover," enjoying cross-party support, including from Winston Peters and the Prime Minister. He also spoke about the interest in the Māori seats this year, with Labour focused on winning them back. Speaking to reporters at the Labour party's caucus retreat in West Auckland on Wednesday, Jackson said Rurawhe wasn't in attendance, instead taking the time to speak to his family. "He's done a runner on us." Jackson said he was surprised at the news. "I thought he might have stayed around, just in case we become the government." Jackson only found out on Tuesday night, and acknowledged Rurawhe would know he'd try to change his mind. "I talked to him about being the Speaker again. "There was a lot of hope for him to do that, because he made such an impression in a short time." Jackson spoke of the way Rurawhe "rolled out a tikanga that was for everyone" but was "very much a tikanga Māori." "What I liked about it was it was embraced by everybody.It wasn't just for Māori. "It showed that tikanga Māori could be embraced by everyone." Georgie Dansey is next on the Labour list, and has been confirmed as Labour's Hamilton East candidate. Dansey said she had "big shoes to fill" with Rurawhe departing, but was grateful to be there. Māori seats Jackson said he hadn't considered stepping down himself, he was focused on "this year" and "winning the Māori seats back." "I haven't seen interest in Māori seats like this for many years," pointing to the turmoil Te Pāti Māori had gone through last year. "A lot of our people have decided that they're coming back to Labour in the Māori seats." Jackson wouldn't confirm if Peeni Henare would be running again for Tāmaki Makaurau. Willow-Jean Prime was likely to be the candidate for Te Tai Tokerau, but that also hadn't been confirmed yet. Labour was hoping to sign off their Māori seat candidates by the end of the month, Jackson said. He also said some of the candidates were "quite adamant" they didn't want to go on the list, and campaign for the seat only. "There's all those sort of strategies to sort out which will be happening." Jackson said there had been no conversations between Labour and Te Pāti Māori over the summer. It was pointed out to Jackson that Hipkins hadn't mentioned Māori once during his opening remarks, despite criticising the government significantly over the political term on the issue of race relations. Jackson said that didn't mean Labour's strategy would change. "We will continue to pressure this government in terms of their response to Māori. It's unacceptable the way they have attacked Māori," he said, but also pointed to workers, women and the rainbow community, saying every group in society had been attacked by the government. "Our record speaks for itself," whether it was the Treaty Principles Bill or housing, "we have attacked this government." "We will be unrelenting in that area. Just because Chris didn't talk about that this morning doesn't mean that the strategy will change."