Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the names this morning, saying the decisions were in good time to allow for succession planning ahead of Labour’s candidate selections and Cabinet reshuffle.
“I want to thank them personally for their work and for being part of our team. They have all made an important contribution to Government and the lives of New Zealanders,” Ardern said.
“These decisions come in the midst of Labour’s selection process for seats in the 2023 elections. MPs have made these decisions in good time to allow succession planning for both Cabinet and caucus.
“These retirements will have no immediate impact on Cabinet with a reshuffle not scheduled until early next year.
“I’ve had conversations with each MP and Minister. They’ve each made their own call based on their personal circumstances – which I both understand and respect.”
She had special mentions for the ministers.
“[Sio} has done huge work in the Pacific, been a fierce advocate for his community, and I will forever be grateful for his role in the Dawn Raids apology.”
“Minister Clark has, in recent times, led our work on supermarket reform and demonstrated his intellect but clear focus on protecting the most vulnerable through consumer finance reform,” she said.
“Minister Williams brought her experience in the community sector to Cabinet, working across groups as diverse as the construction sector through to the disability community. She also did a huge amount of work on the implementation of gun reforms.”
Aupito William Sio entered Parliament in 2008 representing the Māngere electorate. He has held the Minister for Pacific Peoples portfolio since 2017.
Sio was born in Samoa and came to New Zealand in 1969. Last year he revealed his family was subjected to a “traumatising” police dawn raid, which disproportionately targeted members of the Pasifika communities.
Sio was involved in the official Government apology delivered last year to those impacted by the raids.
Poto Williams became an MP in 2013 after winning a by-election in the staunchly-Labour Christchurch East electorate. Williams, of Cook Islands descent, became the South Island’s first elected Pasifika MP.
Williams has a background working on family and sexual violence issues and in 2019 became Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, becoming the first of Cook Islands descent to hold a ministerial role.
After the 2020 election she became Minister of Police at a time of calls for a reform of police culture across the globe, following the police murder of George Floyd in the United States.
However, this year under intense scrutiny from the Opposition amid a spike in youth crime and claims she was “soft on crime” Williams was replaced by Chris Hipkins.
Williams is currently Minister of Conservation and Minister for Disability Issues, as well as Associate Minister for Children.
David Clark had earlier confirmed he was leaving Parliament in a Facebook post, saying he would step down at the next election and hoped to focus on his family more after being an MP since 2011.
“I still love the job – but for me it is the right time to make a positive decision to be more available to my family.”
“By the time I stand down, I will have been fortunate to represent the people of Dunedin and its northern surrounds as the locally elected MP for 12 years. I will have spent the better part of each week, for around 30 weeks a year, away from home – advocating for causes I believe in, causes you elected me to fight. Over those roughly 360 weeks, as well as the remaining weeks each year that I’ve spent meeting with constituents in Dunedin, I’ve been working to make New Zealand a better place.”
Hamilton East MP Jamie Strange is also retiring from Parliament after two terms as an MP, telling the Waikato Herald he wanted to spend more time with his four children and to support his wife Angela who is a Waikato Regional councillor.
He said his job as an MP meant he had had to spend a lot of time away from his family in the past five years.
Last week Ardern had foreshadowed the day of retirement announcements, saying she did not want them to catch people by surprise.
They come as Labour starts its selection process for 2023 candidates – and ahead of the PM’s Cabinet reshuffle, which is likely to come in February next year.
MPs, especially electorate MPs, were asked to make their decisions clear so the hunt could begin for new candidates.
Clark is the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, the Digital Economy and Communications, State Owned Enterprises and Statistics.
He was Minister of Health from 2017 until he was demoted from the portfolio – and out of Cabinet – over some misjudgements during the initial months of the Covid-19 pandemic, including going mountain biking during the Covid-19 lockdowns.
The well-liked and genial Clark took the decision with grace and was moved back into Cabinet after the 2020 election in the new portfolios. As Commerce Minister he has dealt with the Commerce Commission market studies into the grocery sector and building supplies, and has also kept an eye on banks.
National Party leader Christopher Luxon is also due to deliver a reshuffle of his team in the near future - so far Ian McKelvie, David Bennett and Jacqui Dean have announced they will retire in 2022.
