Peeni Henare ‘Stepping Back’, Won’t Be Contesting Tāmaki Makaurau Seat At Election

Lillian
Hanly, Political reporter

Senior
Labour MP Peeni Henare is “taking a step back from
politics”, saying the time has come to put his energy
elsewhere.

Earlier on Tuesday, the former minister
confirmed to RNZ he would not be contesting the Tāmaki
Makaurau seat this year.

But in an interview with
Māori start-up Tuia News, Henare went further, revealing he
would step down after 12 years in Parliament, six of them as
a minister across multiple portfolios.

He told the
outlet there were many other issues within Te Ao Māori he
wanted to focus on, including in Te Tai Tokerau and for
Ngāpuhi.

Henare noted the energy required to be
successful in election year, and the recent resignation of
his colleague Adrian Rurawhe. He said he realised he was the
only one left.

“Kua tae te wā,” Henare said. The time
had come.

Both Henare and the Labour Party confirmed
the decision not to seek re-election around 3pm on
Tuesday.

“I have thought long and hard about this over
the summer and decided not to seek the nomination for
Tāmaki Makaurau again or a place on the Labour Party list,”
Henare said in a statement.

“Last year was tough after
losing the by-election and after careful consideration and
kōrero with my whānau over the break, I have decided that
it is time for me to take a step back from
politics.

“It’s time to focus on my family, my
wellbeing and my future”.

It stated Henare would leave
Parliament in the coming weeks.

Speaking to RNZ at
Waitangi, Henare said he simply “didn’t have enough in the
tank” to carry on but intended to still have an influence
outside Parliament.

“I know that people have said that
I could have risen to the role of Prime Minister, but what I
can say is: that takes a huge amount of energy and a huge
amount of commitment, and after 12 years, I’m
exhausted.”

Henare said he had already received
messages of shock from Ngāpuhi but was confident that
Labour would still make a strong case to Māori this
election.

He told RNZ he wanted to announce his
decision at his home patch at Waitangi.

“Waitangi is
my home. It’s a place where my politics started… it’s a
place where I grew up and it’s amongst my people.”

In
a separate media conference later in the day, leader Chris
Hipkins acknowledged Henare as a “staunch and passionate
advocate for Māori” and a former senior minister who
“contributed enormously” across a range of
portfolios.

“We will miss him and we wish him all the
very best for his future.”

Hipkins said Henare’s
departure was a loss and an opportunity: “When you say
goodbye to someone who’s been around a long time, yes, you
lose their experience and their perspective, but you gain
the opportunity for renewal.”

He denied that the
announcement has been mismanaged after Henare’s announcement
was revealed earlier than intended.

“I let people have
their space to make their announcements, and that’s what
I’ve done here,” Hipkins said.

“Somebody, I think,
jumped the gun and put some material out there earlier than
had previously been planned.”

A decade in
Parliament

Henare entered Parliament in 2014, winning
the the Tāmaki Makaurau seat over the Māori party. He held
onto the seat for nearly a decade, before being ousted by Te
Pāti Māori’s Takutaki Tarsh Kemp in 2023 by a slim
margin.

He contested the seat in the Tāmaki Makaurau
by-election in 2025, following Kemp’s death, but lost
to Oriini Kaipara who received around twice as many
votes.

During the by-election he batted away
suggestions of a Labour leadership
bid, but didn’t rule it out.

At the time Henare
said Hipkins, the current leader, had his full
support.

During the previous Labour government, he
held portfolios such as Defence, Whānau Ora, Civil Defence,
Tourism and
ACC.

© Scoop Media