A primeira-ministra Jacinda Ardern faz um importante anúncio sobre imigração. Vídeo / Mark Mitchell
Seis parlamentares trabalhistas anunciaram que renunciarão nas próximas eleições: os ministros Poto Williams, Aupito William Sio e David Clark, bem como os parlamentares de bancada Jamie Strange, Marja Lubeck e Paul Eagle.
A primeira-ministra Jacinda Ardern anunciou os nomes esta manhã, dizendo que as decisões foram tomadas em boa hora para permitir o planejamento da sucessão antes das seleções de candidatos trabalhistas e da remodelação do gabinete. Todos os seis sairão na próxima eleição.
“Quero agradecê-los pessoalmente por seu trabalho e por fazerem parte de nossa equipe. Todos eles deram uma contribuição importante para o governo e para a vida dos neozelandeses”, disse Jacinda Ardern.
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“Essas decisões ocorrem em meio ao processo de seleção do Trabalhismo para as cadeiras nas eleições de 2023. Os parlamentares tomaram essas decisões em tempo hábil para permitir o planejamento da sucessão tanto para o gabinete quanto para o caucus.
“Essas aposentadorias não terão impacto imediato no Gabinete com uma remodelação não programada até o início do próximo ano.
“Tenho conversado com cada deputado e ministro. Cada um deles fez sua própria decisão com base em suas circunstâncias pessoais – que eu entendo e respeito.”
As renúncias incluem dois ministros trabalhistas do Pacífico, Sio e Williams. Após a saída de Kris Faafoi no início do ano, resta apenas Carmel Sepuloni como ministra Pasifika no Gabinete – embora Barbara Edmonds, que é samoana, seja amplamente esperada como ministra na remodelação.
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Ardern reservou uma menção especial para os ministros.
“[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.
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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.
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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.”
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.
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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.
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 PM Jacinda 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.
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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.
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