Former Minister of Finance, Grant Robertson has resigned from Parliament to take up a job as Vice Chancellor of the University of Otago and will be replaced by Mana MP Barbara Edmonds.
He said he was grateful for the privilege of being a Member of Parliament for 15 years, both as a minister and representative for Wellington Central.
“The chance to make a positive difference in the lives of New Zealanders in this way is not afforded to many people. I have given absolutely everything I have had to these roles, but now is the right time for me to move on to a new set of opportunities and challenges”.
Robertson has been a MP since 2008 and held the Wellington Central electorate until the previous election.
Prior to politics he was a NZ diplomat, with a stint posted to the United Nations in New York, and helped design Labour’s interest-free student loan policy ahead of the 2005 election.
He served as deputy leader under David Shearer and unsuccessfully ran for the party leadership twice. He was Finance Minister for six years and Jacinda Ardern appointed him deputy Prime Minister after the 2020 election.
In a statement, he said he was fortunate to serve with Ardern and Hipkins and had “huge admiration for how they performed their roles”.
“I know I leave a Labour Caucus in good heart, with strong leadership and a clear focus on the issues that matter to New Zealanders,” he said.
Robertson was widely expected to resign if the Labour party lost the 2023 election, but he opted to stay on while the party transitioned to opposition.
In October last year, he said that would stay for at least some “months” but would “make assessments” throughout the term.
The long-time Labour MP will leave Parliament in late March and start at Otago University in July.
He delivered six budgets and introduced legislation to reform the Reserve Bank, most of which will survive the change in Government.
Former New Plymouth MP Glen Bennett will take his place on the list, while senior MP Barbara Edmonds will take over the finance spokesperson role.
She was a specialist tax lawyer and policy advisor—for both the National and Labour parties—prior to entering Parliament in 2020 as the MP for the Mana electorate.
For a short time, she served in Cabinet as Minister of Revenue and has also held the Economic Development, Internal Affairs, and Pacific Peoples portfolios.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said she was a “formidable Parliamentarian with experience across nine portfolios”.
“Barb is not only incredibly clever with a broad knowledge-base, she also has the interpersonal skills to work with people from every background across all sectors… she will be a fantastic finance spokesperson and I’m looking forward to working closely with her in this role,” he said in a statement.
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