Peeni Henare and Chris Hipkins.
Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Labour leader Chris Hipkins says there is nothing further behind his colleague Peeni Henare’s departure, after New Zealand First’s deputy leader suggested there was more to the story.
Henare announced he was calling time on his 12-year Parliamentary career, citing exhaustion and a desire to spend more time with his family and on his future.
Earlier on Wednesday, Shane Jones said he was surprised by Henare’s announcement, and he was sure the “kumara vine” would inform him of more.
Jones said it was incumbent on Labour to reveal the circumstances.
“That’s up to them to ensure that there’s a very comprehensive account as to what’s happened to this young leader of Te Tai Tokerau, and why he, all of a sudden, is departing from the Labour Party,” he said.
“I mean, whatever we think about Māori leadership, Peeni Henare is blessed with the lineage of leadership throughout the north.”
Speaking on Wednesday afternoon, Hipkins said Henare had informed him of his intention to announce his retirement at Waitangi.
“I respected that, and I wanted to honour that. He indicated that’s where he wanted to announce to the New Zealand public that he was not going to stand again,” he said.
Henare had planned to make the announcement live on TVNZ’s Te Karere at 4pm, but Tuia News, another outlet, had got the story out first.
It meant Hipkins, while speaking about Henare’s decision to not contest the Tāmaki Makaurau seat on Tuesday, was confronted with questions on Henare’s decision to step down altogether, before a 4pm embargo that nobody knew existed.
“Unfortunately, someone jumped the gun and put that information out there a bit earlier than that, so I’ll own that. It wasn’t as tidy as it could have been,” Hipkins admitted.
Asked whether there was any substance behind Jones’ claims, Hipkins said “Shane Jones is just doing what Shane Jones does: mischief-making.”
Hipkins said Henare had made it clear to him “some time ago” that he was not sure whether he had the “hunger” to run in Tāmaki Makaurau again.”
“That was a real struggle for him. Losing that by-election hit him quite hard. So it didn’t come as a surprise, and he wanted to make his decision clear to people here at Waitangi, but he’s still working through the next steps.”
Jones also said if Henare did not join Labour for Thursday’s pōwhiri, it would “compete with the breakdown of the Māori Party.”
Hipkins said he understood Henare would be sat with the haukāinga, but that was not unusual, as Henare had often alternated which side he joined year-to-year.
“He wants to sit with his family tomorrow, you know, his whānau tomorrow. And given the announcement he made yesterday, I can completely understand that and I fully support him to do that.”
Senior National minister Tama Potaka also paid tribute to Henare, calling him an absolutely “formidable personality and politician.”
Potaka pointed to the influence of the Henare name around Waitangi, and respected his decision to step down.
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