Three ministers are among the six Labour MPs who will retire at the 2023 general election.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Tuesday morning announced six MPs will retire at the next election, meaning they will stay in Parliament until then before leaving.
Ministers Poto Williams, Aupito William Sio and David Clark are leaving, as are MPs Jamie Strange, Marja Lubeck and Paul Eagle.
"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."
Ardern said she had conversations with each MP and minister, but they all "made their own call based on their personal circumstances".
"To each I want to say thank you, with special mention of Ministers. Minister 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," Ardern said.
"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."
Clark was the Health Minister between 2017 and 2020. He resigned after admitting to becoming a "distraction" during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Clark faced backlash after Newshub footage showed him pointing blame at then-Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield for an issue at the Government's MIQ facilities.
He was also criticised during the 2020 alert level 4 lockdown for breaching COVID rules by going mountain biking and driving 20km to the beach for a walk with his family when Kiwis weren't allowed to drive for recreation.
"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."
She was taken out of the Police Minister portfolio in June. Pressure was mounting on the Government at the time over a spate of ram raids.
Williams told reporters on Tuesday she had been an MP for nearly a decade and her Christchurch East electorate was "now in a place where someone with fresh eyes and fresh energy" was needed.
"It's an extraordinary privilege to have this job, it's been an amazing privilege to be a part of the Prime Minister's team and Cabinet too.
"For myself, I'm also wanting to pursue other interests while I've still got plenty of gas in the tank," Williams said.
Sio has been an MP since 2008 in the seat of Māngere, Clark has represented Dunedin (formerly Dunedin North) since 2011, and Williams has been the Christchurch East MP since 2013.
Ardern said the other MPs "have been such passionate advocates for their communities and are valued members of our team".
Eagle's retirement comes after he finished third in the Wellington Mayoralty race despite being a sitting MP in the region and considered a frontrunner. Until now the Rongotai MP has stayed mum on his future.
Lubeck stood for the Rodney electorate in 2017, but failed to win the seat. She entered Parliament on the list.
She then failed to win the Kaipara ki Mahurangi seat in 2020 but was again elected on the list.
"It's a tough job, everybody knows that and there's a lot of juggling to do," Lubeck said on Tuesday of her retirement.
"I'm based in a huge electorate and the travelling has been really tough on me and my family.
"There are some health issues with my family as well so I thought, yeah, it's time to put them first."
Hamilton East MP Strange told Stuff he's appreciated the opportunity to serve, but the role - including the need to be in Wellington from Tuesday to Thursday most weeks - has put "strain on our family". He will bow out at next year's general election.
Strange has also admitted he's "better suited for Government than Opposition", but while that could suggest he believes Labour is about to lose government, he's downplayed that.
"The polls are close, and I think the election will be close, but there is still a long way to go, and it’s too close to call," he said.
The latest Newshub-Reid Research poll showed Labour on 32.3 percent, compared to National's 40.7 percent. ACT was on 10 percent, while the Greens were on 9.5 percent.
On those figures, National and ACT could govern with 65 seats, compared to Labour, Greens and Te Paati Māori's 55.
Strange was first elected to Parliament in 2017 on the party list. In 2020, he beat sitting Hamilton East MP David Bennett to take the seat. Bennett has also announced he won't be standing again at the 2023 election.
Former Health Minister Dr Clark last week refused to commit to standing at next year's election and said he expected to speak to media shortly.
Labour won the Hamilton West seat at the 2020 general election. However, it flipped to National on Saturday night when Tama Potaka won a by-election. The contest was sparked by former MP Gaurav Sharma resigning after falling out with Labour.
