Auckland Mayor Phil Goff will retire from politics and says he will not be seeking re-election this year.
Photo: Ricky Wilson / Stuff
In a statement, Goff said it's time to pass the baton to a new generation of leadership.
He said it's more than 40 years since he was first elected to office as MP for Roskill in 1981.
"It has been an absolute privilege to serve two terms as the Mayor of Auckland, the city I grew up in and that I love.
Goff thanked the people of Auckland, his wife and family and Deputy Mayor Bill Cashmore.
"While the pandemic has created huge challenges, the city has made real progress over the last five and half years. We have made the biggest investments Auckland has ever seen in infrastructure for transport and water. This has reversed decades of underinvestment, where infrastructure spending did not keep up with population growth."
"We have taken big strides towards creating a sustainable environment, with measures to end the century-long problem of wastewater spilling onto our beaches and into our harbours, steps to contain the spread of kauri dieback, and predator control to revive our native bush and birdlife. Over 2 million native trees have been planted as part of the Mayor's Million Trees campaign, and the current budget proposes strong steps to tackle climate change.
"We have also implemented a living wage for council employees and our cleaning contractors.
"As Mayor, I am proud that I have been able to lead councillors to work collaboratively and constructively to meet the challenges of the pandemic and work towards our vision of creating a sustainable, inclusive and world-class city."
Goff said he would continue to give the role of mayor his full energy and commitment for the next seven months and would consider options for his future in due course.
Goff resigned his trade union job upon winning the Roskill electorate in 1981, and became Cabinet minister three years later in David Lange's Labour government.
After stints out of Parliament and in Opposition he returned to government under the leadership of Helen Clark, including helping steer the free trade agreement with China and New Zealand's response to the 11 September terror attacks.
He took over the leadership of Labour after the party lost the 2008 election, and helmed it until 2011, championing a capital gains tax. He resigned after losing the 2011 election, the party gaining only 34 percent of the vote, and was succeeded by David Shearer.
He ran for mayor of Auckland in 2016, winning nearly 50 percent of the vote, and won again in 2019 with a similar proportionality.
