John Tamihere has confirmed he will challenge his former Labour colleague Phil Goff to be the next Auckland Mayor.
The Waipareira Trust chief has been explaining why he has thrown his hat in the ring for this year's local elections.
"I can look the other way and make some money and start up some new developments, or I can stand up against what I consider to be an out of control bureaucracy."
Tamihere is a high-profile and often controversial figure.
He trained as a lawyer before serving as a Labour MP from 1999 and as a Cabinet Minister after the 2002 election.
He lost his seat in 2005 after inflammatory comments he made about colleagues, then had a spell as a talkback host before returning to run the Waipareira Trust.
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