Labour MP Tāmati Coffey will retire from politics by this year’s election after the birth of his second child.

He will continue as Labour’s list MP based in the Waiariki until October.

“After the birth of our second child, I’ve reprioritised where I want to put my energy and that’s into our two kids, Tūtānekai and Taitimu,” Coffey said in a statement.

“It has been an amazing journey to have identified a real problem in New Zealand with my surrogacy reforms, one that has affected so many families and their whakapapa aspirations.

“I remain honoured to have worked with a wide variety of families with lived experience, and surrogacy experts to create modern laws for modern families that I hope will come to pass before the House rises.”

It’s understood Labour will now have to re-open nominations for the Waiariki candidate selection as Coffey had been the only nomination.

Coffey referenced the “record investment” in Māori and locally-led housing solutions, including papakāinga from Rotorua to the Western Bay.

“For Rotorua alone, there’s also 260 more state houses, with 300 more on the way, half the amount of people in emergency housing than there was a year ago, and an active plan underway to exit emergency hotels,” he said.

Coffey entered Parliament in 2017 when he won the Waiariki electorate by less than 2000 votes, beating Te Pāti Māori’s Te Ururoa Flavell.

In 2020, Coffey conceded the seat to Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi in 2020 by a slim margin of just 836 votes - an achievement that saw the Māori Party return to Parliament.