New Zealand First Minister and Northland-based MP Shane Jones says he wants to find out the “whole story” behind Labour MP Peeni Henare’s shock resignation, comparing the outcome to the dysfunction inflicting Te Pāti Māori. 

Henare, an MP of 12 years and former minister, announced yesterday he was leaving politics by confirming he would not contest his former electorate of Tāmaki Makaurau and would not seek a position on Labour’s list. 

Henare told the Herald yesterday the decision had been informed by losing the Auckland seat in the 2023 election and the “brutal loss” in last year’s byelection to Te Pāti Māori’s Oriini Kaipara. 

Henare said he had “no bad feeling” towards Labour, claiming he had been assured by the party he could have contested Tāmaki Makaurau in the 2026 election. 

Labour leader Chris Hipkins, who initially refused to confirm Henare’s departure or express confidence in him ahead of the MP’s public statements, said the party would miss Henare as a passionate advocate for Māori. 

Labour MP Peeni Henare speaks after announcing his resignation from politics. Photo / Jason Dorday 

Jones, speaking this morning after the opening of a newly sealed Haruru Falls Rd which leads into the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, questioned the circumstances around Henare’s resignation. 

“I think it’s important that the whole story comes out,” he said. 

“People have said did I know about it, I had no idea that Peeni was going to move on. 

“Peeni’s grandfather was our paramount chief of the north, the last commander of the Māori Battalion, dearly loved figure throughout all the tribes of the motu [country]. 

“I’m not across all the details, but I want to make sure that the story, when it’s fully told, that we focus on what’s happened because he struck me as a guy who had quite a large potential for politics.” 

Jones, a relative of Henare, wouldn’t elaborate on any suspicions he had as to what he thought was the “whole story”. 

Asked if he believed something untoward had occurred, Jones replied: “I’m going to go and find out what exactly has happened. 

“There’ll be the kumara vine that will inform me.” 

Jones said it was up to Henare and Hipkins to ensure a “very comprehensive account” was issued regarding Henare’s decision, given Henare’s standing in the north. 

Henare yesterday indicated he might not join his Labour colleagues at tomorrow’s pōwhiri for politicians at Waitangi, choosing instead to sit with the haukāinga or the home people of the marae. 

Jones suggested such an outcome would compete with the “breakdown of the Māori Party”, which last year expelled two of its MPs. 

“There’s quite a lot of volatility happening in Māori politics at the moment.” 

Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.