ℂ𝕠𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕪 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕦𝕟 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕃𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕣

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕃𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕄ℙ 𝕋ā𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕚 ℂ𝕠𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕪 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕕𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕚𝕣𝕖 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕡𝕠𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔼𝕒𝕤𝕥 ℂ𝕠𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕒𝕕.

T

he seat opened up after former Government Minister Kiri Allan announced she would not be standing for re-election.

Tāmati Coffey cancels retirement to stand for Kiri Allan's seat https://t.co/85P5KBW6E2

— 🌺Mihingarangi Forbes (@Mihi_Forbes) July 30, 2023

Allan is before the court, charged with careless driving, after a car crash in Wellington a week ago.

Coffey says that "changed things" for him, having previously said he was leaving politics to spend time with family.

Coffey spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

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Labour MP Tāmati Coffey has reversed his decision to retire from politics to stand for the East Coast electorate.

The seat opened up after former Government Minister Kiri Allan announced she would not be standing for re-election.

RELATED:

Labour releases party list for 2023 election.

Allan is before the court, charged with careless driving, after a car crash in Wellington last Sunday night.

Coffey says this tragic event "changed things" for him, having previously said was leaving politics to spend time with family.

"However, the tragic events of last week which led to my colleague and friend Kiritapu Allan choosing to step down at the upcoming election have changed things significantly," he said in a statement.

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"The people of the East Coast need a strong, experienced MP who can hit the ground running and provide strong representation in Parliament. The East Coast has been through so much this year and it needs an experienced champion in Parliament.

"Whānau were my reason for stepping back and it is my whānau who have given me the green light to stay in politics, challenge for the seat, and to do my bit to support an area that I love that so needs a champion right now."

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