Shane Reti to retire from politics
Tuesday, 10 March 2026
Shane Reti has decided to retire at the upcoming election.
The former health minister served as deputy leader of the National Party under Judith Collins and acted as interim leader after she stood down. He is the current minister for science and innovation, universities, statistics and Pacific Peoples.
Reti entered Parliament in 2014, and held the Whangārei seat until he was unseated by the Labour red wash in 2020. He won the seat back in 2023.
The National Party has published a selection notice for the candidate for Whangārei with nominations open until March 26.
Reti denied he was standing down just last week.
Last Tuesday, Stuff asked if he would re-contest the election and was told he was committed to standing in Whangārei again. He was asked “Are you going to stand for re-election this year?” And replied, “Yes, I’ll be looking to support the National Party in the Whangārei electorate”.
If he stood for that seat, his return to Parliament would be all but guaranteed. Reti won the seat by more than two votes to one against his Labour competitor in 2023.
This week, Reti said he was careful with how he responded - and purposefully had not wanted to commit to returning to Parliament.
“What I said was, ‘yes, I’ll be supporting the National party in the Whangārei electorate during the upcoming election. And I will be supporting the National party in the Whangārei electorate,” he told Stuff, when asked about his response last week.
He said no one challenged him for the Whangārei seat, and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon asked him to stay on as an MP. “He still wanted me in Cabinet,” Reti said.
He said the decision came down to wanting to spend more time with family.
“The family have needs and wants of their dad and of their granddad,” he said.
After Stuff heard of Reti’s impending retirement and put questions to him about it again, this week, National issued a press statement confirming his decision.
The party indicated Reti wanted to return to his work as a doctor. Reti has remained a registered general practitioner since entering politics, and has spent summer breaks from Parliament volunteering his time as a health worker.
“I have always felt valued by the National Party and for that I thank the Prime Minister, local party executive, and my colleagues and staff in Wellington and Whangārei offices for their support over many years as Whangārei MP, deputy leader of the National Party, interim leader of the National Party and as a minister,” Reti said, in a statement.
“Highlights include progressing the 4 lanes to Whangārei and advancing policies that as Minister of Health expanded breast cancer screening for 70–74-year-old NZ women and established a third medical school at Waikato,” the statement said.
Reti was the third sitting National MP to confirm their plans to leave Parliament this year. Judith Collins would be finishing up in April, for a new job leading the Law Commission. West Coast Tasman MP Maureen Pugh also confirmed her plan to retire at the election.
Port Waikato MP Andrew Bayly also said he would not re-contest the electorate, but he did ask to get a spot on the party list.