Former Labour Cabinet minister Stuart Nash is returning to politics as a candidate for NZ First in the Napier electorate.
Nash will contest the seat he held for three terms as a Labour MP, before being sacked from Cabinet by then-prime minister and current Labour leader Chris Hipkins in 2023 following a series of ministerial breaches, The NZ Herald reports.
Nash, 58, first entered Parliament as a Labour list MP in 2008 before winning Napier in 2014. He was later sacked from Cabinet after breaches that included discussing confidential Cabinet matters with business figures and contacting officials over individual cases.
He held senior portfolios including police, revenue and fisheries during Labour’s time in Government, including its coalition with NZ First.
NZ First leader Winston Peters told the NZ Herald he believed Nash could return to Cabinet if NZ First is part of the next Government: “No doubt about it, yes”.
