Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
With the 2026 General Election looming, Parliament has begun the ritual of farewell speeches from MPs choosing not to contest another term.
Known in parliamentary parlance as valedictory statements, the year's first was delivered this week by former Speaker of the House Adrian Rurawhe - albeit reluctantly.
Although this parliamentary term has already seen six valedictory statements (and nearly twice as many departures), election years tend to bring a cascade of them, as MPs decide to hang their boots up. Rurawhe leaves Parliament with the honorific 'Right Honourable', a distinction few MPs can claim - it is now awarded only to prime ministers, speakers, chief justices and governors-general.
Despite that honorific, the former MP for Te
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