Tremain to retire

Chris Tremain has announced:

Chris Tremain, MP for Napier, announced today that he will not be contesting the 2014 general election.

“I am proud of the significant achievements of this government led by Prime Minister John Key. Under his leadership New Zealand is now one of the strongest growing economies in the western world and has a very bright future. I intend to continue to contribute to this exciting future but now in the commercial sector of our economy.

“My family has been a huge part of my decision. I have three children finishing high school and I want to devote more time to them before they leave home,” Mr Tremain says. …

“The National Party continues to enjoy unprecedented support as a second term government, which means we are well placed to win a third term next year. In the last election, I had a 6600 party vote majority and a 3700 electorate vote majority, which I believe provides a solid platform for a strong National Party candidate to win Napier once again in 2014,” Mr Tremain says.

Chris is a popular and effective MP. Being an MP, let alone a Minister, with school age kids is tough. I’m sad to see Chris retire, but renewal is a healthy thing for a political party. I much prefer MPs to come in for say nine to 15 years, than be an MP whose only life experience is being a parliamentary staff member and then an MP.