Veteran Labour politician and Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his final speech in Parliament Wednesday evening before leaving politics for a new job at Otago University.
He has been in Parliament for 15 years, first winning Wellington Central in 2008, but his career stretches back to the fifth Labour Government as an advisor to Prime Minister Helen Clark.
Robertson twice put his hand up to lead the party while in opposition but was rejected both times. When a third opportunity arose in 2023, he no longer wanted it.
By that time he had been Finance Minister for almost six years and Deputy Prime Minister from 2020, including during the most tumultuous economic and social crisis in decades.
The fiscal response to the Covid-19 pandemic has overshadowed many of his other achievements, and may ultimately be the issue that defines his legacy.
While many praise Robertson for taking decisive action to stave off what looked likely to be a new Great Depression, others believe he spent too much and wracked up too much debt.
His big achievements outside of the Covid response included promoting a wellbeing approach to Government budgets and modernizing the Reserve Bank.
But other work, such as reforming the tax system, solving the housing crisis, and boosting productivity, remains unfinished.
Robertson’s colleagues have described him as being among NZ’s greatest finance ministers, while his opponents say he will go down in history as one of the worst.
His valedictory speech is an opportunity to define his legacy for himself. Watch below:
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