Andrew Little has been sought after by Labour to run on the party ticket for mayor of Wellington. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Former Labour Party leader and Minister Andrew Little is actively considering running for Wellington Mayor.
Little - who is currently a consultant for a law firm in Wellington - has confirmed to RNZ he is considering taking a tilt at the October election, saying he would have more to say soon.
He left Parliament following Labour's 2023 election defeat after first entering politics in 2011.
Little has been sought after by Labour to run on the party ticket for mayor - up against incumbent Tory Whanau, who is running on the endorsement of the Green Party.
He shot to the party leadership in 2014, but stood down just two months out from the 2017 election, making way for Jacinda Ardern, who went on to be prime minister.
During his time in government, Little held 12 ministerial portfolios - the most difficult of his tenure being Health Minister during the Covid-19 response years.
He was given the role by Ardern following the 2020 election and was the minister who oversaw the seismic overhaul of the sector, scrapping all 20 district health boards and replacing them with two new entities - Health New Zealand and the Māori Health Authority.
Other senior ministerial roles he held included: Minister for Treaty Negotiations, Defence, the Security Intelligence Service, Justice, and Immigration.
Six contenders, including Whanau, have already announced they plan to run for the capital's top job.
The other five consist of current councillor Ray Chung, former councillor Rob Goulden, conservationist Kelvin Hastie, businessman Karl Tiefenbacher, and Wellington Live's Graham Bloxham.
Despite the news Little was considering running for Wellington's top job, Whanau told RNZ she was the right person for it.
"Wellingtonians need continuity right now. I also want to continue our massive progress on water infrastructure, affordable housing, climate initiatives and to continue leading a diverse and inclusive city."
Whanau said having several candidates for the mayoralty was good for democracy.
"I also respect Andrew Little from my time at Parliament, especially when he stepped aside as leader for the Labour Party."
But she said to keep up momentum toward a future-focused city, she was the best candidate for the role.
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told RNZ whilst he was not giving an endorsement, he believed that Andrew Little would beat Tory Whanau if he did run.
"He would be a whole lot better, he's got a whole lot more experience and he's got more common sense."
Peters said despite former Wellington Mayor Andy Foster being in New Zealand First's caucus, the party does not involve itself in local government.
On the question of whether Peters could work with Little as Wellington's Mayor he said that it was one of the "brighter" pieces of news for the city in a long time.
Labour Party President Jill Day told RNZ she was not in a position to comment on the matter at this stage.
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