Kiri Allan will not seek re-election for the East Coast electorate and says she has let her electorate down, her party down and all those who relied on her.
The former justice minister resigned all her ministerial portfolios yesterday after being charged with careless driving and failing to accompany an officer following a car crash on Sunday night.
"Many people have placed their trust and confidence in me as a political leader. I have failed all those that put their trust and confidence in me," she wrote on Instagram on Monday afternoon.
"Being the representative for the East Coast has been the greatest privilege of my life. But my actions have let everyone down.
"To the Prime Minister - I have undermined you and the trust you placed in me to do an important job for New Zealand. I cannot express the remorse I feel. I am so, so sorry.
"Second, to my colleagues and party members. I can't describe how full of anger towards myself for letting you all down. I am so, so sorry. Only a Labour-led government can deliver the strength and support our communities need. I pray my actions do not impact the political landscape - my actions were mine, and mine alone."
Allan also thanked the "awesome people of the mighty East Coast".
"I am so proud to have been your representative in Parliament, and I am so sorry to have let you down in a time when our region is hurting so much. I will continue to serve you as a MP until October and my offices are open with our arms wide open.
"I tried to dare greatly, my face marred by dust and sweat and blood and I hope that there were benefits for the people and places I represented by being in the arena. I erred, many times, and kept trying to battle for our people that needed the most.
"For now, it's time to step out of the arena. I'm not sure how long for, or if I'll return, but my focus is now on trying to find a different kind of strength to serve our people and our place."
She wrote that she needed time to heal and chart a new course for her life.
'I don't think she should stand at all' - Willie Jackson on Kiri Allan's political future
Questions are now turning to Kiri Allan's future in politics with her friend and senior colleague Willie Jackson earlier saying she should take a break and not stand at this year's election.
Allan's colleagues have expressed shock and sadness over the developments; Jackson saying "she's not in the right space" to fight for another term.
"I don't think she should stand at all. I think she needs to have a rest, have some time out and come back another day, but in the end that's her call."
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has already ruled out having her back as a minister under his leadership.
"Look, I think given everything that's happened ... particularly the offending over the weekend which was serious and should be taken seriously.
"That's not to say in the immediate aftermath of that we're not doing everything we can to support Kiri, we absolutely are, but at the end of the day it is still a serious offence."
Willie Jackson told reporters if he had been in Wellington on Sunday the incident may not have happened. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
This afternoon Hipkins ackowledged the "difficult" decision Allan had made to leave Parliament at the election.
Hipkins said he spoke to her at midday, when she informed him of her decision.
He said she was a talented person who was clearly going through "Hell" at the moment.
The party would make sure she was supported.
Hipkins was confident the candidate selection process for Allan's East Coast seat could be done relatively quickly.
Te Pāti Māori Allan's resignation showed Parliament was not a safe space for wahine Māori in Pākehā parties.
Co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said there was a history of wahine Māori entering Parliament who had not been looked after.
She said Parliament needed to shift from a patriarchal system to a Tiriti-centric system.
Jackson told reporters he felt devastated at the developments and questioned whether he could have prevented the car crash on Sunday night, had he been in the capital.
"I love Kiri. She's a terrific young woman. She rung me on the Sunday, a few hours before it all went wrong. She wasn't good and if I had been in Wellington it might not have happened."
He had spoken to her on the phone around 6pm "before it all blew up" and did not think it was necessary to send anyone to support her, he said.
"No, because with Kiri you can have a good korero with her and start off in a crazy, crazy sort of mode and then end up falling over in laughter, which is where we were at on Sunday and then of course it all fell apart later on."
Jackson said Allan had been "adamant" she wanted to come back to work and had demonstrated she could perform at the top of her game before personal stuff "got on top of her".
"We put a lot of support around Kiri and she's got that support now. I'm not sure if we could have done much more. She's a free spirit, she's passionate, she's a beautiful person Kiri but she's sick and she needs that support. She needs to get out of here and get away from politics."
Former National Party leader Todd Muller, who rolled Simon Bridges ahead of the 2020 Election before standing down over mental health issues, said the last 36 hours had been deeply sad.
"I've found what has gone on over the last few days for her really distressing. The challenge with this sort of stuff is you walk your own journey and people are really keen to try and see if there is any links or insights that you can have for other people.
"I can only speak about what I went through and what I went through was dreadful, absolutely dreadful. So when I see Kiri I just get a sense of a huge amount of sadness and some empathy because you recall back to what you went through and get a sense of how hard it is for her at the moment."
