National MP Tau Henare has paid tribute to fellow members of the Maori Affairs Select Committee as he announces his retirement from politics.
Mr Henare first entered Parliament in 1993, when he won the Northern Maori seat for New Zealand First.
The former Maori Affairs Minister has been a National list MP since 2005.
Tau Henare told Radio New Zealand there was some frustration and disappointment he was not a minister under National.
But he said he had chaired the Maori Affairs Select Committee and believed its members had done a good job with a big workload.
Mr Henare said he wanted to make room for young people and would step down at this year's election.
