Former National minister Andrew Bayly won't seek re-election

A former National minister won't seek re-election this year, after previously saying he would think about running as a list-only candidate.

As recently as March, Andrew Bayly said he would not stand in the Port Waikato seat, but wasn't planning to retire from Parliament altogether.

The MP said he intended to relocate to the South Island later this year, and so it was appropriate he step aside to allow for a candidate "embedded" in the electorate.

But Bayly told RNZ at the party's annual conference in Wellington this weekend he'd told the party "a while ago" he wouldn't be seeking a list seat.

He said it was "no big deal" and he and his wife decided to pursue a different path.

Bayly first won the then-Hunua electorate in 2014, holding the seat in 2017, 2020, and a 2023 by-election caused by the death of the ACT Party candidate.

He rose as high as third in the National Party ranks following a 2020 reshuffle, when then-leader Judith Collins made him shadow treasurer.

He became a minister outside Cabinet in 2023, with the commerce and consumer affairs, statistics, and small business and manufacturing portfolios.

In 2024, he came under fire for repeatedly calling a worker a "loser" during a business visit.

In February 2025, he resigned from all of his ministerial positions, after what he said was an "animated discussion" that ended with him putting a hand on a staffer.

He has most recently been Chair of the Justice select committee.