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Labour MP George Hawkins says he has no plans to retire at the next election. Mr Hawkins, MP for Manurewa, yesterday said he would stand again in 2008, after reports he could be one of up to eight MPs pushed aside to make way for new blood. He said his electorate office in Manurewa, which he holds by a 10,157-vote majority, was one of the busiest in New Zealand.
The Dominion Post reported yesterday Prime Minister Helen Clark had asked party bosses to find winnable list spaces for eight fresh faces. It said Mr Hawkins, a former police minister, might come under pressure to retire.
But if Mr Hawkins chooses to stay on, Labour would face a fight to drop him as its Manurewa flag-bearer.
- NZPA
