Street’s ‘no’ puts Huo in line as MP

Former Labour MP Maryan Street has ruled out a return to Parliament if Jacinda Ardern wins the Mt Albert byelection for the party on Saturday.

Street’s decision to step aside means Raymond Huo will become an MP again in the likely event of an Ardern victory.

A Labour win would allow the party to bring another list MP into Parliament and Street is next on the list. But in a Facebook post she said she was “happy to confirm” she would not be “taking up a place in Parliament” after the byelection.

“I have thought long and hard about this choice and have decided that I can be just as effective on issues dear to me outside Parliament as inside — perhaps even more so.

“Besides which, I have discovered weekends.”

Street, a former party president, is a vocal advocate for legalising assisted dying and said the issue had “gained a powerful momentum”. A petition in her name is being considered by a select committee.

Street could have been an uncomfortable fit for Labour, having recently criticised leader Andrew Little over his selection of broadcaster and former Alliance MP Willie Jackson.

Another former MP, Moana Mackey, was next on the list but confirmed yesterday she did not want to be an MP again.

Huo entered Parliament on the list in 2008 as Labour’s first Chinese-born MP, but failed to get re-elected in 2014 because of Labour’s poor showing.

It is understood Little wanted him back in the caucus to help Labour appeal to Chinese voters. Since leaving Parliament, Huo has worked at a commercial law firm.