Today the 49-year-old confirmed the worst-kept secret in politics, that he intends to step down as Dunedin’s Labour MP at the next general election and retire from politics.
"It has been a hard decision but I always imagined when I got into politics that I would do nine or 12 years," Dr Clark told the Otago Daily Times.
"By the time I’m finished I will have done 12 years and I think that is a huge sacrifice that my family has made.
"I am really proud of my wife and kids and I want to spend more time with them."
Dr Clark has always strived to keep his wife Katrina and their three children out of the limelight but two big controversies he was embroiled in as a Cabinet minister — his trying to take a long-planned family holiday just as nurses went on strike, and going on a family trip to the beach contrary to Covid-19 regulations — inadvertently put them front and centre of political debate.
"My family have always been incredibly supportive of my being involved in politics and the opportunity to make a difference, and I feel like they have been making sacrifices for a long time," Dr Clark said.
"Now it’s time for me to be around home a bit more and be there to really enjoy the good things that come with family life ... but I will be shoulder to the wheel right up to the election because I still have lots of things I want to advocate for [for] my constituents." Mr Clark said.
Dr Clark said Ms Ardern had not approached him to talk about his future; rather he had told her that it was time for him to spend more time with his family.
"They have been with me through thick and thin, this is about spending more time with them," he said.
"I never aspired to be in politics long-term and I think 12 years is enough for me."
Dr Clark was first elected as MP for what was then the Dunedin North seat in 2011, and served two terms in Opposition before being named health minster and associate finance minister when Labour won the 2017 election.
Although Dr Clark instigated many of the preventive measures which kept New Zealand largely Covid free for so long, his career was derailed by his twice breaching those regulations, transgressions which resulted in his resignation and return to the back bench.
Labour’s 2020 victory brought forgiveness for Dr Clark, who returned to Cabinet as Minister for Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Statistics, Digital Economy and Communication and State Owned Enterprises portfolios, and also as Minister Responsible for the Earthquake Commission.
"I felt like I still had a contribution to make and I feel really privileged to have been able to have that opportunity," Dr Clark said.
"I’ve relished this term and particularly to be able to get on with the grocery sector work and put some change into place that is a world first."
"My Cabinet roles have been hugely satisfying, and I have also enjoyed the opportunity to represent the constituents of Dunedin."
Dr Clark has administered his portfolios with little fuss for the past two years and market studies he sponsored into the supermarket and residential building supplies sectors have been strongly pushed by Labour’s leadership.
While he admitted the prospect of possible promotion to a heftier set of portfolios in the future had been tempting, he had no regrets about his decision to retire.
"I will be excited to, I hope, see another term of the Labour Government and that it will continue to make a difference for New Zealand.
"I am aware that there might be an opportunity that I am passing up here.
"But equally I feel like I have made my contribution and that there a lot of equally talented folks who have come into our Labour caucus and so I don’t leave worrying that there won’t be someone who can step up and take over the work that has been done."
The Labour Party’s Dunedin branch will now, unexpectedly, have to find a new candidate for next year’s general election.
First-term list MP Rachel Brooking, who lives in Dunedin and is a former Otago University Students Association president, would be a firm favourite for the nomination.
Dr Clark said as a Cabinet minister he had been proud of introducing climate change reporting, commissioning a national digital strategy, reforming the Statistics Act, and ushering through nearly completed work to reform the Earthquake Commission.
"As an electorate MP I’m proud of getting the planning and funding for the new Dunedin hospital across the line and also the Centre of Digital Excellence initiative."
