"And no, family violence is still not OK."
It earned him applause from the public gallery where his staff, supporters from New Lynn and family were watching.
He described that election campaign as "one of the most bizarre this country has ever seen."
"We had Kim Dotcom, Donghua Liu and dirty politics coming out our ears.
What Labour did not have enough of was time. Not enough time to heal our wounds, raise the money we needed or build the systems to get our message through."
But most of his sign-off was reserved for happier times for a man who has polarised his colleagues and the public throughout his career.
He spoke of his love of politics, borne from a childhood delivering pamphlets and political debates at the dinner table before he truly caught the politics "bug" as a diplomat on Capitol Hill. "It wasn't till I got back that I got to indulge it."
Cunliffe entered Parliament in 1999 and said his time in the Helen Clark led Government from 1999 to 2008 was a highlight, working with both Clark and former Finance Minister Michael Cullen.
He began as an associate minister: "It didn't take long for me to learn that the real job of an Associate Minister is photocopying - that is shorthand for doing anything senior ministers don't have the time or inclination for."
His proudest achievements came later and included overhauling the telecommunications industry - complete with the drama of the big Budget leak, in which a Parliamentary messenger slipped a proposal to unbundle Telecom to a Telecom employee at his cycling group.
He said NZ was now among one of the best served countries in terms of telecommunications in the world as a result.
The 2008 election loss was a shock to Labour.
"The Global Financial Crisis made sure of that for our Government, but we had also lost connection with our voters and our members.
It's been a long hard road back - as it is for most Opposition parties - but you also have time to reflect on what really matters."
He did not waste the chance to take a swipe at the current Government, referring to the pressure immigration was putting on infrastructure and describing New Zealand as a "speculators' Pavlova paradise" which had increased inequality.
"I remember my horror when I first found a family living in a garage in Kelston. We got the Dad a job and the kids are now at medical school. These days, you can't find an empty garage to park a car in in some parts of Auckland."
However, he said he was leaving Parliament with a sense of gratitude and was lucky enough to do so in his own time and on his own terms.
"I think I might be just about cured. I've done what I can."
He spoke to his sons William and Cameron in the public gallery and said he was looking forward to spending more time with them. "You face a world that is more complex and more challenging than those Babyboomers and us Gen X sitting in Parliament today."
He said to his fellow MPs that Parliament was not about the media attention or "the greasy pole of competition "
"This is ultimately a service job. That's what, for me at least, has made it such a privilege to be part of."
And so Cunliffe - Labour's Icarus who flew too close to the sun - signed off on a sometimes controversial and mixed career and slipped over to being simply a voter and constituent, with a simple 'Haere Ra."
