Act Party chief of staff Andrew Ketels resigns after 12 years in Parliament

Andrew Ketels joined David Seymour's (pictured) office in 2017. Photo / RNZ, Marika Khabazi

By RNZ

The Act Party’s chief of staff has announced his resignation, after more than a decade in Parliament.

In a LinkedIn post, Andrew Ketels said he felt “very fortunate” to have worked at Parliament for 12 years, for five ministers, and as Act’s chief of staff for five years.

“There really is no place like it, but I’m looking forward to making a bit more time for my two boys,” he said.

Ketels said he was “extremely proud” of how far the party had come over the last eight years, “from a party struggling to make the 6pm news and polling below 1% to a caucus of 11 MPs and sitting at the Cabinet table”.

He said he would be finishing up this month “to move on to my next challenge”.

Prior to joining David Seymour’s office in 2017, Ketels had worked for National MPs Louise Upston and Maggie Barry.

Ketels is not the only party chief of staff to step down this year, after the Greens’ Eliza Prestidge-Oldfield resigned in September.

She was replaced by former Green MP Kevin Hague, who started in the role last month.

– RNZ