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David Richard Cunliffe (born 30 April 1963) is a New Zealand management consultant and former politician who was Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from September 2013 to September 2014. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Titirangi and then New Lynn for the Labour Party between 1999 and 2017. He served as the Minister of Health, Minister for Communications and Information Technology and Minister of Immigration for the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand from October 2007 until November 2008.
After the defeat of the Labour Party in the 2008 general election, and the resignation of Helen Clark as the party leader, Cunliffe was appointed the party's finance spokesman and number three on the front bench. After Labour lost the 2011 general election and Phil Goff stood down as party leader, Cunliffe ran for the leadership, but narrowly lost to David Shearer.
On 26 August 2013, Cunliffe announced a second leadership bid after David Shearer's departure from the leadership and was elected on 15 September 2013. Following Labour's defeat at the general election in September 2014, he resigned as leader of the Labour Party.
Due to boundary changes for the 2002 election Cunliffe contested the seat of New Lynn, which he won. Cunliffe's party continued in Government for its second term and he was made a Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Ministers of Commerce, Finance and Revenue before being elevated to the Executive Council as a Minister outside of Cabinet in 2003. At the 2005 election, Cunliffe was returned in New Lynn with 18,087 votes (8,000 more than his nearest opponent) or 55% of the electorate vote, and also promoted into Cabinet.
Cunliffe retained his seat in the , , and s, during which the Labour Party was in Opposition. He served various senior roles, including as Finance Spokesperson, but was regarded as "a destabilising force" undermining the leadership of Labour Party leaders Phil Goff and David Shearer. Cunliffe was eventually elected as Labour Party Leader and Leader of the Opposition for twelve months in 2013 and 2014, including at the 2014 general election where the party received its worst result in 100 years.
Cunliffe's intention to retire from politics was announced by his successor, Andrew Little, on 1 November 2016. Cunliffe officially resigned from Parliament in April 2017, near enough to the 2017 election to avoid the need for a by-election.
As Minister for Communications and Information Technology he announced extensive pro-competitive reform of the telecommunications sector, including local loop unbundling and operational separation of then Telecom New Zealand.
In May 2006 Cunliffe was referred to the Securities Commission by the NZX for commenting on Telecom's future dividend plans, causing Telecom's stock price to drop. The Securities Commission found that no law had been breached and no action was taken.
On 30 June 2008 Cunliffe was conferred the title of Honorary Fellow of the NZCS (HFNZCS) by the New Zealand Computer Society, the professional body of the ICT profession in recognition of his significant contribution to the ICT sector.[1]
In February 2008, as the Minister of Health, Cunliffe dismissed the Hawke's Bay District Health Board over political, monetary and conflict of interest troubles. Napier Mayor Barbara Arnott and a number of members of the district voiced opposition to Cunliffe's move as many of the board members were democratically elected. Following the release of a Health Ministry-commissioned independent report into the matter, Cunliffe referred to the board as a "nasty little nest of self-perpetuating provincial elites". Speech video on nzherald.co.nz
After Labour lost the 2011 general election and Goff stood down, Cunliffe ran for the party leadership with Nanaia Mahuta on a ticket for deputy leader. Grant Robertson and David Parker also entered the race, but subsequently backed David Shearer, who won the high-profile race. Robertson became deputy leader, while Parker took Cunliffe's finance spokesmanship. Shearer retained Cunliffe in a senior role on the front bench, with the economic development and associate finance roles.
In November 2012 during a Labour Party conference, there was much media speculation Cunliffe would launch a challenge against David Shearer for leadership of the party. On the morning of 19 November, Cunliffe confirmed he was not challenging Shearer, and would indeed back him if a vote was taken. However, Cunliffe was accused of demonstrating disloyalty and subsequently stripped of his front bench position and his portfolios.
Cunliffe formally entered the 2013 New Zealand Labour Party leadership election during a press conference in his New Lynn electorate office.Cunliffe announces Labour bid. Stuff.co.nz (26/08/13, retrieved 26/08/13). His announcement came in the wake of a ONE News Colmar Brunton poll released by the current affair programme Q+A which showed Cunliffe winning the support of 29% of the eligible voters asked, and 32% of those polled who support Labour. Challengers Shane Jones and Grant Robertson were on 11% and 10%, respectively.Grant Robertson confirms bid for Labour leadership. One News, (26/08/13) After the first public Labour Party leadership selection process in New Zealand history, Cunliffe was elected leader on 15 September 2013. He won with the support of 32% of the Labour Party caucus, 60% of Labour Party members, and 70% of affiliated unions.
In a speech to a Women's Refuge symposium in July 2014, Cunliffe stated, "I am sorry for being a man". He was commenting on domestic violence against women by men. His apology was regarded as insensitive, with Prime Minister John Key criticising the remark as "a bit insulting to imply that all men are abusive".
With little time to make the structural changes needed to build a proper campaign and a party marked by continued infighting, Labour performed poorly in the public opinion polls during the run-up to the 2014 general election. It was, as Cunliffe was to say later, "the craziest and in some ways the most unfortunate campaign in recorded memory".
His performance in the leadership debates was viewed as mixed. Key claimed a win in the 2 September The Press leaders' debate after Cunliffe could not answer whether family homes held in a trust would be exempt under Labour's capital gains tax policy, but then went on to recover in the second and third debates.
Cunliffe's Labour Party received 25.1% of the party vote and 32 seats, its lowest share of the vote since 1922, while the National Party gained a plurality with 47.0% of the party vote, its best result since 1951. (2026). 9781760461362, ANU Press. ISBN 9781760461362 Cunliffe initially vowed to remain as the party leader, in spite of the poor election result. On 27 September Cunliffe formally resigned as leader but announced he was re-contesting in the 2014 party leadership election. On 13 October, he announced he was pulling out of the leadership race.
Cunliffe has expressed a view that New Zealand will become a republic in the future. During a debate after the speech from the throne on 4 September 2002, Cunliffe spoke of "Building a New Zealand ... where we journey together towards maturity as a nation, and to the Commonwealth republic I personally believe we will become before the Treaty turns 200".
In the 2018 New Year Honours, Cunliffe was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order, for services as a member of Parliament.
In February 2020, Cunliffe was also appointed as chair of the Selwyn Foundation, one of New Zealand's largest independent charitable providers of services to older people and their families.
In December 2025, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello appointed Cunliffe as chair of the ten-member Aged Care Ministerial Advisory Group.
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