An MP's farewell: Mark Cameron on health, loss, and fighting for farmers
ACT MP Mark Cameron gave his farewell speech to Parliament on 26 August 2026, telling the House he was "stuffed" because of serious health problems.
Cameron said kidney failure, acute heart failure, and the death of his son to suicide had taken their toll. His kidney function had dropped to 8 percent while he was an MP. He said he had dialysis treatment in his parliamentary flat. RNZ
Cameron is a Northland-based list MP, meaning he entered Parliament through his party's ranking rather than winning a local electorate seat. He has been a consistent voice for farmers within the ACT caucus. He used his final speech to ask Parliament to keep farmers out of the Emissions Trading Scheme — the Government's system for putting a price on greenhouse gas emissions. He also called for lower methane limits, for private freshwater assets to stay with their owners, and for winter grazing rules to be fixed. RNZ
These requests match long-standing ACT Party positions. The party has opposed bringing farming into the emissions pricing system and has argued that methane reduction targets are too strict given the warming caused by methane from livestock. Cameron's call to keep private freshwater assets under owner management fits with ACT's focus on property rights, and his push to fix winter grazing rules reflects a common complaint among farmers about regulations enforced by regional councils.
It is normal for departing MPs to use their farewell speech to highlight issues they care about and want future MPs to work on. The speech does not change any laws, but it is recorded in Hansard — the official written record of Parliament — and can be referred to in later debates.
The detail Cameron shared about having dialysis in his flat draws attention to something the public rarely hears about. MPs with serious health conditions have limited options for reducing or changing their duties. The Member's Handbook covers leave, but there is no formal system — like the flexible arrangements a regular workplace might offer — for managing ongoing medical treatment while doing the job of an MP. Kidney function at 8 percent is in the range doctors associate with end-stage renal disease, where dialysis or a transplant becomes necessary.
The broader context here is how personal health and parliamentary work collide. Cameron's decision to speak openly about his medical condition and his son's death by suicide is unusual in New Zealand politics, where MPs have generally kept personal and family health matters private. He joins a small group of sitting MPs who have talked publicly about serious illness or bereavement during their time in Parliament, and it raises questions about whether Parliament's support structures are enough for members dealing with ongoing health conditions.
Cameron's mention of his son's death by suicide adds another layer. Mental health and suicide prevention have had sustained political attention in Aotearoa, including cross-party work on a suicide prevention strategy. A sitting MP naming the loss of a child to suicide in the House is rare, and it is not something Parliament's usual procedures are set up to handle.
For the farming sector, Cameron's departure means losing a strong advocate while the Government is still working out its approach to agricultural emissions, freshwater management, and winter grazing rules. Whether his colleagues or future MPs take up the causes he named will be seen in the next parliamentary cycle. Cameron has now put his position on the parliamentary record, and those who follow him on rural policy will be measured, at least in part, against it.
