Former government Minister Taito Phillip Field has died.
Field was an MP for Labour from 1993 to 2007.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern acknowledged his passing and his position as the first Pacific MP in New Zealand.
He held the Māngere seat and the roles of Associate Minister of Justice, Pacific Island Affairs and Social Development during his time in Parliament.
He then became an independent MP after being formally expelled from the Parliamentary Labour Party after criticising it in broadcast interviews. He was being investigated by police at the time.
Field lost his seat in the 2008 election.
In 2009 he was jailed after being convicted on 11 charges of bribery and corruption.
He was granted parole in 2011 and returned to his home in Auckland.
Field was born in Apia in 1952. He was the first MP in New Zealand Parliament of Pacific Island descent.
1News understands he died this morning.
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