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 destablising 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. Cabinet minister (2005–2008) Cunliffe was appointed to the Cabinet of New Zealand in 2005 for the third term of the Fifth Labour Government, initially as the Minister of Immigration, Minister of Communications, Minister for Information Technology, and Associate Minister for Economic Development. He had previously held the Communications and Information Technology portfolios outside of Cabinet. A Cabinet reshuffle in 2007 saw him lose the Immigration portfolio in exchange for the more senior position as Minister of Health. Immigration As Immigration Minister in 2006, Cunliffe initiated a major review of the Immigration Act 1987 which, under the oversight of his successors, resulted in the eventual replacement of that Act with the new Immigration Act 2009. Communications and Information Technology Cunliffe served as an Associate Minister for Communications and Associate Minister for Information Technology from 2003 before being promoted to the primary portfolios in 2004. The two portfolios were merged into a single ministerial role in 2007. 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