New Zealand electorates

An electorate is a voting district for elections to the New Zealand Parliament. In informal discussion, electorates are often called seats. The most formal description, electoral district, is rarely seen outside of electoral legislation. Before 1996, all Members of Parliament were directly chosen for office by the voters of an electorate. In 2014 under the MMP electoral system, 71 of the usually 120 seats in Parliament were filled by electorate members, with the remainder being filled from party lists in order to achieve proportional representation (there were 69 electorates in 2005, and 70 electorates in the 2008 and 2011 elections). The 71 electorates are made up from 64 general and seven Māori electorates.

Distribution

Originally, electorates were drawn up based on political and social links, with little consideration for differences in population. Each electorate was allocated a different number of MPs (up to three) in order to balance population differences, but this was only partly successful. Eventually, a new system was introduced — each electorate would elect one MP, and boundaries would be drawn based on population. However, a special country quota meant that rural seats were allowed to contain fewer people than urban seats, preserving the inequality and over-representing farmers. The quota persisted until 1945.

Today, electorate boundaries are determined by the Representation Commission. The Commission consists of:

• Four government officials—the Government Statistician, the Surveyor-General, the Chief Electoral Officer, and the Chairperson of the Local Government Commission.
• A representative of the governing party or coalition, and a representative of the opposition block.
• A chairperson (often a judge) nominated by the other members, with the exception of Chairperson of the Local Government Commission.

Boundaries are reviewed after each New Zealand Census, which occurs every five years. The South Island is guaranteed to have 16 general seats, and dividing the number of persons in the South Island's general electoral population by 16 determines the South Island Quota which is then used to calculate the number of Māori electorates and North Island electorates. The number of māori electorates are determined by the Māori Electoral Option where Māori voters can opt to be in either a māori electorate or a general electorate. The percentage of Māori voters opting for the māori roll determines the percentage of the whole Māori population (of persons claiming Māori ancestry at the previous census) which is then divided by the South Island Quota to calculate the number of māori seats. South Island Māori choosing opting for the general roll are included in the population on which the South Island Quota is established. The North Island population (including Māori opting for the general roll) being divided into electorates of approximately the same population as the South Island ones.^[1] Electorates may vary by no more than 5% of the average population size. This has caused the number of list seats in Parliament to decline as the population is experiencing "northern drift" (i.e. the population of the North Island, especially around Auckland, is growing faster than that of the South Island) due to both internal migration and immigration.

Because of the increasing North Island population, the North Island was awarded an additional electoral seat beginning in the 2008 general election.^[2] Another North Island seat was created for the 2014 general election.^[3] Each time, the need for an extra seat was determined from the results of the most recent census, with the seat coming out of the total number of list seats. The total number of list seats has thus declined from 51 to 49 since 2007.

Although the New Zealand Parliament is intended to have 120 members, recent iterations have exceeded this quantity. Due to some parties winning more electorate seats than their proportion of the party vote suggests, overhang seats have awarded. In 2005 and 2011, 121 members were elected; 122 members were elected in 2008.

Special electorates

Over the years, there have been two types of "special" electorates created for particular communities. The first were special goldminers' electorates, created for participants in the Otago Goldrush — goldminers did not usually meet the residency and property requirements in the electorate they were prospecting in, but were numerous enough to warrant political representation. Two goldminers' electorates existed, the first began in 1863 and both ended in 1870.

Much more durable have been the Māori electorates, created in 1868 to give separate representation to Māori citizens. Although originally intended to be temporary, they came to function as reserved positions for Māori, ensuring that there would always be a Māori voice in Parliament. Until 1996 the number of Māori electorates was fixed at four, significantly under-representing Māori in Parliament. In 1975 the definition of who could opt to register on either the general or the māori roll was expanded to include all persons of Māori descent.^[4] Previously all persons of more than 50% Māori ancestry were on the māori roll while persons of less than 50% Māori ancestry were required to enrol on the then European roll. Only persons presumed to have equal Māori and European ancestry (so-called half-castes) had a choice of roll.^[5] Since the introduction of MMP, the number of seats can change with the number of Māori voters who choose to go on the Māori roll rather than the general roll.

Electorates in the 51st New Zealand Parliament

New Zealand electorates used since 2014, showing 2014 election results

This table shows the electorates as they are represented, as of 28 March 2015, during the 51st New Zealand Parliament.

General electorates

Electorate	MP		Party	Description	Land area
Auckland Central	Kaye, NikkiNikki Kaye		National	inner-city Auckland and Hauraki Gulf islands	486 km^2 (188 sq mi)
Bay of Plenty	Muller, ToddTodd Muller		National	central Bay of Plenty coast	776 km^2 (300 sq mi)
Botany	Ross, Jami-LeeJami-Lee Ross		National	east Auckland	35 km^2 (14 sq mi)
Christchurch Central	Wagner, NickyNicky Wagner		National	inner city Christchurch	32 km^2 (12 sq mi)
Christchurch East	Williams, PotoPoto Williams		Labour	eastern Christchurch	91 km^2 (35 sq mi)
Clutha-Southland	Barclay, ToddTodd Barclay		National	Southland region (excluding Invercargill) and south Otago and parts of Central Otago	37,499 km^2 (14,478 sq mi)
Coromandel	Simpson, ScottScott Simpson		National	Coromandel Peninsula and Hauraki Plains	4,838 km^2 (1,868 sq mi)
Dunedin North	Clark, DavidDavid Clark		Labour	central and north Dunedin	2,157 km^2 (833 sq mi)
Dunedin South	Curran, ClareClare Curran		Labour	south Dunedin and east Dunedin	2,678 km^2 (1,034 sq mi)
East Coast	Tolley, AnneAnne Tolley		National	Wairoa, Gisborne, eastern Bay of Plenty	13,814 km^2 (5,334 sq mi)
East Coast Bays	McCully, MurrayMurray McCully		National	northeastern North Shore City	47 km^2 (18 sq mi)
Epsom	Seymour, DavidDavid Seymour		ACT	east-central Auckland	20 km^2 (7.7 sq mi)
Hamilton East	Bennett, DavidDavid Bennett		National	east Hamilton	40 km^2 (15 sq mi)
Hamilton West	Tim Macindoe		National	west Hamilton	82 km^2 (32 sq mi)
Helensville	Key, JohnJohn Key		National	northwest Auckland urban fringe	1,408 km^2 (544 sq mi)
Hunua	Bayly, AndrewAndrew Bayly		National	Franklin, rural districts south of Auckland.	1,028 km^2 (397 sq mi)
Hutt South	Mallard, TrevorTrevor Mallard		Labour	southern Hutt Valley	338 km^2 (131 sq mi)
Ilam	Brownlee, GerryGerry Brownlee		National	western Christchurch	27 km^2 (10 sq mi)
Invercargill	Dowie, SarahSarah Dowie		National	Invercargill, peripheral towns and Stewart Island/Rakiura	5,495 km^2 (2,122 sq mi)
Kaikōura	Smith, StuartStuart Smith		National	Marlborough, Kaikoura and north Canterbury	21,677 km^2 (8,370 sq mi)
Kelston	Sepuloni, CarmelCarmel Sepuloni		Labour	Glen Eden, Sunnyvale, Glendene, Kelston, New Lynn, and Avondale	26 km^2 (10 sq mi)
Mana	Faafoi, KrisKris Faafoi		Labour	Porirua city and southern Kapiti Coast	314 km^2 (121 sq mi)
Mangere	Sio, WilliamWilliam Sio		Labour	Mangere, south Auckland	56 km^2 (22 sq mi)
Manukau East	Salesa, JennyJenny Salesa		Labour	Otara and eastern Manukau city	23 km^2 (8.9 sq mi)
Manurewa	Wall, LouisaLouisa Wall		Labour	central and southern Manukau city	34 km^2 (13 sq mi)
Maungakiekie	Lotu-Iiga, SamSam Lotu-Iiga		National	south east suburbs of Auckland city	35 km^2 (14 sq mi)
Mt Albert	Shearer, DavidDavid Shearer		Labour	west-central Auckland	20 km^2 (7.7 sq mi)
Mt Roskill	Goff, PhilPhil Goff		Labour	south-western Auckland city	21 km^2 (8.1 sq mi)
Napier	Nash, StuartStuart Nash		Labour	city of Napier	9,536 km^2 (3,682 sq mi)
Nelson	Smith, NickNick Smith		National	city of Nelson	536 km^2 (207 sq mi)
New Lynn	Cunliffe, DavidDavid Cunliffe		Labour	West Auckland	24 km^2 (9.3 sq mi)
New Plymouth	Young, JonathanJonathan Young		National	city of New Plymouth and Waitara	1,017 km^2 (393 sq mi)
North Shore	Barry, MaggieMaggie Barry		National	south east North Shore	25 km^2 (9.7 sq mi)
Northcote	Jonathan Coleman		National	south west North Shore	27 km^2 (10 sq mi)
Northland	Peters, WinstonWinston Peters		New Zealand First	Northland outside of Whangarei	11,552 km^2 (4,460 sq mi)
Ōhariu	Dunne, PeterPeter Dunne		United Future	north Wellington	116 km^2 (45 sq mi)
Ōtaki	Guy, NathanNathan Guy		National	Horowhenua and northern Kapiti Coast	1,429 km^2 (552 sq mi)
Pakuranga	Williamson, MauriceMaurice Williamson		National	east Auckland	23 km^2 (8.9 sq mi)
Palmerston North	Lees-Galloway, IainIain Lees-Galloway		Labour	city of Palmerston North	46 km^2 (18 sq mi)
Papakura	Judith Collins		National	Papakura and parts of Franklin district, Auckland.	238 km^2 (92 sq mi)
Port Hills	Dyson, RuthRuth Dyson		Labour	south east Christchurch and port of Lyttelton	92 km^2 (36 sq mi)
Rangitata	Goodhew, JoJo Goodhew		National	South Canterbury	6,087 km^2 (2,350 sq mi)
Rangitīkei	McKelvie, IanIan McKelvie		National	northern Manawatu and inland Whanganui region.	12,499 km^2 (4,826 sq mi)
Rimutaka	Hipkins, ChrisChris Hipkins		Labour	northern Hutt Valley	509 km^2 (197 sq mi)
Rodney	Mitchell, MarkMark Mitchell		National	Hibiscus Coast, Wellsford and Warkworth	721 km^2 (278 sq mi)
Rongotai	King, AnnetteAnnette King		Labour	southern and eastern suburbs of Wellington; Chatham Islands	836 km^2 (323 sq mi)
Rotorua	McClay, ToddTodd McClay		National	Rotorua District and Kawerau	3,075 km^2 (1,187 sq mi)
Selwyn	Adams, AmyAmy Adams		National	western Christchurch urban fringe and Ashburton	8,450 km^2 (3,260 sq mi)
Tāmaki	O'Connor, SimonSimon O'Connor		National	eastern suburbs of Auckland city	25 km^2 (9.7 sq mi)
Taranaki-King Country	Kuriger, BarbaraBarbara Kuriger		National	northern Taranaki towns, King Country and Te Awamutu	13,053 km^2 (5,040 sq mi)
Taupō	Upston, LouiseLouise Upston		National	Taupo, Turangi, South Waikato and Ruapehu districts	9,107 km^2 (3,516 sq mi)
Tauranga	Bridges, SimonSimon Bridges		National	central Tauranga and Mount Maunganui	59 km^2 (23 sq mi)
Te Atatu	Twyford, PhilPhil Twyford		Labour	Te Atatu peninsula and Henderson, west Auckland	30 km^2 (12 sq mi)
Tukituki	Foss, CraigCraig Foss		National	Hastings and southern Hawkes Bay	4,285 km^2 (1,654 sq mi)
Upper Harbour	Bennett, PaulaPaula Bennett		National	Massey to Glenfield	35 km^2 (14 sq mi)
Waikato	Tisch, LindsayLindsay Tisch		National	north Waikato	4,231 km^2 (1,634 sq mi)
Waimakariri	Doocey, MattMatt Doocey		National	northwest Christchurch, Rangiora and Kaiapoi	1,751 km^2 (676 sq mi)
Wairarapa	Scott, AlastairAlastair Scott		National	Wairarapa, Tararua District	11,931 km^2 (4,607 sq mi)
Waitaki	Dean, JacquiJacqui Dean		National	north and parts of central Otago	33,350 km^2 (12,880 sq mi)
Wellington Central	Robertson, GrantGrant Robertson		Labour	inner-city Wellington	144 km^2 (56 sq mi)
West Coast-Tasman	O'Connor, DamienDamien O'Connor		Labour	West Coast, Murchison and north Nelson regional coast	32,857 km^2 (12,686 sq mi)
Whanganui	Borrows, ChesterChester Borrows		National	city of Wanganui and south Taranaki coast	5,766 km^2 (2,226 sq mi)
Whangarei	Reti, ShaneShane Reti		National	city of Whangarei	1,512 km^2 (584 sq mi)
Wigram	Woods, MeganMegan Woods		Labour	south west Christchurch	37 km^2 (14 sq mi)

Māori electorates

Electorate	MP		Party	Description	Land area
Hauraki-Waikato	Mahuta, NanaiaNanaia Mahuta		Labour	Waikato, including Coromandel	12,299 km^2 (4,749 sq mi)
Ikaroa-Rawhiti	Whaitiri, MekaMeka Whaitiri		Labour	East Cape, Hawke's Bay, Wairarapa and the Hutt Valley	30,834 km^2 (11,905 sq mi)
Tamaki Makaurau	Henare, PeeniPeeni Henare		Labour	central and southern Auckland	575 km^2 (222 sq mi)
Te Tai Hauauru	Rurawhe, AdrianAdrian Rurawhe		Labour	South Waikato, Taranaki, Manawatu-Wanganui and the Kapiti Coast	35,760 km^2 (13,810 sq mi)
Te Tai Tokerau	Davis, KelvinKelvin Davis		Labour	Northland, north and west Auckland	15,493 km^2 (5,982 sq mi)
Te Tai Tonga	Tirikatene, RinoRino Tirikatene		Labour	Wellington, the South Island, Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands	153,928 km^2 (59,432 sq mi)
Waiariki	Flavell, Te UruroaTe Ururoa Flavell		Māori	Bay of Plenty and Taupo	19,217 km^2 (7,420 sq mi)

Abolished electorates

General electorates

Albany Akaroa Aoraki Arch Hill Ashburton Ashley Auckland Auckland East Auckland North Auckland Suburbs Auckland West Avon Awarua Banks Peninsula Bay of Islands Birkenhead Brooklyn Bruce Buller Caversham Chalmers Cheviot Christchurch Christchurch Country Christchurch North Christchurch South Christchurch West Clive Clutha Coleridge Collingwood Courtenay Dunedin Dunedin Central Dunedin Country Dunedin East Dunedin and Suburbs North Dunedin and Suburbs South Dunedin Suburbs Dunedin West Dunstan East Cape Eastern Bay of Plenty Eden Egmont Ellesmere Fendalton Far North Foxton Franklin Franklin North Franklin South Geraldine Gisborne Glenfield Gladstone Grey Grey and Bell Grey Lynn Greymouth Grey Valley Halswell Hamilton Hampden Hastings Hauraki Hawera Hawke Hawkes Bay Heathcote Henderson Heretaunga Hobson Hokitika Hokonui

Horowhenua Hurunui Hutt Hutt, Eastern Hutt, Western Inangahua Island Bay Kaiapoi Kaimai Kaipara Kapiti Karapiro Karori King Country Kumara Lincoln Linwood Lyttelton Mahia Manawatu Manuherikia Manukau Maramarua Marlborough Marsden Masterton Matamata Mataura Mid-Canterbury Miramar Moeraki Mongonui Mongonui and Bay of Islands Mornington Motueka Motueka and Massacre Bay Mount Herbert Mount Ida Mount Victoria Nelson, Suburbs of Newton Newtown Northern Division Oamaru Ohariu-Belmont Ohinemuri Omata Onehunga Onslow Oroua Otago Otago Central Otahuhu Otara Owairaka Pahiatua Palmerston Panmure Papanui Papatoetoe Pareora Parnell Patea Pencarrow Peninsula Pensioner Settlements Petone Picton Ponsonby Port Chalmers Raglan Rakaia Rangiora Rangiriri Rangitata

Remuera Riccarton Riverton Roskill Roslyn Ruahine St Albans St Kilda Selwyn South Canterbury Southern Division Stanmore Stratford Sydenham Taieri Taranaki Tarawera Tasman Taumarunui Te Aro Te Aroha Temuka Thames Thorndon Timaru Tongariro Totara Tuapeka Waiapu Waihemo Waikaia Waikaremoana Waikato Waikouaiti Waimarino Waimate Waimea Waimea-Picton Waimea Sounds Waipa Waipareira Waipawa Wairarapa and Hawkes Bay Wairarapa North Wairarapa South Wairau Waitaki Waitemata Waitomo Waitotara Wakanui Wakatipu Wallace Wanganui and Rangitikei Wanganui Wellington Wellington Country Wellington East Wellington-Karori Wellington North Wellington South Wellington South and Suburbs Wellington Suburbs Wellington Suburbs and Country Wellington West West Auckland West Coast Western Hutt Westland Westland Boroughs Westland North Westland South Woodville Yaldhurst

Māori electorates

Eastern Maori Hauraki Northern Maori

Southern Maori Tainui Te Puku O Te Whenua

Te Tai Rawhiti Western Maori

Goldminers' electorates

• Goldfields
• Goldfields Towns

References

1. "Calculating future Māori and General Electorates". Electoral Commission (New Zealand). 1 October 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
2. "Report of the Representation Commission, 2007" (PDF). elections.org.nz. Representation Commission. 2007. p. 4. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
3. "2014 Electorate Boundaries - Key Changes". elections.org.nz. Electoral Commission New Zealand. 17 April 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
4. "Electoral Amendment Act 1975". Retrieved 10 March 2014.
5. "Electoral Act, 1956". Retrieved 10 March 2014.

External links

• Electorate profiles, produced by the Parliamentary Library, New Zealand Parliament
• Map of electorates with boundaries, produced by the Elections NZ website, run by the Electoral Commission, the Electoral Enrolment Centre, the Representation Commission, and the Justice Sector.