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West Coast-Tasman

West Coast-Tasman is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate, currently held by Maureen Pugh of the New Zealand National Party as of the 2023 general election. West Coast-Tasman is the largest general electorate in the entire country, with an area larger than the entirety of Belgium.[1] It comprises the entirety of Te Tai Poutini and the Tasman District, as well as Brightwater in suburban Nelson.

Historically it has often been regarded as one of the safest New Zealand Labour Party seats in the entire country.[2][3] From its creation for the 1996 election until 2023, it was held by Damien O'Connor of the Labour Party, with the exception of one parliamentary term under National's Chris Auchinvole (between 2008 and 2011). Pugh's narrow victory in 2023 (915 votes) was considered a major upset, with the third-place independent candidacy of Patrick Phelps splitting the vote in her favour.[4][5]

Population centres

West Coast-Tasman is the largest general electorate in New Zealand, covering 32,758 km2 (12,648 sq mi).[6] It is one of the longest. The Representation Commission last adjusted the boundaries in the 2007 review, which first applied at the 2008 election, when the northern boundary moved closer to Nelson, and Wakefield, Foxhill and Belgrove were added.[7] The electorate was not changed in the 2013/14 review.[8] Brightwater was added from Nelson at the 2020 redistribution.[9]

The electorate includes the following population centres:

History

The electorate was formed in 1996 for the mixed-member proportional (MMP) voting system by combining the former Tasman and West Coast electorates.

Damien O'Connor was the first representative and he held the electorate until the 2008 general election, when he was beaten by National candidate Chris Auchinvole, who had previously been a list MP. Auchinvole's majority was 971.[10] His position on the Labour Party list meant that O'Connor couldn't return to Parliament immediately. When the list MP Michael Cullen retired in May 2009, O'Connor regained his position as Member of the House of Representatives because he was the highest-ranked candidate on the list not already an MP.[11] In contrast to the overall trend, he regained the electorate in the 2011 election.[12]

Auchinvole retired from politics at the end of the 2011–2014 parliamentary term, and former Mayor of Westland District, Maureen Pugh, gained the nomination for the National Party.[13][14] O'Connor was once again successful. Based on preliminary results for the 2014 election, Pugh was the lowest-ranked National Party list member who was returned to Parliament,[15][16] but when the final results were released two weeks later, National had lost one list seat and Pugh did not get returned to Parliament.[17]

Members of Parliament

West Coast-Tasman has been represented by two electorate MPs so far:

Key

  Labour   National   Green

List MPs

Members of Parliament elected from party lists in elections where that person also unsuccessfully contested the West Coast-Tasman electorate. Unless otherwise stated, all MPs terms began and ended at general elections.

1In the 2008 election Damien O'Connor's list position of 37 meant he was not returned until Michael Cullen resigned in May 2009.
2Kevin Hague resigned from Parliament on 7 October 2016.
3Maureen Pugh's list position of 52 meant she became elected after Tim Groser resigned in December 2015. She assumed office in early 2016 and was not returned to Parliament at the 2017 election, until the resignation of Bill English.
4Maureen Pugh's list position of 44 meant she became elected after Bill English resigned in February 2018. She assumed office in early 2018.

Election results

2023 election

2020 election

2017 election

2014 election

2011 election

Electorate (as at 26 November 2011): 44,556[23]

2008 election

2005 election

1999 election

Refer to Candidates in the New Zealand general election 1999 by electorate#West Coast-Tasman for a list of candidates.

Table footnotes

  1. ^ Maureen Pugh's list position of 44 meant she became elected after Bill English resigned in February 2018. She assumed office in early 2018.
  2. ^ Claire Holley contested the electorate in 2014 as a candidate for the Conservative Party
  3. ^ 2017 Mana Party swing is relative to the votes for Internet-Mana in 2014; it shared a party list with the Internet Party in the 2014 election
  4. ^ 2017 Internet Party swing is relative to the votes for Internet-Mana in 2014; it shared a party list with Mana Party in the 2014 election
  5. ^ Maureen Pugh's list position of 52 meant she became elected after Tim Groser resigned in December 2015. She assumed office in early 2016.
  6. ^ Steven Wilkinson contested the electorate in 2011 as a candidate for the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party

References

  1. ^ Henry Cooke (16 January 2024). "Why we're eventually going to need more MPs". www.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  2. ^ "Most left and right-leaning electorates revealed by Vote Compass". 1News. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  3. ^ "National's Maureen Pugh wins long-time red West Coast seat". RNZ. 16 October 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  4. ^ Joanne Naish (17 October 2023). "Maureen Pugh takes electorate seat while battling 'wave of grief'". The Press / Te Matatika. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  5. ^ Phelps, Patrick. "Could The West Coast-Tasman Electorate Hold The Balance Of Power This October?". Scoop News (Press release). Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Stats NZ Geographic Data Service". datafinder.stats.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  7. ^ Report of the Representation Commission 2007 (PDF). Representation Commission. 14 September 2007. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-477-10414-2. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  8. ^ Report of the Representation Commission 2014 (PDF). Representation Commission. 4 April 2014. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-477-10414-2. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  9. ^ "Report of the Representation Commission 2020" (PDF). 17 April 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  10. ^ "Official Count Results – West Coast-Tasman". Chief Electoral Office, Wellington. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  11. ^ "O'Connor to return to Parliament". Radio New Zealand. 13 April 2009. Archived from the original on 14 April 2009.
  12. ^ "O'Connor on course to grab West Coast seat". Australian Associated Press. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  13. ^ "Pugh to seek Coast seat". The Nelson Mail. 16 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  14. ^ Conway, Glenn (16 December 2013). "Former Westland mayor to stand for National". The Press.
  15. ^ Mathewson, Nicole; Stylianou, Georgina; Fulton, Tim (21 September 2014). "Election 2014: Canterbury decides". The Press. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  16. ^ Farrar, David (21 September 2014). "Election 2014: All the MPs for each party, plus those who failed to make the cut". National Business Review. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  17. ^ Rutherford, Hamish (4 October 2014). "National loses majority, Greens pick up one". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  18. ^ "West Coast-Tasman – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  19. ^ "West Coast-Tasman – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  20. ^ "Official Count Results – West Coast-Tasman (2017)". Electoral Commission. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  21. ^ "Official Count Results – West Coast-Tasman (2014)". Electoral Commission. 4 October 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  22. ^ "Official Count Results – West Coast-Tasman (2011)". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  23. ^ "Enrolment statistics". Electoral Commission. 26 November 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  24. ^ "Official Count Results – West Coast-Tasman (2008)". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  25. ^ "Official Count Results – West Coast-Tasman (2005)". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 24 October 2017.

External links