Te Tai Tokerau
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Te Tai Tokerau is a New Zealand Parliamentary Māori electorate. Since 2005, it has been held by Māori Party MP Hone Harawira.[1].
Te Tai Tokerau is the northernmost Māori seat, and covers an area between Cape Reinga in the Far North of the North Island to a boundary cutting through West Auckland. The major population centres are Whangarei, the Bay of Islands and north and west Auckland. The electorate contains all of the Ngā Puhi, Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Kuri, Te Rarawa and Ngāti Kahu tribal areas, and part of Ngāti Whātua's territory (rohe).
Contents |
[edit] History
Te Tai Tokerau's boundaries are similar those of the pre-MMP Northern Māori seat. Te Tai Tokerau was created ahead of the first MMP election in 1996.
Northern Māori had been held by the Labour Party since the 1938 election, when longstanding Reform MP Taurekareka Henare was beaten by Labour's Paraire Karaka Paikea. In 1993, after 55 years of his party holding the seat, Labour MP Bruce Gregory was beaten by Henare's great grandson, Tau Henare, standing for New Zealand First, ending Labour's unbroken hold on the four Māori seats. Henare went on to win Te Tai Tokerau after the switch to MMP, and New Zealand First won all five of the newly-drawn Māori seats.
After a tumultuous parliamentary term which saw all but one of the five New Zealand First Māori MPs defect to other parties, (including Henare himself, who went on to found Mauri Pacific), Labour won all six Māori seats contested at the 1999 election. In Te Tai Tokerau, Tau Henare was beaten into third place behind behind the New Zealand First candidate and Dover Samuels, who Henare had beaten three years previous.
However, Labour's losing the five Māori seats in 1996 showed that the Māori vote was contestable for the first time in five decades, as the new electoral system coupled with the rise of small parties meant that non-Labour candidacy in these seats was more feasible than under First Past the Post.
The New Zealand foreshore and seabed controversy of 2004-05 proved to be the catalyst for the second challenge to Labour party domination of the Māori seats, this time from the Māori Party. At the 2005 election, Samuels and three other Labour Māori MPs lost their seats to Māori Party challengers. In Te Tai Tokerau, the winner was Hone Harawira.
[edit] Members of Parliament for Te Tai Tokerau
Name | Party | Elected | Left Office | Reason |
Tau Henare | NZ First | 1996 | 1999 | defeated |
Dover Samuels | Labour | 1999, 2002 | 2005 | defeated |
Hone Harawira | Māori Party | 2005 | (incumbent) |
[edit] List MPs from Te Tai Tokerau
Members of Parliament elected from party lists in elections where that person also unsuccessfully contested Te Tai Tokerau. Unless otherwise stated, all MPs terms began and ended at general elections.
Name | Party | Elected | Left Office |
Dover Samuels (1) | Labour | 1996 | 1999 |
Dover Samuels (2) | Labour | 2005 | current MP |
[edit] Election results
[edit] 2005 election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Party Votes | % |
99 MP | - | - | - | 33 | 0.16 |
ACT | - | - | - | 49 | 0.24 |
Alliance | - | - | - | 6 | 0.03 |
Christian Heritage | - | - | - | 18 | 0.09 |
Democrats | - | - | - | 10 | 0.03 |
Destiny | Ernest Morton | 664 | 3.39 | 80 | 0.22 |
Direct Democracy | - | - | - | 3 | 0.01 |
Family Rights PP | - | - | - | 17 | 0.06 |
Green | - | - | - | 533 | 2.65 |
Labour | Dover Samuels | 6352 | 32.46 | 9788 | 48.75 |
Legalise Cannabis | Judy Daniels | 574 | 2.93 | 126 | 0.63 |
Libertarianz | - | - | - | 3 | 0.01 |
Māori Party | Hone Harawira | 9965 | 50.93 | 6151 | 30.64 |
National | - | - | - | 994 | 4.95 |
NZ First | - | - | - | 1559 | 7.77 |
One NZ | - | - | - | 5 | 0.02 |
Progressive | - | - | - | 71 | 0.35 |
Republic of NZ | - | - | - | 6 | 0.03 |
United | - | - | - | 81 | 0.4 |
IND | Mangu Mere | 1250 | 6.39 | - | - |
IND | Hana Maxwell | 209 | 1.07 | - | - |
total valid votes | 19,566 | 20,076 | |||
Māori Party gain from Labour | Majority | 3,613 |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Profile Parliamentary Library
- 2002 election results electionresults.org.nz
- 2005 election results electionresults.org.nz