Wairarapa (New Zealand electorate)

Wairarapa electorate boundaries used since the 2008 election

Wairarapa is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It was first created in 1858 (with the first election in 1859) and existed until 1881. It was recreated in 1887 and has since existed continuously. In the early years, the electorate was for a time represented by two members. Wairarapa has been held by Alastair Scott since the 2014 election.

Population centres

The initial 24 New Zealand electorates were defined by Governor George Grey in March 1853, based on the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 that had been passed by the British government. The Constitution Act also allowed the House of Representatives to establish new electorates, and this was first done in 1858, when four new electorates were formed by splitting existing electorates.[1] Wairarapa was one of those four electorates, and it was established by splitting the Wairarapa and Hawke's Bay electorate, and incorporating areas that previously did not belong to any electorate.[2] Settlements in the initial area were Featherston, Carterton, Eketahuna, and Pahiatua.[3] For the 1860 election, there were 266 voters registered.[4]

In the 1887 electoral redistribution, although the Representation Commission was required through the Representation Act 1887 to maintain existing electorates "as far as possible", rapid population growth in the North Island required the transfer of three seats from the South Island to the north. Ten new electorates were created, and one former electorate, Wairarapa, was recreated.[5]

The electorate boundaries were last adjusted in the 2007 redistribution.[6] No boundary adjustments were undertaken in the subsequent 2013/14 redistribution.[7]

The current electorate includes the following population centres (approximate population in brackets):

History

The first election was held on 7 November 1859, and Charles Carter was the first representative until 1865, when he resigned.[8][8] He was succeeded by Henry Bunny from 1865 to 1881.[9] Since 1871, the electorate had two representatives,[10] and the second one was John Chapman Andrew until he resigned in 1877, succeeded by George Beetham from 1877 to 1881.[11]

From 1881 to 1887 Wairarapa was replaced by two electorates; Wairarapa North and Wairarapa South. From 1887, they were replaced by the Masterton and Wairarapa electorates.[12]

Between 1899 and 1919 the Wairarapa electorate swung between Walter Clarke Buchanan the Conservative then Reform candidate and J. T. Marryat Hornsby the Liberal candidate, changing hands in 1902, 1905, 1908 and 1914.[13] Buchanan's support was in the rural areas, and Hornsby's was in the small towns.

From 1919 to 1928 the electorate was represented by Alexander McLeod for Reform.[14] In 1928 he was defeated by Thomas William McDonald the United (Liberal) candidate, but in 1931 McLeod won the seat back.[15]

Benjamin Roberts represented the electorate for the Labour Party from the 1935 election until 1946, when he retired.[16] In the 1943 election, Roberts was unsuccessfully challenged by National's James Joseph Maher.[17]

In the 1987 election, Reg Boorman won the initial count by one vote, but Creech later challenged that result on the grounds that Boorman had violated new laws about election spending. Creech also challenged more than 200 votes (on various grounds). The Electoral Court upheld Creech's petition, and Creech won the seat in 1988 with a majority of 34 votes (9994 to 9960).[18]

Creech held the Wairarapa electorate for four parliamentary terms. In December 1997, he became Deputy Leader of the National Party. That gave him number two on the National party list, and he did not contest an electorate in the 1999 election. The National Party stood Paul Henry in the election, but to the general surprise of political commentators, the typically right-leaning electorate was won by Labour's Georgina Beyer with a 3,033 vote majority to become the world's first transsexual member of parliament.[19] At the 2002 election, Beyer was easily re-elected with an increased majority of 6,372 votes.[20] Beyer stood in the 2005 election as a list-only candidate, and the Wairarapa electorate was won by John Hayes of the National Party.[21] Hayes held the electorate for three parliamentary terms and retired at the 2014 election,[21][22] when he was succeeded by National's Alastair Scott.[23]

Members of Parliament

Key

  Independent     Liberal     Reform     United  
  Labour     National     NZ First  

Single-member electorate

Election Winner
1859 election Charles Carter
1860 election
1865 by-election Henry Bunny
1866 election

Multi-member electorate

Election Winner
1871 election Henry Bunny John Chapman Andrew
1876 election
1877 by-election George Beetham
1879 election

Single-member electorate

Election Winner
1887 election 1890 election 1893 election 1896 election Walter Clarke Buchanan
1899 election J. T. Marryat Hornsby
1902 election Walter Clarke Buchanan
1905 election J. T. Marryat Hornsby
1908 election Walter Clarke Buchanan
1911 election
1914 election J. T. Marryat Hornsby
1919 election 1922 election 1925 election Alexander McLeod
1928 election Thomas McDonald
1931 election Alexander McLeod
1935 election 1938 election 1943 election Benjamin Roberts
1946 election Garnet Hercules Mackley
1949 election 1951 election 1954 election 1957 election 1960 election Bertie Cooksley
1963 election 1966 election Haddon Donald
1969 election 1972 election Jack Williams
1975 election 1978 election 1981 election Ben Couch
1984 election Reg Boorman
1987 election 1990 election 1993 election 1996 election Wyatt Creech
1999 election 2002 election Georgina Beyer
2005 election John Hayes
2008 election
2011 election
2014 election Alastair Scott

List MPs

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

Election Winner
2002 election Edwin Perry
2014 election Ron Mark

Election results

2011 election

General election, 26 November 2011: Wairarapa[24]

Notes: Green background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list.
Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member.
A Green tick or Red X denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party Candidate Votes % ±% Party Votes % ±%
National Green tick John Hayes 17,881 52.65 +1.63 18.046 51.53 +2.87
Labour Michael Bott 10,746 31.64 -0.77 8,161 23.30 -7.93
Green Sea Rotmann 2,856 8.41 +3.24 3,442 9.83 +4.08
Conservative Brent Reid 1,476 4.35 +4.35 1,314 3.75 +3.75
Libertarianz Richard McGrath 652 1.92 +0.67 94 0.27 +0.10
ACT Shane Atkinson 352 1.04 -0.95 467 1.33 -3.19
NZ First   2,738 7.82 +2.26
United Future   238 0.68 +0.004
Māori   218 0.62 -0.10
Legalise Cannabis   200 0.57 +0.24
Mana   75 0.21 +0.21
Alliance   14 0.04 -0.09
Democrats   14 0.04 +0.02
Informal votes 1,116 294
Total Valid votes 33,963 35,021
National hold Majority 7,135 21.01 +2.40

Electorate (as at 26 November 2011): 46,425[25]

2008 election

General election 2008: Wairarapa[26]

Notes: Green background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list.
Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member.
A Green tick or Red X denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party Candidate Votes % ±% Party Votes % ±%
National Green tick John Hayes 18,524 51.02 17,860 48.66
Labour Denise MacKenzie 11,766 32.41 11,464 31.23
NZ First Edwin J Perry 2,646 7.29 2,040 5.56
Green Michael Woodcock 1,878 5.17 2,109 5.75
ACT Shane Atkinson 721 1.99 1,660 4.52
Libertarianz Richard McGrath 453 1.25 61 0.17
United Future Graeme Reeves 219 0.60 248 0.68
Alliance Amy Tubman 101 0.28 47 0.13
Bill and Ben   281 0.77
Māori   266 0.72
Progressive   251 0.68
Kiwi   173 0.47
Legalise Cannabis   122 0.33
Family Party   80 0.22
Workers Party   14 0.04
Pacific   12 0.03
Democrats   9 0.02
RAM   5 0.01
RONZ   2 0.01
Informal votes 298 131
Total Valid votes 36,308 36,704
National hold Majority 6,758


2005 election

General election 2005: Wairarapa[27]

Notes: Green background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list.
Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member.
A Green tick or Red X denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party Candidate Votes % ±% Party Votes % ±%
National John Hayes 13,681 42.71 14,599 45.12
Labour Denise MacKenzie 10,929 34.12 11,669 36.06
NZ First Edwin Perry 5,308 16.57 2,889 8.93
Green Claire Bleakley 1,141 3.56 1,478 4.57
United Future Graeme Reeves 364 1.14 651 2.01
ACT Graeme Tulloch 314 0.98 370 1.14
Māori Cissie Walker 293 0.91 165 0.51
Progressive   261 0.81
Destiny   82 0.25
Legalise Cannabis   76 0.23
Christian Heritage   40 0.12
Alliance   29 0.09
Libertarianz   13 0.04
Democrats   8 0.02
Family Rights   6 0.02
One NZ   6 0.02
RONZ   6 0.02
99 MP   5 0.02
Direct Democracy   4 0.01
Informal votes 243 124
Total Valid votes 32,030 32,357
National gain from Labour Majority 2,752 8.59

2002 election

General election 2002: Wairarapa[26]

Notes: Green background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list.
Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member.
A Green tick or Red X denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party Candidate Votes % ±% Party Votes % ±%
Labour Green tick Georgina Beyer 13,572 11,867
National Ian Buchanan 7,200 7,678
Christian Heritage Merepeka Raukawa-Tait 5,852 891
NZ First Edwin Perry 1,552 3,605
Green Sarah Millington 861 1,827
ACT Ian MacFarlane 625 1,770
United Future Frank Owen 617 1,735
Progressive Bill Henderson 223 498
Alliance Gerald Tait 159 311
ORNZ   525
Legalise Cannabis   178
One NZ   32
Mana Māori   5
NMP   3
Informal votes 264 121
Total Valid votes 30,925 31,046
Labour hold Majority 6,372

1931 election

General election, 1931: Wairarapa[28]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Alexander Donald McLeod 4,641 53.55 +6.74
United/Reform Thomas William McDonald 4,025 46.45 -6.74
Majority 616 7.11 +0.74
Informal votes 149 1.69 +0.39
Turnout 8,815 83.33 -4.91
Registered electors 10,579

1899 election

General election, 1899: Wairarapa[29]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal J. T. Marryat Hornsby 1,974 51.17
Opposition Walter Clarke Buchanan 1,818 47.12
Independent Coleman Phillips[30][31] 66 1.71
Majority 156 4.04
Turnout 3,858 82.54
Registered electors 4,674

1893 election

General election, 1893: Wairarapa[32][33]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Opposition Walter Clarke Buchanan 1,806 50.89
Liberal George Augustus Fairbrother[34] 1,116 31.45
Liberal Charles Pownall[35] 627 17.67
Majority 690 19.44
Turnout 3,549 81.12
Registered electors 4,375

Notes

  1. ↑ McRobie 1989, p. 29.
  2. ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 28f.
  3. ↑ McRobie 1989, p. 32.
  4. ↑ McRobie 1989, p. 33.
  5. ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 50–53.
  6. ↑ Report of the Representation Commission 2007 (PDF). Representation Commission. 14 September 2007. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-477-10414-2. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  7. ↑ Report of the Representation Commission 2014 (PDF). Representation Commission. 4 April 2014. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-477-10414-2. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Wilson 1985, p. 188.
  9. ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 187.
  10. ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 274.
  11. ↑ Wilson 1985, pp. 180, 183.
  12. ↑ Wilson 1985, pp. 266–267, 274.
  13. ↑ Wilson 1985, pp. 186, 206.
  14. ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 217.
  15. ↑ Wilson 1985, pp. 214, 217.
  16. ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 201.
  17. ↑ Gustafson 1986, p. 332.
  18. ↑ Tunnah, Helen (16 September 2005). "Winston Peters threatens court bid". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  19. ↑ Trevett, Claire (27 July 2014). "Georgina Beyer joins Mana Party". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  20. ↑ "Official Count Results -- Wairarapa". Electoral Commission. 10 August 2002. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "John Hayes". New Zealand Parliament. 22 September 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  22. ↑ Small, Vernon (18 January 2014). "Wairarapa MP Hayes calls time". The Dominion Post. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  23. ↑ "Official Count Results -- Wairarapa". Electoral Commission. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  24. ↑ 2011 election results
  25. ↑ "Enrolment statistics". Electoral Commission. 26 November 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 2008 election results
  27. ↑ election result Wairarapa 2005
  28. ↑ The General Election, 1931. Government Printer. 1932. p. 5. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  29. ↑ "The General Election, 1899". Wellington: Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives. 19 June 1900. p. 1. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  30. ↑ "The Elections". Ashburton Guardian XXI (4973). 23 November 1899. p. 1. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  31. ↑ Cyclopedia Company Limited (1897). "Ex-Councillors". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Wellington Provincial District. Wellington: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  32. ↑ The General Election, 1893. Government Printer. 1894. p. 1. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  33. ↑ "The General Election". Otago Daily Times. 28 November 1893. p. 6. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  34. ↑ Cyclopedia Company Limited (1897). "Borough Of Carterton". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Wellington Provincial District. Wellington: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  35. ↑ "New Zealand". The Press L (8593). 21 September 1893. p. 5. Retrieved 30 November 2013.

References

External links