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West Coast-Tasman

FieldValue
electorateWest Coast-Tasman
mapWest Coast Tasman 2025 electorate boundaries.svg
formation1996
regionWest Coast Tasman
characterRural
member
partyNew Zealand National Party
member_image
member_elected
list_mps
previous_mp
previous_mp_partyNew Zealand Labour Party
partyvote_votes_total42209
partyvote_party_1New Zealand National Party
partyvote_votes_114042
partyvote_party_2New Zealand Labour Party
partyvote_votes_29970
partyvote_party_3ACT New Zealand
partyvote_votes_35488
partyvote_party_4Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
partyvote_votes_44521
partyvote_party_5New Zealand First
partyvote_votes_54154
partyvote_date2023

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. It comprises the entirety of the West Coast Region and the Tasman District, excluding Richmond and Hope (which form part of the Nelson electorate).

Historically it has often been regarded as one of the safest New Zealand Labour Party seats in the entire country. From its creation for the 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).

Population centres

West Coast-Tasman is the largest general electorate in New Zealand, covering 32758 km2. It is one of the longest. The Representation Commission last adjusted the boundaries in the 2007 review, which first applied at the , when the northern boundary moved closer to Nelson, and Wakefield, Foxhill and Belgrove were added. The electorate was not changed in the 2013/14 review. Brightwater was added from at the 2020 redistribution.

The electorate includes the following population centres:

  • Collingwood
  • Tākaka
  • Motueka
  • Tapawera
  • Brightwater
  • Wakefield
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Ross
  • Hari Hari
  • Whataroa
  • Franz Josef / Waiau
  • Fox Glacier
  • Haast

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. 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. In contrast to the overall trend, he regained the electorate in the .

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. O'Connor was once again successful. Based on preliminary results for the , Pugh was the lowest-ranked National Party list member who was returned to Parliament, but when the final results were released two weeks later, National had lost one list seat and Pugh did not get returned to Parliament.

Members of Parliament

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

Key

ElectionWinner
New Zealand Labour Party}}
New Zealand National Party}}
New Zealand Labour Party}}
New Zealand National Party}}

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.

ElectionWinner
ACT New Zealand}}
New Zealand National Party}}
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand}}
2009New Zealand Labour Party}}
New Zealand National Party}}
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand}}Kevin Hague
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand}}
2016New Zealand National Party}}
2018New Zealand National Party}}
New Zealand National Party}}
New Zealand Labour Party}}

1In the 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

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

References

References

  1. Henry Cooke. (January 16, 2024). "Why we're eventually going to need more MPs".
  2. "Most left and right-leaning electorates revealed by Vote Compass".
  3. (2023-10-16). "National's Maureen Pugh wins long-time red West Coast seat".
  4. "Stats NZ Geographic Data Service".
  5. (14 September 2007). "Report of the Representation Commission 2007". Representation Commission.
  6. (4 April 2014). "Report of the Representation Commission 2014". Representation Commission.
  7. (17 April 2020). "Report of the Representation Commission 2020".
  8. "Official Count Results – West Coast-Tasman". Chief Electoral Office, Wellington.
  9. (13 April 2009). "O'Connor to return to Parliament". [[Radio New Zealand]].
  10. "O'Connor on course to grab West Coast seat".
  11. (16 December 2013). "Pugh to seek Coast seat". [[The Nelson Mail]].
  12. Conway, Glenn. (16 December 2013). "Former Westland mayor to stand for National". [[The Press]].
  13. (21 September 2014). "Election 2014: Canterbury decides". [[The Press]].
  14. (21 September 2014). "Election 2014: All the MPs for each party, plus those who failed to make the cut". [[National Business Review]].
  15. (4 October 2014). "National loses majority, Greens pick up one". [[Stuff.co.nz]].
  16. "West Coast-Tasman – Official Result". [[Electoral Commission (New Zealand).
  17. "West Coast-Tasman – Official Result". [[Electoral Commission (New Zealand).
  18. (7 October 2017). "Official Count Results – West Coast-Tasman (2017)". [[Electoral Commission (New Zealand).
  19. (4 October 2014). "Official Count Results – West Coast-Tasman (2014)". [[Electoral Commission (New Zealand).
  20. "Official Count Results – West Coast-Tasman (2011)". [[Electoral Commission (New Zealand).
  21. (26 November 2011). "Enrolment statistics". Electoral Commission.
  22. "Official Count Results – West Coast-Tasman (2008)". [[Electoral Commission (New Zealand).
  23. "Official Count Results – West Coast-Tasman (2005)". [[Electoral Commission (New Zealand).
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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