Rotorua (New Zealand electorate)

Rotorua electorate boundaries used since the 2014 election

Rotorua is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the House of Representatives of New Zealand. It was first established in 1919, and has existed continuously since 1954. The current MP for Rotorua is Todd McClay of the National Party,[1] who won the electorate in the 2008 general election from incumbent Labour MP Steve Chadwick.

Population centres

In the 1918 electoral redistribution, the North Island gained a further three electorates from the South Island due to faster population growth. Only two existing electorates were unaltered, five electorates were abolished, two former electorate were re-established, and three electorates, including Rotorua, were created for the first time.[2]

The original electorate, which was formed through the 1918 electoral redistribution, had a long coastline along the Bay of Plenty, and incorporated, beside Rotorua, the towns and villages of Whakatane, Taupo, Tokoroa, Putaruru, Mangakino, Edgecumbe, Taneatua, and Murupara.[3] In the 1922 electoral redistribution, the electorate lost some area to the Bay of Plenty electorate, and a larger area to the Waikato electorate.[4] The 1927 electoral redistribution saw Rotorua become landlocked, with the Tauranga electorate taking the coastline including Taneatua and Edgecumbe, and Whakatane going to the Bay of Plenty electorate. The electorate moved south and took in Lake Taupo, with Turangi just beyond the southern boundary located in the Waimarino electorate. The electorate also grew in the north-west, gaining the town of Matamata.[5]

In the 1937 electoral redistribution, the electorate shifted further south again. Matamata was lost again, and the peaks of Tongariro, Ngauruhoe, and Ruapehu now formed the boundary to the Waimarino electorate.[6] The 1946 electoral redistribution saw the Rotorua electorate abolished, with the Bay of Plenty electorate moving west and incorporating the town of Rotorua, most of the southern area going to the Waimarino electorate including the town of Taupo, and some area in the north-west going to the Waikato electorate including Tokoroa.[7]

The First Labour Government was defeated in the 1949 election and the incoming National Government changed the Electoral Act, with the electoral quota once again based on total population as opposed to qualified electors, and the tolerance was increased to 7.5% of the electoral quota. There was no adjustments in the number of electorates between the South and North Islands, but the law changes resulted in boundary adjustments to almost every electorate through the 1952 electoral redistribution; only five electorates were unaltered.[8] Five electorates were reconstituted (including Rotorua) and one was newly created, and a corresponding six electorates were abolished; all of these in the North Island.[9] These changes took effect with the 1954 election.[10] The electorate was again landlocked and much smaller than prior to its abolition. Significant settlements included Rotorua, Tokoroa, Taupo, and Mangakino, with Lake Taupo forming the southern boundary.[11]

Demographics

Over forty per cent of the population of Rotorua is under the age of thirty, much of this because 37% of the electorate's residents are Māori, who are on the whole younger than the national average (22.7 years old versus a national average of 35.9).[12] There are also fewer voters earning over $30,000 per year, with the majority of workers coming from working class and semi-skilled professionals. Rotorua also has more unemployed people (6.5%) than most electorates, being ranked 52nd in the nation.

The country quota applied until 1945 and the Rotorua electorate was initially classed as fully rural. Based on the 1926 census, the 1927 Electoral Redistribution determined that 24% of the electorate's population was urban. Based on the 1936 census, the 1937 Electoral Redistribution determined that 36% of the electorate's population was urban.[13]

The current Rotorua electorate is positioned in the Bay of Plenty region in the central North Island. It is dominated by the town of Rotorua, and also contains the Eastern Bay of Plenty towns of Kawerau, Murupara and Galatea, the last two of which are located on the outskirts of Te Urewera National Park. In 2008, its boundaries were extended to the geographical bay, with the addition of coastline stretching from a cluster of rural towns including Pukehina and Maketu to the outskirts of Te Puke.

History

An electorate based around Rotorua has been a part of the New Zealand electoral landscape since the 1919 election, with a gap from 1946 to 1954. Previously the town of Rotorua was in the East Coast electorate (from 1871), then the East Coast electorate again (from 1890), then the Bay of Plenty electorate (from 1893), and then (just) in the Tauranga electorate again (from 1911 to 1919).[14]

William Henry Wackrow was nominated in March 1922 as the opposition candidate for that year's election.[15] Wackrow withdrew in November[16] and was replaced by Cecil Clinkard, who lost against the incumbent, Frank Hockly of the Reform Party.[17]

Geoffrey Sim of the National Party won the 1943 election. When the Rotorua electorate was abolished for the 1946 election, Sim successfully stood in Waikato electorate instead.[18]

After the electorate was re-established through the 1952 Electoral Redistribution, Ray Boord of the Labour Party won the 1954 election.[19] Boord served two parliamentary terms and was beaten by National's Harry Lapwood in the 1960 election.[20] Lapwood served for six parliamentary terms and retired in 1978.[21]

Lapwood was succeeded by his party colleague Paul East in the 1978 election. East also served six parliamentary terms until 1996. With the advent of Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) voting in 1996, the Rotorua electorate was greatly expanded to include areas previously part of the Eastern Bay of Plenty and Tarawera electorates. Both Tarawera and Rotorua were safe National Party electorates, and in the ensuing battle for the nomination, the two incumbents, East and Max Bradford, faced off for a Rotorua nomination eventually secured by Bradford, with East securing a high list position.[22]

Bradford won the 1996 election with a nearly 6,000 votes margin.[23] Despite both electorates being reasonably loyal to the National Party, Bradford's tenure as MP for Rotorua was just three years, before being ousted by Labour MP Steve Chadwick in the 1999 election. Chadwick's initial majority of 4,978 votes blew out to over 7,500 in 2002 before it was reined in to just 662 in 2005, as the National Party consolidated the centre-right vote, with its biggest gains being in the provincial North Island. In 2005, Chadwick's party was less popular than their candidate, coming 1,645 votes behind National.

In 2008 Chadwick was defeated by National candidate Todd McClay who won the electorate with a majority of 5,067 votes. In the 2011 election McClay again returned as the member for Rotorua, increasing his majority to 7,357 votes.

Rotorua is also an electorate where the New Zealand First party does well, with its biggest appeal among provincial New Zealanders, and as results in 1996 indicate, Māori: in the three most recent elections, New Zealand First has polled around three per cent higher in Rotorua than it did in the rest of New Zealand.

Members of Parliament for Rotorua

Unless otherwise stated, all MPs terms began and ended at general elections.

Key

  Reform     United     Labour     National  

Election Winner
1919 election Frank Hockly
1922 election
1925 election
1928 election Cecil Clinkard
1931 election
1935 election Alexander Moncur
1938 election
1943 election Geoffrey Sim
(Electorate abolished 1946–1954, see
Bay of Plenty, Waimarino, and Waikato)
1954 election Ray Boord
1957 election
1960 election Harry Lapwood
1963 election
1966 election
1969 election
1972 election
1975 election
1978 election Paul East
1981 election
1984 election
1987 election
1990 election
1993 election
1996 election Max Bradford
1999 election Steve Chadwick
2002 election
2005 election
2008 election Todd McClay
2011 election
2014 election

List MPs from Rotorua

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

Election Winner
1999 election Max Bradford
2008 election Steve Chadwick
2014 election Fletcher Tabuteau

Election results

2011 election

General election 2011: Rotorua[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 tickY or Red XN denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party Candidate Votes % ±% Party Votes % ±%
National Green tickY Todd McClay 17,188 56.17 +2.26 16,159 51.27 +0.92
Labour Steve Chadwick 9,831 32.13 -6.35 6,919 21.95 -8.08
NZ First Fletcher Tabuteau 2,166 7.08 +7.08 3,326 10.55 +4.21
Conservative Daryl Smith 903 2.95 +2.95 948 3.01 +3.01
Mana Grant Rogers 510 1.67 +1.67 327 1.04 +1.04
Green   2,700 8.57 +3.58
Māori   404 1.28 -0.50
ACT   269 0.85 -1.78
United Future   258 0.82 -0.02
Legalise Cannabis   159 0.50 +0.06
Libertarianz   19 0.06 +0.02
Alliance   15 0.05 -0.05
Democrats   14 0.04 +0.02
Informal votes 835 307
Total Valid votes 30,598 31,517
National hold Majority 7,357 24.04 +8.62

Electorate (as at 26 November 2011): 42,886[25]

2008 election

General election 2008: Rotorua[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 tickY or Red XN denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party Candidate Votes % ±% Party Votes % ±%
National Todd McClay 17,700 53.91 +15.31 16,836 50.35 +8.46
Labour Red XN Steve Chadwick 12,635 38.48 -2.29 10,044 30.04 -6.63
Green Raewyn Saville 1,665 5.07 +1.36 1,666 4.98 +1.21
Kiwi Daryl Smith 365 1.11 +1.11 183 0.55 +0.55
United Future Arthur Solomon 241 0.73 -6.22 282 0.84 -2.12
RAM Grant Rogers 145 0.44 +0.44 24 0.07 +0.07
Libertarianz Fred Stevens 82 0.25 +0.25 15 0.04 +0.01
NZ First   2,122 6.35 -2.89
ACT   879 2.63 +1.44
Māori   596 1.78 +0.22
Progressive   200 0.60 -0.26
Family Party   193 0.58 +0.58
Bill and Ben   186 0.56 +0.56
Legalise Cannabis   147 0.44 +0.18
Alliance   33 0.10 +0.03
Pacific   13 0.04 +0.04
Workers Party   8 0.02 +0.02
Democrats   7 0.02 -0.03
RONZ   4 0.01 -0.02
Informal votes 364 154
Total Valid votes 32,833 33,438
National gain from Labour Majority 5,065 15.43 +13.25

2005 election

General election 2005: Rotorua[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 tickY or Red XN denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party Candidate Votes % ±% Party Votes % ±%
Labour Green tickY Steve Chadwick 12,420 40.77 -10.63 11,350 36.67
National Gil Stebhens 11,758 38.60 +14.88 12,965 41.89
United Future Russell Judd 2,119 6.96 916 2.96
NZ First Fletcher Tabuteau 2,055 6.75 2,860 9.24
Green Raewyn Saville 1,131 3.71 1,168 3.77
Destiny Elaine Herbert 604 1.98 397 1.28
ACT Carl Peterson 378 1.24 367 1.19
Māori   484 1.56
Progressive   267 0.86
Legalise Cannabis   83 0.23
Alliance   20 0.06
Christian Heritage   16 0.05
Democrats   16 0.05
Libertarianz   10 0.03
Family Rights   9 0.03
RONZ   9 0.03
Direct Democracy   7 0.02
One NZ   5 0.02
99 MP   4 0.01
Informal votes 326 125
Total Valid votes 30,465 30,950
Labour hold Majority 662 2.17 -25.51

1935 election

General election, 1935: Rotorua[28]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Alexander Moncur 4,894 43.14 +10.60
Independent Frederick Doidge 3,442 30.34
United/Reform Cecil Clinkard 2,785 24.55 -8.60
Democrat H. Hugh Corbin[29] 223 1.97
Majority 1,452 12.80 +12.19
Informal votes 64 0.56 -0.08
Turnout 11,408 88.64 +8.81
Registered electors 12,870

1931 election

General election, 1931: Rotorua[30]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
United/Reform Cecil Clinkard 3,117 33.15 -10.34
Labour Alexander Moncur 3,060 32.54
Independent Edward Earle Vaile 1,815 19.30
Country Party D R F Campbell[31] 1,411 15.01
Majority 57 0.61 -1.80
Informal votes 61 0.64 -0.84
Turnout 9,464 79.83 -4.27
Registered electors 11,855

1928 election

General election, 1928: Rotorua[32]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
United Cecil Clinkard[33] 3,617 43.49 +21.59
Reform Frank Hockly 3,417 41.08 -18.61
Labour A. G. Christopher[33] 659 7.92
Country Party S. H. Judd 624 7.50
Majority 200 2.40 -35.39
Informal votes 125 1.48 +0.91
Turnout 8,442 84.10 -5.34
Registered electors 10,038

1925 election

General election, 1925: Rotorua[34]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Reform Frank Hockly 4,384 59.69 +6.54
Liberal Cecil Clinkard 1,608 21.90 -24.95
Labour John William Sumner[35] 1,148 15.63
Country Party Frank Colbeck[mb 1] 204 2.78
Majority 2,776 37.80 +31.50
Informal votes 42 0.57 -0.53
Turnout 7,386 89.44 -1.11
Registered electors 8,258

Table footnotes:

  1. ↑ For biographical details of Frank Colbeck, please refer to his father's article

1922 election

General election, 1922: Rotorua[17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Reform Frank Hockly 3,407 53.15 +2.70
Liberal Cecil Clinkard[36] 3,003 46.85
Majority 404 6.30 -20.53
Informal votes 71 1.10 -0.22
Turnout 6,481 90.55 +8.83
Registered electors 7,157

1919 election

General election, 1919: Rotorua[37]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Reform Frank Hockly 3,258 50.45
Liberal Malcolm Larney[38] 1,525 23.61
Labour George Thomas Jones 854 13.22
Independent W. C. Hewitt 497 7.70
Independent Patrick Keegan[39][nb 1] 324 5.02
Majority 1,733 26.83
Informal votes 86 1.31
Turnout 6,544 81.73
Registered electors 8,007

Table footnotes:

  1. ↑ Some sources list Keegan as an Independent Reform Party supporter

Notes

  1. ↑ Profile of Todd McClay on New Zealand Parliament website.
  2. ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 75–80.
  3. ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 78f.
  4. ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 82f.
  5. ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 86f.
  6. ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 90f.
  7. ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 94f.
  8. ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 99f.
  9. ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 95–100.
  10. ↑ McRobie 1989, p. 99.
  11. ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 90, 98.
  12. ↑ “Average” Māori – who is she? Te Puni Kōkiri: Kōkiri 1, 2007
  13. ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 79–95.
  14. ↑ McRobie 1989, pp. 38–75.
  15. ↑ "The General Election". Auckland Star. LIII (53). 4 March 1922. p. 6. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  16. ↑ "The Election Campaign". The Press. LVIII (17607). 9 November 1922. p. 14. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  17. 1 2 Hislop, J. (1923). The General Election, 1922. Government Printer. p. 2. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  18. ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 234.
  19. ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 184.
  20. ↑ Wilson 1985, pp. 184, 211.
  21. ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 211.
  22. ↑ "Part III - Party Lists of Successful Registered Parties" (PDF). Electoral Commission. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  23. ↑ "Electorate Candidate and Party Votes Recorded at Each Polling Place - Rotorua, 1996" (PDF). Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  24. ↑ 2011 election results
  25. ↑ "Enrolment statistics". Electoral Commission. 26 November 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  26. ↑ Election result: Rotorua, 2008
  27. ↑ Election result: Rotorua, 2005
  28. ↑ "General Election". The Evening Post. CXX (138). 7 December 1935. p. 11. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  29. ↑ Tunnicliff, Shirley. "Lorelle Henderson Corbin". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved December 2011. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  30. ↑ The General Election, 1931. Government Printer. 1932. p. 4. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  31. ↑ "General Election". Auckland Star. LXII (264). 7 November 1931. p. 11. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  32. ↑ The General Election, 1928. Government Printer. 1929. p. 5. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  33. 1 2 "The Rotorua Seat". The New Zealand Herald. LXV (20102). 13 November 1928. p. 16. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  34. ↑ The General Election, 1925. Government Printer. 1926. p. 2. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  35. ↑ "New Zealand Alliance". Auckland Star. LVI (259). 2 November 1925. p. 16. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  36. ↑ "Liberals Foregather". Auckland Star. LIII (300). 19 December 1922. p. 7. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  37. ↑ Hislop, J. (1921). The General Election, 1919. National Library. p. 2. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  38. ↑ "Rotorua Seat". Auckland Star. L (282). 27 November 1919. p. 11. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  39. ↑ "Interprovincial". Poverty Bay Herald. XLVI (15041). 16 October 1919. p. 3. Retrieved 12 December 2014.

References

External links

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