Remuera (electorate)

The 1931 New Zealand census had been cancelled due to the Great Depression, so the 1937 electoral redistribution had to take ten years of population growth into account. The increasing population imbalance between the North and South Islands had slowed, and only one electorate seat was transferred from south to north. Five electorates were abolished, one former electorate (Onehunga) was re-established, and four electorates were created for the first time, including Remuera.^[1] The Remuera electorate replaced the Parnell electorate, covering almost exactly the same area as Parnell had since the 1927 electoral redistribution.^[2]

For the purposes of the country quota, the 1936 census had determined that the Remuera electorate was fully urban.^[3] The electorate comprised a number of east Auckland suburbs, most notably Remuera itself. The area is high-income, and has been represented by a succession of National Party MPs.

The electorate existed from 1938 to 1996. The first representative was Bill Endean, who served from 1938 for one term to 1943.^[4] Endean was controversial within the National Party and in the party's 50-year history written by Barry Gustafson, it is remarked that in 1938, there was "some resistance to the National MP" in the Remuera electorate.^[5] His nomination for the planned 1941 general election only occurred after Sidney Holland had stepped in.^[6] The 1941 election was postponed due to the war, though, and Endean failed to get selected by the National Party for the 1943 election; Ronald Algie was chosen instead.^[7] Endean was overseas at the time of the selection, but even if he had been present, Gustafson believes that the "elderly, dull Endean would have been no match for the clever and witty Algie". Endean was the first sitting National MP who failed to get re-selected.^[6]

On election night 1987 a shock upset in the electorate was predicted on election night. Labour candidate Judith Tizard was initially predicted as the winner, but ultimately came 406 votes short after all votes were counted.^[8] Labour had never come remotely close to winning the seat before, even in high-tide elections. Labour's temporary surge amongst traditional National stalwarts caused Prime Minister David Lange to question the direction his government was taking under Rogernomics. In a 1996 interview he recalled, "That election night was a great revelation for me. That was an apprehension on my part that we had actually abandoned our constituency. And it set me to think what on earth have we done that we come within 400 votes of winning the true-blue seat of Remuera. And that struck me as being a dangerous flirtation, and an act of treachery to the people we were born to represent."^[9]

With the introduction of mixed-member proportional (MMP) representation in 1996, Remuera was included in the new electorate of Epsom.