Wellington Central (electorate)
Electoral district in Wellington, New Zealand
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wellington Central is a New Zealand electorate, returning a single member to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The current MP for Wellington Central is Tamatha Paul of the Green Party. She has held this position since the 2023 general election.[1]
| Wellington Central | |
|---|---|
| Single-member constituency for the New Zealand House of Representatives | |
Location of Wellington Central within Wellington | |
| Region | Wellington |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 1996 (current form) 1905 (original) |
| Current MP | Tamatha Paul |
| Party | Green |
The electorate will be abolished ahead of the 2026 general election.
Population centres
From 1890 until 1905, the four main centres of New Zealand (Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin) were represented by three-member electorates. The City Single Electorates Act 1903 divided those electorates, effective from the end of the 15th Parliament. The City of Wellington electorate was split into the Wellington East, Wellington Central, and Wellington North electorates.[2] Wellington Central was focused on the city's central business district and surrounding suburbs.
As of 2020, Wellington Central covered the central city and its immediate suburban periphery from Karori in the west to the summit of Mount Victoria in the east, and southwards to a boundary with the Rongotai electorate near Wellington Hospital. The northern boundary with Ōhāriu ran through Wilton and between Thorndon and Wadestown (which was in Wellington Central until 2014). From 1996 until 1999, its boundaries extended further north to include the suburbs of Ngaio and Khandallah.
Wellington Central has one of the most affluent and well-educated constituencies in New Zealand. It is home to many government agencies, as well as to the New Zealand Parliament Buildings and to two universities.
History
Wellington Central was established in 1905 when the multi-member urban electorate City of Wellington was replaced by three new seats: Wellington East, Wellington North and Wellington Central. A prominent holder of the seat was Labour Party leader Peter Fraser, who was Prime Minister from 1940 to 1949.
The electorate was abolished in 1993, when a redistribution moved its boundary west, replaced by Wellington-Karori. Three years later, Wellington Central was recreated with a larger catchment as one of the 65 electorates used in the 1996 election. ACT New Zealand leader Richard Prebble won the electorate following National Party leader Jim Bolger's endorsement of Prebble over National candidate Mark Thomas, in order for the new ACT party to get into parliament. This election was featured in the documentary film Campaign directed by Tony Sutorius.[3]
Labour candidates Marian Hobbs and Grant Robertson held the seat from 1999 until 2023, when it was won by Green Party candidate Tamatha Paul.
The 2025 boundary review required a reduction in North Island electorates by one to reflect nationwide population shifts. The three Wellington City electorates (Rongotai, Wellington Central and Ōhāriu) were all underpopulated. All were abolished. The population of Wellington Central was redistributed to Wellington North and Wellington Bays.[4]
Members of Parliament
Key
| New Liberal | Independent | Reform | Liberal |
| Labour | National | ACT | Green |
List MPs
Members of Parliament elected from party lists in elections where that person also unsuccessfully contested the Wellington Central electorate. Unless otherwise stated, all MPs terms began and ended at general elections.
| Election | Winner | |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 election | Richard Prebble | |
| 2002 election | Stephen Franks | |
| Sue Kedgley | ||
| 2005 election | Mark Blumsky | |
| Sue Kedgley | ||
| 2008 election | Sue Kedgley | |
| Heather Roy | ||
| 2013 | Paul Foster-Bell1 | |
| 2014 election | James Shaw | |
| Paul Foster-Bell | ||
| 2017 election | James Shaw | |
| 2018 | Nicola Willis2 | |
| 2020 election | James Shaw | |
| Nicola Willis | ||
| Brooke van Velden | ||
1Foster-Bell was elected from the party list in May 2013 following the resignation of Jackie Blue.
2Willis was elected from the party list in April 2018 following the resignation of Steven Joyce.
Election results
2023 election
| 2023 general election: Wellington Central[5][6] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notes: |
Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
| ||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Party votes | % | ±% | ||
| Green | Tamatha Paul | 18,439 | 40.56 | +23.02 | 17,332 | 37.69 | +7.36 | ||
| Labour | Ibrahim Omer | 12,373 | 27.22 | −32.39 | 11,436 | 24.87 | −18.53 | ||
| National | Scott Sheeran | 11,555 | 25.42 | +7.66 | 9,855 | 21.43 | +7.00 | ||
| Opportunities | Natalia Albert | 1,554 | 3.42 | +1.26 | 2,536 | 5.51 | +1.79 | ||
| NZ First | Taylor Arneil | 493 | 1.08 | +1.08 | 1,029 | 2.24 | +1.13 | ||
| Legalise Cannabis | Michael Appleby | 418 | 0.92 | +0.08 | 136 | 0.30 | +0.03 | ||
| Animal Justice | Christopher Gordon | 111 | 0.24 | +0.24 | 61 | 0.14 | +0.14 | ||
| Vision New Zealand | Meg Lim | 80 | 0.18 | +0.18 | |||||
| Workers Now | Don Franks | 67 | 0.15 | +0.15 | |||||
| Independent | Karl Thomas Geiringer | 43 | 0.09 | +0.09 | |||||
| Independent | Pete Bains | 36 | 0.08 | +0.08 | |||||
| ACT | 2,075 | 4.51 | −0.35 | ||||||
| Te Pāti Māori | 1,106 | 2.40 | +1.87 | ||||||
| NZ Loyal | 80 | 0.17 | +0.17 | ||||||
| NewZeal | 57 | 0.12 | ±0.00 | ||||||
| Women's Rights | 54 | 0.12 | +0.12 | ||||||
| Freedoms NZ | 32 | 0.07 | +0.07 | ||||||
| New Conservative | 31 | 0.07 | −0.33 | ||||||
| DemocracyNZ | 18 | 0.04 | +0.04 | ||||||
| New Nation | 14 | 0.03 | +0.03 | ||||||
| Leighton Baker Party | 11 | 0.02 | +0.02 | ||||||
| Informal votes | 287 | 126 | |||||||
| Total valid votes | 45,456 | 45,989 | |||||||
| Turnout | 46,252 | 84.48 | −4.49 | ||||||
| Green gain from Labour | Majority | 6,066 | 13.34 | +23.02 | |||||
2020 election
| 2020 general election: Wellington Central[7] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notes: |
Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
| ||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Party votes | % | ±% | ||
| Labour | 27,366 | 57.26 | +8 | 20,876 | 43.40 | +5.11 | |||
| National | Nicola Willis | 8,488 | 17.76 | −7.99 | 6,937 | 14.43 | −16.1 | ||
| Green | James Shaw | 8,381 | 17.54 | +2.15 | 14,587 | 30.33 | +8.99 | ||
| Opportunities | Abe Gray | 1,031 | 2.16 | −4.66 | 1,790 | 3.72 | −2.17 | ||
| ACT | Brooke van Velden | 865 | 1.81 | +1.5 | 2,339 | 4.86 | +4.09 | ||
| Legalise Cannabis | Michael Appleby | 401 | 0.84 | — | 132 | 0.27 | +0.7 | ||
| Independent | Jesse Richardson | 385 | 0.81 | ||||||
| New Conservative | Liam Richfield | 401 | 0.45 | 204 | 0.42 | +0.35 | |||
| Advance NZ | Rose Greally | 108 | 0.23 | 103 | 0.21 | ||||
| ONE | Gina Sunderland | 84 | 0.18 | 56 | 0.12 | ||||
| Outdoors | Bruce Robert | 76 | 0.16 | 27 | 0.06 | +0.03 | |||
| NZ First | 537 | 1.11 | −1.15 | ||||||
| Māori Party | 255 | 0.53 | −0.01 | ||||||
| Sustainable NZ | 32 | 0.07 | |||||||
| Social Credit | 18 | 0.04 | |||||||
| TEA | 12 | 0.02 | |||||||
| Vision NZ | 8 | 0.01 | |||||||
| Heartland | 1 | 0.00 | |||||||
| Informal votes | 386 | 176 | |||||||
| Total valid votes | 47,787 | 48,090 | |||||||
| Turnout | 48,090 | 88.97[8] | +2.41 | ||||||
| Labour hold | Majority | 18,878 | 39.5 | +15.99 | |||||
2017 election
| 2017 general election: Wellington Central[9] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notes: |
Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
| ||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Party votes | % | ±% | ||
| Labour | 20,873 | 49.26 | −2.38 | 16,500 | 38.29 | +14.51 | |||
| National | Nicola Willis | 10,910 | 25.75 | −4.34 | 13,156 | 30.53 | −7.01 | ||
| Green | James Shaw | 6,520 | 15.39 | +2.15 | 9,198 | 21.34 | −8.16 | ||
| Opportunities | Geoff Simmons | 2,892 | 6.82 | — | 2,538 | 5.89 | — | ||
| NZ First | Andy Foster | 797 | 1.88 | +0.37 | 972 | 2.26 | −1.32 | ||
| Independent | Gayaal Iddamalgoda | 161 | 0.38 | — | |||||
| ACT | Michael Warren | 131 | 0.31 | — | 330 | 0.77 | +0.07 | ||
| Independent | Peter Robinson | 71 | 0.17 | −0.11 | |||||
| Not A Party | Bob Wessex | 19 | 0.04 | — | |||||
| Māori Party | 225 | 0.52 | −0.25 | ||||||
| Legalise Cannabis | 55 | 0.13 | −0.19 | ||||||
| Conservative | 29 | 0.07 | −1.44 | ||||||
| United Future | 28 | 0.06 | −0.24 | ||||||
| Mana | 14 | 0.03 | −1.45[a] | ||||||
| Ban 1080 | 13 | 0.03 | −0.02 | ||||||
| Outdoors | 11 | 0.03 | — | ||||||
| People's Party | 10 | 0.03 | — | ||||||
| Internet | 9 | 0.02 | −1.46[b] | ||||||
| Democrats | 6 | 0.01 | −0.06 | ||||||
| Informal votes | 194 | 72 | |||||||
| Total valid votes | 42,374 | 43,094 | |||||||
| Turnout | 43,166 | 86.56[10] | +2.42 | ||||||
| Labour hold | Majority | 9,963 | 23.51 | +1.95 | |||||
2014 election
| 2014 general election: Wellington Central[11] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notes: |
Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
| ||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Party votes | % | ±% | ||
| Labour | 19,807 | 51.64 | +2.49 | 9,306 | 23.78 | −2.78 | |||
| National | Paul Foster-Bell | 11,540 | 30.09 | −2.42 | 14,689 | 37.54 | −0.88 | ||
| Green | James Shaw | 5,077 | 13.24 | −0.39 | 11,545 | 29.50 | +1.81 | ||
| NZ First | Hugh Barr | 580 | 1.51 | +0.78 | 1,399 | 3.58 | +0.70 | ||
| Legalise Cannabis | Alistair Gregory | 353 | 0.92 | −0.13 | 127 | 0.32 | −0.09 | ||
| Conservative | Brian Hooper | 307 | 0.80 | +0.18 | 590 | 1.51 | +0.82 | ||
| Internet | Callum Valentine | 217 | 0.57 | +0.57 | |||||
| Independent | Peter Robinson | 90 | 0.23 | +0.23 | |||||
| Democrats | James Knuckey | 57 | 0.15 | +0.15 | 26 | 0.07 | +0.03 | ||
| Independent | Puhi Karena | 52 | 0.14 | +0.06 | |||||
| Internet Mana | 578 | 1.48 | +0.85[c] | ||||||
| Maori Party | 300 | 0.77 | +0.06 | ||||||
| ACT | 274 | 0.70 | −0.47 | ||||||
| United Future | 117 | 0.30 | −0.35 | ||||||
| Civilian | 49 | 0.13 | +0.13 | ||||||
| Ban 1080 | 20 | 0.05 | +0.05 | ||||||
| Focus | 5 | 0.01 | +0.01 | ||||||
| Independent Coalition | 5 | 0.01 | +0.01 | ||||||
| Informal votes | 273 | 101 | |||||||
| Total valid votes | 38,353 | 39,131 | |||||||
| Turnout | 39,232 | 84.14 | +2.33 | ||||||
| Labour hold | Majority | 8,267 | 21.56 | +4.92 | |||||
2011 election
| 2011 general election: Wellington Central[12] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notes: |
Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
| ||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Party votes | % | ±% | ||
| Labour | 18,836 | 49.15 | +6.97 | 10,459 | 26.56 | −8.01 | |||
| National | Paul Foster-Bell | 12,460 | 32.51 | −4.96 | 15,128 | 38.42 | +3.01 | ||
| Green | James Shaw | 5,225 | 13.63 | −1.14 | 10,903 | 27.69 | +7.08 | ||
| ACT | Stephen Whittington | 412 | 1.07 | −1.21 | 462 | 1.17 | −2.78 | ||
| Legalise Cannabis | Michael Appleby | 404 | 1.05 | +0.05 | 161 | 0.41 | +0.15 | ||
| NZ First | Ben Craven | 279 | 0.73 | +0.73 | 1,132 | 2.88 | +1.35 | ||
| Pirate | Gynn Rickerby | 277 | 0.72 | +0.72 | |||||
| Conservative | Paul Stipkovits | 236 | 0.62 | +0.62 | 270 | 0.69 | +0.69 | ||
| Libertarianz | Reagan Cutting | 69 | 0.18 | −0.01 | 40 | 0.10 | −0.01 | ||
| Alliance | Kelly Buchanan | 52 | 0.14 | +0.14 | 18 | 0.05 | -0.003 | ||
| New Economics | Laurence Boomert | 44 | 0.11 | +0.11 | |||||
| Independent | Puhi Karena | 32 | 0.08 | +0.08 | |||||
| Maori Party | 278 | 0.71 | −0.15 | ||||||
| United Future | 256 | 0.65 | −0.35 | ||||||
| Mana | 250 | 0.63 | +0.63 | ||||||
| Democrats | 15 | 0.04 | +0.03 | ||||||
| Informal votes | 411 | 153 | |||||||
| Total valid votes | 38,326 | 39,372 | |||||||
| Labour hold | Majority | 6,376 | 16.64 | +11.92 | |||||
Electorate (as at 26 November 2011): 48,316[13]
2008 election
| 2008 general election: Wellington Central[14] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notes: |
Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
| ||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Party votes | % | ±% | ||
| Labour | Grant Robertson | 17,046 | 42.18 | 14,244 | 34.57 | ||||
| National | Stephen Franks | 15,142 | 37.47 | 14,589 | 35.41 | ||||
| Green | Sue Kedgley | 5,971 | 14.78 | 8,494 | 20.62 | ||||
| ACT | Heather Roy | 922 | 2.28 | 1,628 | 3.95 | ||||
| Legalise Cannabis | Michael Appleby | 407 | 1.01 | 108 | 0.26 | ||||
| United Future | Vaughan Smith | 226 | 0.56 | 412 | 1.00 | ||||
| Workers Party | Don Franks | 171 | 0.42 | 38 | 0.09 | ||||
| Progressive | David Somerset | 141 | 0.35 | 272 | 0.66 | ||||
| Kiwi | Rebekah Clement | 106 | 0.26 | 84 | 0.20 | ||||
| Libertarianz | Bernard Darnton | 75 | 0.19 | 48 | 0.12 | ||||
| RAM | Grant Brookes | 61 | 0.15 | 13 | 0.03 | ||||
| Independent | Al Mansell | 58 | 0.14 | – | |||||
| RONZ | Justin Harnish | 46 | 0.11 | 5 | 0.01 | ||||
| Alliance | Richard Wallis | 39 | 0.10 | 20 | 0.05 | ||||
| NZ First | 629 | 1.53 | |||||||
| Maori Party | 351 | 0.85 | |||||||
| Bill and Ben | 215 | 0.52 | |||||||
| Family Party | 38 | 0.09 | |||||||
| Pacific | 8 | 0.02 | |||||||
| Democrats | 4 | 0.01 | |||||||
| Informal votes | 229 | 86 | |||||||
| Total valid votes | 40,411 | 41,200 | |||||||
| Labour hold | Majority | 1,904 | |||||||
2005 election
| 2005 general election: Wellington Central[15] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notes: |
Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
| ||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Party votes | % | ±% | ||
| Labour | 20,199 | 49.32 | +8.26 | 17,936 | 43.26 | ||||
| National | Mark Blumsky | 14,019 | 34.23 | +4.69 | 13,513 | 32.59 | |||
| Green | Sue Kedgley | 3,737 | 9.12 | −3.93 | 6,530 | 15.75 | |||
| ACT | Stephen Franks | 1,254 | 3.06 | 848 | 2.05 | ||||
| United Future | Fiona McKenzie | 593 | 1.45 | 1,068 | 2.58 | ||||
| Legalise Cannabis | Michael Appleby | 426 | 1.04 | 98 | 0.24 | ||||
| Progressive | David Somerset | 173 | 0.26 | 309 | 0.75 | ||||
| Anti-Capitalist Alliance | Stephen Hay | 107 | 0.26 | ||||||
| Libertarianz | Bernard Darnton | 79 | 0.19 | 42 | 0.10 | ||||
| Alliance | Kane O'Connell | 79 | 0.19 | 35 | 0.08 | ||||
| NZ First | 707 | 1.71 | |||||||
| Maori Party | 168 | 0.41 | |||||||
| Destiny | 67 | 0.16 | |||||||
| Christian Heritage | 24 | 0.06 | |||||||
| Democrats | 10 | 0.02 | |||||||
| 99 MP | 8 | 0.02 | |||||||
| RONZ | 4 | 0.01 | |||||||
| Family Rights | 3 | 0.01 | |||||||
| Direct Democracy | 2 | 0.00 | |||||||
| One NZ | 1 | 0.00 | |||||||
| Informal votes | 288 | 86 | |||||||
| Total valid votes | 40,954 | 41,459 | |||||||
| Labour hold | Majority | 6,180 | 15.09 | +3.57 | |||||
1999 election
The National party did not stand a candidate in this election because of the events of the 1996 Wellington Central election where then leader Prime Minister Jim Bolger withdrew support for National’s candidate Mark Thomas just before the election in preference for Act leader Richard Prebble.
The absence of a National candidate in this election did not help Richard Prebble and he lost the seat to new Labour candidate Marian Hobbs.
| 1999 general election: Wellington Central[16][17] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notes: |
Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
| ||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Party votes | % | ±% | ||
| Labour | Marian Hobbs | 17,470 | 48.37 | +18.12 | 11,960 | 32.71 | +6.41 | ||
| ACT | 15,988 | 44.27 | +9.49 | 2,807 | 7.68 | +1.07 | |||
| Legalise Cannabis | Michael Appleby | 787 | 2.18 | +0.93 | 582 | 1.59 | −0.63 | ||
| Christian Democrats | Anthony Walton | 394 | 1.09 | 297 | 0.81 | ||||
| United NZ | Kent Clark | 324 | 0.90 | −4.64 | 394 | 1.08 | −1.72 | ||
| NZ First | Jonathan Mosen | 308 | 0.85 | +0.66 | 507 | 1.39 | −0.32 | ||
| Christian Heritage | Leona Emberson-Ready | 226 | 0.63 | −0.10 | 315 | 0.86 | −1.51[d] | ||
| McGillicuddy Serious | Amy Ross | 218 | 0.60 | +0.23 | 69 | 0.19 | −0.10 | ||
| Independent | Marion Smith | 218 | 0.60 | ||||||
| Independent | Lea Barker | 76 | 0.21 | ||||||
| Asia Pacific | Bihua Fu | 56 | 0.16 | +0.02 | 0 | 0.00 | −0.07 | ||
| Natural Law | Daniel Meares | 50 | 0.14 | +0.01 | 36 | 0.10 | −0.01 | ||
| National | 13,086 | 35.79 | −9.88 | ||||||
| Green | 3,543 | 9.69 | |||||||
| Alliance | 2,787 | 7.62 | −1.54 | ||||||
| Libertarianz | 78 | 0.21 | +0.16 | ||||||
| Animals First | 43 | 0.12 | −0.05 | ||||||
| Mauri Pacific | 21 | 0.06 | |||||||
| Mana Māori | 11 | 0.03 | −0.08 | ||||||
| NMP | 10 | 0.03 | |||||||
| South Island | 8 | 0.02 | |||||||
| Republican | 3 | 0.01 | |||||||
| Freedom Movement | 2 | 0.01 | |||||||
| The People's Choice | 2 | 0.01 | |||||||
| One NZ | 1 | 0.00 | |||||||
| Informal votes | 631 | 184 | |||||||
| Total valid votes | 36,115 | 36,562 | |||||||
| Labour gain from ACT | Majority | 1,482 | 4.10 | +13.81 | |||||
1996 election
The 1996 election, the first under the new electoral system MMP, saw ACT candidate and former Labour Cabinet Minister Richard Prebble compete against former National Party Wellington-Karori MP Pauline Gardiner now standing for United New Zealand, the National party candidate Mark Thomas, Labour's Alick Shaw and Danna Glendining for the Alliance.
The election campaign saw Prime Minister Jim Bolger endorse Richard Prebble shortly before the election in preference to Thomas. The events were captured in the movie Campaign.[18] The electorate was won by Richard Prebble.[19]
| 1996 general election: Wellington Central[19] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notes: |
Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
| ||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Party votes | % | ±% | ||
| ACT | Richard Prebble | 14,269 | 34.78 | 2,717 | 6.61 | ||||
| Labour | Alick Shaw | 12,409 | 30.25 | 10,816 | 26.30 | ||||
| National | Mark Thomas | 8,794 | 21.44 | 18,780 | 45.67 | ||||
| United NZ | 2,233 | 5.54 | 1,151 | 2.80 | |||||
| Alliance | Danna Glendining | 1,356 | 3.31 | 3,766 | 9.16 | ||||
| Legalise Cannabis | Michael Appleby | 513 | 1.25 | 912 | 2.22 | ||||
| NZ First | Sarah Porter | 480 | 1.17 | 707 | 1.71 | ||||
| Christian Coalition | Robin Corner | 300 | 0.73 | 973 | 2.37 | ||||
| Independent | Andy Foster | 214 | 0.52 | ||||||
| McGillicuddy Serious | Ross Gardner | 151 | 0.37 | 121 | 0.29 | ||||
| Progressive Green | Alison Davis | 137 | 0.33 | 121 | 0.29 | ||||
| Asia Pacific | Rama Ramanathan | 59 | 0.14 | 27 | 0.07 | ||||
| Natural Law | Daniel Meares | 54 | 0.13 | 47 | 0.11 | ||||
| Mana Māori | Waiariki Grace | 27 | 0.13 | 47 | 0.11 | ||||
| Libertarianz | Nikolas Haden | 19 | 0.05 | 21 | 0.05 | ||||
| Independent | Peter Franklin Robinson | 11 | 0.03 | ||||||
| Animals First | 69 | 0.17 | |||||||
| Ethnic Minority | 23 | 0.06 | |||||||
| Superannuitants & Youth | 14 | 0.03 | |||||||
| Green Society | 11 | 0.03 | |||||||
| Advance NZ | 10 | 0.02 | |||||||
| Conservatives | 6 | 0.01 | |||||||
| Te Tawharau | 0 | 0.00 | |||||||
| Informal votes | 203 | 109 | |||||||
| Total valid votes | 41,026 | 41,120 | |||||||
| ACT win new seat | Majority | 1,860 | 15.09 | ||||||
1992 by-election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Chris Laidlaw | 6,075 | 38.83 | −2.55 | |
| National | Pauline Gardiner | 5,220 | 33.37 | −6.90 | |
| Alliance | Denis Welch | 3,407 | 21.78 | +4.361 | |
| Independent | David Stevenson | 389 | 2.49 | ||
| Natural Law | Ian Douglas | 263 | 1.68 | ||
| Christian Heritage | Wayne Chapman | 154 | 0.98 | ||
| Independent | Tim Shadbolt | 64 | 0.41 | ||
| Wizard Party | Tony Catford | 40 | 0.26 | ||
| Values | John Carter | 17 | 0.11 | ||
| Communist League | Felicty Coggan | 14 | 0.09 | ||
| Christ's Ambassadors Union | Victor Bryers | 1 | 0.01 | ||
| Majority | 855 | 5.47 | +4.34 | ||
| Turnout | 15,644 | 63.302 | −25.372 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
1990 election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Fran Wilde | 9,069 | 41.39 | −13.15 | |
| National | Pauline Gardiner | 8,823 | 40.26 | ||
| Green | Stephen Rainbow | 3,164 | 14.45 | ||
| NewLabour | Jeff Montgomery | 604 | 2.76 | ||
| McGillicuddy Serious | P P Clarke | 175 | 0.80 | ||
| Democrats | R Henderson | 49 | 0.22 | ||
| Communist League | Janet Roth | 29 | 0.13 | ||
| Majority | 246 | 1.12 | −20.55 | ||
| Turnout | 21,913 | 88.67 | −1.43 | ||
| Registered electors | 24,714 | ||||
1987 election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Fran Wilde | 13,064 | 54.54 | +6.27 | |
| National | John Feast | 7,873 | 32.87 | +14.11 | |
| Democrats | M D Binney | 398 | 1.66 | ||
| McGillicuddy Serious | Mark Servian | 160 | 0.66 | ||
| Wizard Party | Tony Catford | 84 | 0.35 | +0.04 | |
| Majority | 5,191 | 21.67 | +4.51 | ||
| Turnout | 21,579 | 90.10 | −5.07 | ||
| Registered electors | 23,949 | ||||
1984 election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Fran Wilde | 11,579 | 48.27 | +0.13 | |
| National | Rosemary Young-Rouse | 7,463 | 31.11 | ||
| NZ Party | John Feast | 4,501 | 18.76 | ||
| Social Credit | Murray Belchamber | 314 | 1.30 | ||
| Wizard Party | Tony Catford | 76 | 0.31 | −0.03 | |
| Independent | Dean Matthews | 51 | 0.21 | ||
| Majority | 4,116 | 17.16 | +11.40 | ||
| Turnout | 23,984 | 95.17 | +3.97 | ||
| Registered electors | 25,200 | ||||
1981 election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Fran Wilde | 10,719 | 48.14 | ||
| National | Ken Comber | 9,436 | 42.38 | −2.39 | |
| Social Credit | Malcolm Ross | 1,898 | 8.52 | ||
| Independent | Bill Manson | 90 | 0.40 | ||
| Wizard Party | Tony Catford | 76 | 0.34 | ||
| Independent | J F Stuart | 43 | 0.19 | ||
| Majority | 1,283 | 5.76 | |||
| Turnout | 22,262 | 91.20 | +36.04 | ||
| Registered electors | 24,410 | ||||
1978 election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National | Ken Comber | 9,741 | 44.77 | −3.38 | |
| Labour | Neville Pickering | 8,825 | 40.56 | ||
| Social Credit | Ron England | 1,893 | 8.70 | +6.35 | |
| Values | Karen Roper | 1,217 | 5.59 | ||
| Tory | Mark Gregory Robinson | 51 | 0.23 | ||
| Progressive Kiwi | David Mitchell | 29 | 0.13 | +0.07 | |
| Majority | 916 | 4.21 | −1.21 | ||
| Turnout | 21,756 | 55.16 | −20.88 | ||
| Registered electors | 39,435 | ||||
1975 election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National | Ken Comber | 9,553 | 48.15 | +3.27 | |
| Labour | David Shand | 8,477 | 42.73 | −2.00 | |
| Values | Desmond Kelly | 1,326 | 6.68 | ||
| Social Credit | Ron England | 467 | 2.35 | ||
| Progressive Kiwi | David Mitchell | 13 | 0.06 | −0.47 | |
| Majority | 1,076 | 5.42 | +5.28 | ||
| Turnout | 19,836 | 76.04 | −82.56 | ||
| Registered electors | 26,083 | ||||
1972 election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National | Ken Comber | 8,088 | 44.88 | ||
| Labour | David Shand | 8,061 | 44.73 | ||
| Values | Bob Overend | 1,232 | 6.83 | ||
| Social Credit | William Roy Hill | 455 | 2.52 | ||
| New Democratic | David Mitchell | 97 | 0.53 | ||
| Independent | Kevin Alan Brown | 87 | 0.48 | ||
| Majority | 27 | 0.14 | |||
| Turnout | 18,020 | 89.60 | +3.85 | ||
| Registered electors | 20,111 | ||||
1969 election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National | Dan Riddiford | 8,467 | 51.61 | −0.79 | |
| Labour | Olive Smuts-Kennedy | 6,267 | 38.20 | ||
| Social Credit | Godfrey Healy | 842 | 5.13 | −0.15 | |
| Independent | Mike Mitchell | 489 | 2.98 | ||
| Independent | Harry Low | 264 | 1.60 | ||
| Socialist Action | George Fyson | 76 | 0.46 | ||
| Majority | 2,200 | 13.41 | +2.09 | ||
| Turnout | 16,405 | 85.75 | +5.96 | ||
| Registered electors | 19,131 | ||||
1966 election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National | Dan Riddiford | 7,927 | 52.40 | −0.26 | |
| Labour | Rolland O'Regan | 6,214 | 41.08 | ||
| Social Credit | Godfrey Healy | 799 | 5.28 | ||
| Democratic | Harry Hughes | 185 | 1.22 | ||
| Majority | 1,713 | 11.32 | +2.35 | ||
| Turnout | 15,125 | 79.79 | −8.44 | ||
| Registered electors | 18,954 | ||||
1963 election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National | Dan Riddiford | 8,852 | 52.66 | +3.57 | |
| Labour | Frank Kitts | 7,344 | 43.69 | −2.86 | |
| Social Credit | Donald Grooby | 409 | 2.43 | ||
| Communist | Kenneth Stanton | 111 | 0.66 | −0.18 | |
| Independent | Henry Trewby | 92 | 0.54 | ||
| Majority | 1,508 | 8.97 | +6.44 | ||
| Turnout | 16,808 | 88.23 | +3.06 | ||
| Registered electors | 19,049 | ||||
1960 election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National | Dan Riddiford | 7,373 | 49.09 | ||
| Labour | Frank Kitts | 6,992 | 46.55 | −6.37 | |
| Social Credit | Arthur Henry Norris | 526 | 3.50 | −0.61 | |
| Communist | Kenneth Stanton | 127 | 0.84 | ||
| Majority | 381 | 2.53 | |||
| Turnout | 15,018 | 85.17 | −6.19 | ||
| Registered electors | 17,632 | ||||
1957 election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Frank Kitts | 8,980 | 52.92 | +3.45 | |
| National | Max Wall | 7,295 | 42.97 | ||
| Social Credit | Arthur Henry Norris | 699 | 4.11 | ||
| Majority | 1,685 | 9.92 | +5.92 | ||
| Turnout | 16,974 | 91.36 | +6.06 | ||
| Registered electors | 18,579 | ||||
1954 election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Frank Kitts | 7,752 | 49.47 | ||
| National | Allan Highet | 7,125 | 45.47 | ||
| Social Credit | Eric Elliot | 791 | 5.04 | ||
| Majority | 627 | 4.00 | |||
| Turnout | 15,668 | 85.30 | +2.20 | ||
| Registered electors | 18,367 | ||||
1951 election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Charles Chapman | 4,463 | 51.61 | −1.40 | |
| National | Berta Burns | 4,186 | 48.39 | ||
| Majority | 277 | 3.20 | −2.80 | ||
| Turnout | 8,649 | 83.10 | −4.44 | ||
| Registered electors | 10,407 | ||||
1949 election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Charles Chapman | 5,078 | 53.01 | −4.82 | |
| National | Will Appleton | 4,503 | 46.99 | ||
| Majority | 575 | 6.00 | −9.67 | ||
| Turnout | 9,581 | 87.54 | −0.81 | ||
| Registered electors | 10,944 | ||||
1946 election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Charles Chapman | 6,201 | 57.83 | ||
| National | Agnes Weston[nb 1] | 4,521 | 42.17 | ||
| Majority | 1,680 | 15.67 | +7.52 | ||
| Informal votes | 96 | 0.89 | −0.60 | ||
| Turnout | 10,818 | 88.35 | +7.75 | ||
| Registered electors | 12,245 | ||||
Table footnotes:
- Claude Weston died suddenly on 10 November 1946 and was replaced by his wife[24][25]
1943 election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Peter Fraser | 6,822 | 46.12 | −16.74 | |
| National | Will Appleton | 5,616 | 37.97 | +0.83 | |
| Independent | Colin Scrimgeour | 2,253 | 15.23 | ||
| Independent | Julius Hyde | 100 | 0.68 | ||
| Majority | 1,206 | 8.15 | −17.57 | ||
| Informal votes | 223 | 1.49 | +0.89 | ||
| Turnout | 15,014 | 80.59 | +6.15 | ||
| Registered electors | 18,629 | ||||
1938 election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Peter Fraser | 9,376 | 62.86 | −6.19 | |
| National | Will Appleton | 5,539 | 37.14 | ||
| Majority | 3,837 | 25.73 | −12.37 | ||
| Informal votes | 89 | 0.59 | |||
| Turnout | 15,004 | 86.74 | +5.05 | ||
| Registered electors | 17,297 | ||||
1935 election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Peter Fraser | 7,673 | 69.43 | 12.17 | |
| United/Reform | Will Mason | 3,380 | 30.57 | ||
| Majority | 4,293 | 38.84 | +16.41 | ||
| Turnout | 11,053 | ||||
1931 election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Peter Fraser | 6,308 | 57.26 | −3.55 | |
| United | Robert Darroch | 3,837 | 34.83 | ||
| Independent | Edward William Nicolaus | 688 | 6.25 | ||
| Communist | Richard Francis Griffin | 183 | 1.66 | ||
| Majority | 2,471 | 22.43 | −6.17 | ||
| Informal votes | 91 | 0.82 | −0.37 | ||
| Turnout | 11,107 | 74.82 | −8.79 | ||
| Registered electors | 14,845 | ||||
1928 election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Peter Fraser | 7,353 | 60.81 | ||
| Reform | Dunbar Sloane | 3,895 | 32.21 | ||
| Independent Labour | Margaret Young | 843 | 6.97 | ||
| Majority | 3,458 | 28.60 | |||
| Informal votes | 145 | 1.19 | |||
| Turnout | 12,236 | 83.61 | |||
| Registered electors | 14,635 | ||||
1925 election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Peter Fraser | 5,459 | 64.02 | −0.71 | |
| Reform | Dunbar Sloane | 3,069 | 35.98 | ||
| Majority | 2,390 | 28.02 | −18.65 | ||
| Turnout | 8,528 | ||||
1922 election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Peter Fraser | 5,827 | 64.73 | +7.40 | |
| Independent | William Bennett | 1,625 | 18.05 | ||
| Liberal–Labour | Archie Sievwright | 1,550 | 17.21 | ||
| Majority | 4,202 | 46.67 | +32.03 | ||
| Informal votes | 102 | 1.13 | |||
| Turnout | 9,002 | ||||
1919 election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Peter Fraser | 4,486 | 57.33 | +0.79 | |
| Liberal | Frederick Pirani | 3,430 | 42.67 | ||
| Majority | 1,146 | 14.64 | −19.77 | ||
| Turnout | 7,826 | ||||
1918 by-election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Peter Fraser | 2,668 | 56.54 | ||
| Independent Labour | Joe Mack | 1,044 | 22.12 | ||
| Liberal | William Hildreth | 784 | 16.61 | ||
| Independent | Harry Atmore | 185 | 3.92 | ||
| Independent | Lindsay John Frederick Garmston | 29 | 0.61 | ||
| Independent | William Cyril Tanner | 9 | 0.19 | ||
| Majority | 1,624 | 34.41 | |||
| Turnout | 4,719 | 51.43 | −33.04 | ||
| Registered electors | 9,176 | ||||
| Labour gain from Liberal | Swing | ||||
1914 election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Robert Fletcher | 5,208 | 64.40 | ||
| Reform | Francis Fisher | 2,879 | 35.60 | ||
| Majority | 2,329 | 28.80 | |||
| Informal votes | 84 | 1.03 | |||
| Turnout | 8,171 | 84.47 | |||
| Registered electors | 9,673 | ||||
1911 election
First ballot
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | Francis Fisher | 2,987 | 39.71 | ||
| Liberal | Robert Fletcher | 2,983 | 39.66 | ||
| Labour | Tom Young | 1,372 | 18.24 | ||
| Socialist | Frank Freeman | 180 | 2.39 | ||
| Majority | 4 | 0.05 | |||
| Informal votes | 121 | 1.58 | |||
| Turnout | 7,643 | 70.89 | |||
| Registered electors | 10,781 | ||||
Second ballot
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | Francis Fisher | 3,813 | 50.87 | ||
| Liberal | Robert Fletcher | 3,682 | 49.13 | ||
| Majority | 131 | 1.75 | |||
| Informal votes | 19 | 0.25 | |||
| Turnout | 7,514 | 69.70 | |||
| Registered electors | 10,781 | ||||
1905 election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Liberal | Francis Fisher | 3,142 | 48.63 | ||
| Liberal | Patrick O'Regan | 2,698 | 41.76 | ||
| Ind. Labour League | Albert Cooper | 243 | 3.76 | ||
| Informal votes | 90 | 1.39 | |||
| Majority | 444 | 6.87 | |||
| Turnout | 6,353 | ||||
Table footnotes
- 2017 Mana Party swing is relative to the votes for Internet-Mana in 2014; it shared a party list with the Internet Party in the 2014 election
- 2017 Internet Party swing is relative to the votes for Internet-Mana in 2014; it shared a party list with Mana Party in the 2014 election
- 2014 Internet Mana swing is relative to the votes for Mana in 2011; it shared a party list with Internet in the 2014 election.
- 1999 Christian Heritage swing is relative to the votes for Christian Coalition in 1996; the Christian Coalition split back into the Christian Heritage Party and Christian Democrats.