Aoraki was a New Zealand parliamentary

electorate Electorate may refer to: * The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate'' * The dominion of a Prince-elector in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806 * An electoral district An ...

that existed for four parliamentary terms from 1996 to 2008. It was held by

Jim Sutton James Robert Sutton (born 7 November 1941), generally known as Jim Sutton, is a New Zealand politician who was a Member of Parliament between 1984 and 1990 and again between 1993 and 2006. He has held a range of ministerial portfolios including ...

of the Labour Party for three terms, and the remaining term by

Jo Goodhew Joanne Gay Goodhew (born 1961) is a New Zealand politician. She served as a member of Parliament between 2005 and 2017. Early years Goodhew grew up in Timaru, and attended Timaru Girls' High School. She holds a qualification in nursing from Ota ...

of the National Party. It was located in the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

, covering southern

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

and northern

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

. It was named after the mountain

Aoraki / Mount Cook Aoraki / Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand. Its height, as of 2014, is listed as . It sits in the Southern Alps, the mountain range that runs the length of the South Island. A popular tourist destination, it is also a favourite ...

Population centres

The 1996 election was notable for the significant change of electorate boundaries, based on the provisions of the Electoral Act 1993. Because of the introduction of the

mixed-member proportional Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP or MMPR) is a mixed electoral system in which votes cast are considered in local elections and also to determine overall party vote tallies, which are used to allocate additional members to produce ...

(MMP) electoral system, the number of electorates had to be reduced, leading to significant changes. More than half of the electorates contested in 1996 were newly constituted, and most of the remainder had seen significant boundary changes. In total, 73 electorates were abolished, 29 electorates were newly created (including Aoraki), and 10 electorates were recreated, giving a net loss of 34 electorates.

History

The electorate of Aoraki was created for the 1996 election, as part of the major redistribution in the transition to MMP. It was effectively a merger of the old seats of

Timaru Timaru (; mi, Te Tihi-o-Maru) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to ...

and Waitaki, bringing the town of

and its surrounding farmland together in one electorate. The boundaries of Aoraki did not undergo any significant changes since the seat was created. However, in boundary changes for the 2008 general election, Aoraki ceased to exist, with the bulk of its population centres being transferred to a resurrected electorate named Rangitata. The southern part went to Waitaki.

Election results

Key

List MPs

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

Election results

2005 election

2002 election

1999 election

1996 election

References

External links

Electorate Profile Aoraki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aoraki (New Zealand Electorate) Historical electorates of New Zealand 1996 establishments in New Zealand 2008 disestablishments in New Zealand Politics of Canterbury, New Zealand Politics of Otago