Christchurch Central is 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
The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, ...
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 ...
city of
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
. The electorate was established for the
1946 election and, until
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
had always been won by the
Labour Party. Since 2008, the incumbent was
Brendon Burns but the election night results for the resulted in a tie; the special vote results combined with a judicial recount revealed a 47-vote majority for
Nicky Wagner
Nicola Joanne Wagner (born 23 July 1953) is a New Zealand teacher, businesswoman and politician. She represented the Christchurch Central electorate for the New Zealand National Party in the New Zealand Parliament.
Early life and career
Born ...
, the National list MP based in the electorate. Wagner significantly increased her winning margin in the after having declared the electorate "unwinnable" for National earlier in the year following a boundary review. At the Wagner lost the seat to Labour's
Duncan Webb
Duncan Alexander Webb (born 1967) is a New Zealand lawyer and politician, currently serving as Chief Government Whip in the House of Representatives since 2022. He has been the Member of Parliament for Christchurch Central since 2017, represent ...
, who retained it at the .
Population centres
The
1941 New Zealand census had been postponed due to World War II, so the 1946 electoral redistribution had to take ten years of population growth and movements into account. The
North Island
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...
gained a further two electorates from 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 ...
due to faster population growth. The abolition of the
country quota
The country quota was a part of the New Zealand electoral system from 1881 until 1945, when it was abolished by the First Labour Government. Its effect was to make urbanUrban electorate were those that contained cities or boroughs of over 2000 pe ...
through the ''Electoral Amendment Act, 1945'' reduced the number and increased the size of rural electorates. None of the existing electorates remained unchanged, 27 electorates were abolished, eight former electorates were re-established, and 19 electorates were created for the first time, including Christchurch Central.
As the name suggests, the electorate covers the
Christchurch Central City
Christchurch Central City or Christchurch City Centre is the geographical centre and the heart of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is defined as the area within the Four Avenues (Bealey Avenue, Fitzgerald Avenue, Moorhouse Avenue and Deans Avenue ...
, plus several inner suburbs to the north and east of the central city. Since the
2008 election, the following suburbs, in alphabetical order, are at least partially located in the electorate:
Avonside, Central City,
Edgeware
Edgeware is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, to the north of the central city. It is centred on a cluster of some 20 shops that make up Edgeware Village on Edgeware Road near Colombo Street's northern end. The boundaries of the suburb ar ...
,
Linwood Linwood may refer to:
Places
Many of the place names for Linwood come from the presence of linden trees. Australia
*Linwood, South Australia
* Linnwood, Guildford, 11-35 Byron Road, Guildford, New South Wales
Canada
* Linwood, Ontario
* Linwood, ...
,
Mairehau
Mairehau is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is located four kilometres north of the city centre, close to the edge of the urbanised central city area. Much new development is being carried out on the northern edge of Mairehau.
The su ...
,
Merivale,
North Linwood
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north'' is ...
,
Northcote,
Papanui
Papanui is a major suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is situated five kilometers to the northwest of the city centre. Papanui is a middle socio-economic area with a population of 3,645 consisting predominantly of Pākehā (NZ Eur ...
,
Phillipstown,
Redwood
Sequoioideae, popularly known as redwoods, is a subfamily of coniferous trees within the family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affini ...
,
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
,
Shirley
Shirley may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Shirley'' (novel), an 1849 novel by Charlotte Brontë
* ''Shirley'' (1922 film), a British silent film
* ''Shirley'' (2020 film), an American film
* ''Shirley'' (album), a 1961 album by Shirley Bas ...
,
St Albans
St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...
,
Sydenham Sydenham may refer to:
Places Australia
* Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney
** Sydenham railway station, Sydney
* Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne
** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne ...
, and
Waltham. In the 2013/14 redistribution, the electorate lost Mairehau and Shirley to Christchurch East and gained more of Sydenham and
Beckenham
Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley, in Greater London. Until 1965 it was part of the historic county of Kent. It is located south-east of Charing Cross, situated north of Elmers End and E ...
from
Port Hills
The Port Hills are a range of hills in Canterbury Region, so named because they lie between the city of Christchurch and its port at Lyttelton. They are an eroded remnant of the Lyttelton volcano, which erupted millions of years ago.
The hi ...
and more of Redwood from
Waimakariri.
History
The Christchurch Central electorate was created in
1946
Events January
* January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held.
* January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...
.
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
held the seat for the next 65 years, though a high turnout for the
Alliance
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
saw
Tim Barnett's
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
majority come in at under a thousand. The incumbent, Brendon Burns, had a majority in the 2008 election of also just under one thousand.
The first representative was
Robert Macfarlane, who had earlier represented the
Christchurch South electorate. He held Christchurch Central until the , when he retired. He was succeeded by
Bruce Barclay, who died in office in 1979. This caused the held on 18 August, which was won by
Geoffrey Palmer Geoffrey Palmer may refer to:
Politicians
* Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 1st Baronet (1598–1670), English lawyer and politician
*Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 3rd Baronet (1655–1732), English politician, Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicestershire
*Geoffrey Pa ...
. Palmer eventually went on to become
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
.
Palmer retired at the and was succeeded by
Lianne Dalziel
Lianne Audrey Dalziel (; born 7 June 1960) is a New Zealand politician and former Mayor of Christchurch. Prior to this position, she was a member of the New Zealand Parliament for 23 years, serving as Minister of Immigration, Commerce, Minister ...
. At the , i.e. with the advent of
MMP, Dalziel did not contest an electorate but stood as a list candidate only.
Tim Barnett succeeded her and held the electorate until the , when he retired.
Brendon Burns succeeded Barnett.
The election night results for the resulted in a tie; Burns and
Nicky Wagner
Nicola Joanne Wagner (born 23 July 1953) is a New Zealand teacher, businesswoman and politician. She represented the Christchurch Central electorate for the New Zealand National Party in the New Zealand Parliament.
Early life and career
Born ...
of the National Party received 10,493 votes each. The outcome of the election thus depended on the special votes.
This was the first time a tie result had been achieved since 1928. When the final vote count was announced on 10 December, Wagner was declared the winner with a majority of 45 over Burns, making the result the second-smallest majority after . Due to the closeness of the results a judicial recount was held where Wagner's majority increased by 2 votes to 47.
When draft electoral boundary changes were released, Wagner declared the electorate "unwinnable" for National. Although she was expected to not contest the
2014 general election, she announced at the end of January 2014 that she would try to defend her seat. Labour chose Tony Milne as their candidate for Christchurch Central. Wagner had a 2,420 majority over Milne.
The Labour Party chose Duncan Webb as its candidate for the
2017 general election. He is a prominent lawyer and earthquake claims advocate.
Webb narrowly won the seat in 2017, and massively increased his majority at the amid that year's Labour landslide.
Members of Parliament
Christchurch Central has been represented by eight MPs. Since its creation in 1946 until the
2011 general election it had been a safe seat for the
Labour Party. It was then held by the National Party until the
2017 general election when it swung back to Labour.
Key
List MPs
Members of Parliament elected from party lists in elections where that person also unsuccessfully contested the Christchurch Central electorate.
Election results
2020 election
2017 election
2014 election
2011 election
Electorate (as at 26 November 2011): 39,419
2008 election
2005 election
2002 election
1999 election
1996 election
1993 election
1990 election
1987 election
1984 election
1981 election
1979 by-election
1978 election
1975 election
1972 election
1969 election
1966 election
1963 election
1960 election
1957 election
1954 election
1951 election
1949 election
1946 election
Table footnotes
Notes
References
*
*
*
External links
Electorate Profile — 2005 ''Parliamentary Library''
''Parliamentary Library''
{{Electorates of New Zealand
1946 establishments in New Zealand
New Zealand electorates
Politics of Christchurch