Rotorua 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, ...
, returning one Member of Parliament to the
New Zealand House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is the sole chamber of the New Zealand Parliament. The House passes Law of New Zealand, laws, provides Ministers of the New Zealand Government, ministers to form Cabinet of New Zealand, Cabinet, and supervises the ...
. It was first established in 1919, and has existed continuously since 1954. The current MP for Rotorua is
Todd McClay
Todd Michael McClay (born 22 November 1968) is a New Zealand politician and former ambassador. He is the Member of Parliament for Rotorua. He was previously an ambassador for the Cook Islands and Niue to the European Union.
Early life
McClay ...
of the
National Party, who won the electorate in the
2008 general election from incumbent
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 ...
MP
Steve Chadwick
Stephanie Anne "Steve" Chadwick (née Frizzell, born 15 December 1948) is a New Zealand politician. She served as mayor of Rotorua from 2013 to 2022. She previously held the positions of Minister of Conservation, Women's Affairs, and Associat ...
.
Population centres
In the 1918 electoral redistribution, 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 three 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. 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.
The original electorate, which was formed through the 1918 electoral redistribution, had a long coastline along the
Bay of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runawa ...
, and incorporated, beside Rotorua, the towns and villages of
Whakatāne
Whakatāne ( , ) is the seat of the Bay of Plenty region in the North Island of New Zealand, east of Tauranga and north-east of Rotorua, at the mouth of the Whakatāne River. Whakatāne District is the encompassing territorial authority, whi ...
,
Taupō
Taupō (), sometimes written Taupo, is a town on the north-eastern shore of Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake, in the central North Island. It is the largest urban area of the Taupō District, and the second-largest urban area in the Wai ...
,
Tokoroa
Tokoroa ( mi, Te Kaokaoroa o Pātetere) is the fifth-largest town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand and largest settlement in the South Waikato District. Located 30 km southwest of Rotorua, close to the foot of the M ...
,
Putāruru
Putāruru is a small town in the South Waikato District and the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It lies on the western side of the Mamaku Ranges and in the upper basin of the Waihou River. It is on the Oraka Stream 65 kilometre ...
,
Mangakino
Mangakino is a small town on the banks of the Waikato River in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located close to the hydroelectric power station at Lake Maraetai, southeast of Hamilton. The town and its infrastructure are administered a ...
,
Edgecumbe
Edgecumbe is a town in the Bay of Plenty of the North Island of New Zealand, 15 kilometres to the west of Whakatāne and eight kilometres south of the Bay's coast.
It is the main service town for the agricultural region surrounding the plains ...
,
Tāneatua
Tāneatua is a small town in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island, 13 kilometres south of Whakatāne. Its population was 786 in the 2013 New Zealand census. State Highway 2 passes through the town on its route between Edgecumbe ...
, and
Murupara
Murupara is a town located in the Whakatāne District and Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island. The town is situated in an isolated part of the region between the Kaingaroa Forest and Te Urewera protected area, on the banks of the ...
. In the 1922 electoral redistribution, the electorate lost some area to the electorate, and a larger area to the electorate. The 1927 electoral redistribution saw Rotorua become landlocked, with the electorate taking the coastline including Tāneatua and Edgecumbe, and Whakatāne going to the Bay of Plenty electorate. The electorate moved south and took in
Lake Taupō
Lake Taupō (also spelled Taupo; mi, Taupō-nui-a-Tia or ) is a large crater lake in New Zealand's North Island, located in the caldera of the Taupō Volcano. The lake is the namesake of the town of Taupō, which sits on a bay in the lake's nor ...
, with
Tūrangi
Tūrangi is a small town on the west bank of the Tongariro River, 50 kilometres south-west of Taupō on the North Island Volcanic Plateau of New Zealand. It was built to accommodate the workers associated with the Tongariro hydro-electric pow ...
just beyond the southern boundary located in the electorate. The electorate also grew in the north-west, gaining the town of
Matamata
Matamata () is a town in Waikato, New Zealand. It is located near the base of the Kaimai Ranges, and is a thriving farming area known for Thoroughbred horse breeding and training pursuits. It is part of the Matamata-Piako District, which takes ...
.
In the 1937 electoral redistribution, the electorate shifted further south again. Matamata was lost again, and the peaks of
Tongariro
Mount Tongariro (; ) is a compound volcano in the Taupō Volcanic Zone of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located to the southwest of Lake Taupō, and is the northernmost of the three active volcanoes that dominate the landscape of th ...
,
Ngauruhoe
Mount Ngāuruhoe (also spelled Ngauruhoe; Māori: ''Ngāuruhoe'') is a volcanic cone in New Zealand. It is the youngest vent in the Tongariro stratovolcano complex on the Central Plateau of the North Island and first erupted about 2,500 ...
, and
Ruapehu now formed the boundary to the Waimarino electorate. 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 Taupō, and some area in the north-west going to the Waikato electorate including Tokoroa.
The
First Labour Government was defeated in the 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
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
and
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 ...
s, but the law changes resulted in boundary adjustments to almost every electorate through the 1952 electoral redistribution; only five electorates were unaltered. 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. These changes took effect with the . The electorate was again landlocked and much smaller than prior to its abolition. Significant settlements included Rotorua, Tokoroa, Taupō, and Mangakino, with Lake Taupō forming the southern boundary.
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
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
, who are on the whole younger than the national average (22.7 years old versus a national average of 35.9). 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
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 ...
applied until 1945 and the Rotorua electorate was initially classed as fully rural. Based on the
1926 New Zealand census
The 1926 New Zealand census was the eighteenth national population census. The day used for the census was Tuesday, 20 April 1926. The total population of the Dominion of New Zealand was counted as 1,408,140, an increase of 136,473 people or 10 ...
, 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.
The current Rotorua electorate is positioned in the
Bay of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runawa ...
region in the central North Island. It is dominated by the town of
Rotorua
Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...
, and also contains the Eastern Bay of Plenty towns of
Kawerau
Kawerau is a town in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is situated 100 km south-east of Tauranga and 58 km east of Rotorua. It is the seat of the Kawerau District Council, and the only town in Kawerau Distric ...
,
Murupara
Murupara is a town located in the Whakatāne District and Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island. The town is situated in an isolated part of the region between the Kaingaroa Forest and Te Urewera protected area, on the banks of the ...
and
Galatea
Galatea is an ancient Greek name meaning "she who is milk-white".
Galatea, Galathea or Gallathea may refer to:
In mythology
* Galatea (Greek myth), three different mythological figures
In the arts
* ''Aci, Galatea e Polifemo'', cantata by H ...
, the last two of which are located on the outskirts of
Te Urewera National Park
Te Urewera National Park was a national park near the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, established as such in 1954 and disestablished in 2014, when it was replaced by a new legal entity and protected area named ''Te Urewera''. The p ...
. 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
Maketu is a small town on the Bay of Plenty Coast in New Zealand.
Maketu is located in the Western Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. Maketu has an estuary from which the Kaituna River used to flow. It is also adjacent to Newdicks Beach located on t ...
to the outskirts of
Te Puke
Te Puke is a town located 18 kilometres southeast of Tauranga in the Western Bay of Plenty of New Zealand. It is particularly well-known for the cultivation of Kiwifruit.
Te Puke is close to Tauranga, Mount Maunganui, Papamoa, and Maketu, whi ...
.
History
An electorate based around Rotorua has been a part of the New Zealand electoral landscape since the , with a gap from to 1954. Previously the town of Rotorua was in the electorate (from ), then the East Coast electorate again (from ), then the electorate (from ), and then (just) in the Tauranga electorate again (from to 1919).
William Henry Wackrow was nominated in March 1922 as the
opposition
Opposition may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars
* The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band
* '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...
candidate for that
year's election. Wackrow withdrew in November and was replaced by
Cecil Clinkard
Cecil Henry Clinkard (1862 – 24 March 1941) was a United Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand, and the first mayor of Rotorua.
Early life
Clinkard was born in 1862 in Oxfordshire, England. He came to New Zealand with his parents in 1867 ...
, who lost against the incumbent,
Frank Hockly
Frank Franklin Hockly (1865 – 7 October 1936) was a Reform Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand.
Biography
Born in Orrell near Litherland, Lancashire, England, in 1865, Hockly emigrated to New Zealand in 1884.
Arthur Remington of ...
of the
Reform Party.
Geoffrey Sim
Geoffrey Fantham Sim (2 April 1911 – 27 March 2002) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party.
Biography
Sim was born at Ngatapa near Gisborne in 1911. He received his education at Morrinsville, Pukekohe High School, and ...
of the
National Party won the . When the Rotorua electorate was abolished for the , Sim successfully stood in Waikato electorate instead.
After the electorate was re-established through the 1952 Electoral Redistribution,
Ray Boord
Raymond Boord (4 February 1908 – 29 April 1982) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.
Biography Early life and career
Boord was born in Rotorua in 1908 to Francis Moss Boord and Agnes Jane Boord. His grandfather being one of t ...
of the Labour Party won the . Boord served two parliamentary terms and was beaten by National's
Harry Lapwood
Henry Robert Lapwood (1 November 1915 – 26 April 2007) was a New Zealand soldier and a National Party politician.
Biography
Born at Tuakau, just south of Auckland, Lapwood was raised by an uncle and aunt, his mother having died when ...
in the . Lapwood served for six parliamentary terms and retired in 1978.
Lapwood was succeeded by his party colleague
Paul East
Paul Clayton East (born 4 August 1946) is a former New Zealand politician of the National Party.
Early life and family
East was born in Ōpōtiki on 4 August 1946, and was educated at King's College, Auckland. He studied at the University ...
in the . East also served six parliamentary terms until 1996. With the advent of
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) voting in , the Rotorua electorate was greatly expanded to include areas previously part of the and 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
Maxwell Robert Bradford (born 19 January 1942) is a former New Zealand politician and cabinet minister. He was an MP for the National Party from 1990 to 2002. He is best known for introducing the " Bright Future" economic initiative in 1999, a ...
, faced off for a Rotorua nomination eventually secured by Bradford, with East securing a high
list position.
Bradford won the 1996 election with a nearly 6,000 votes margin.
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
Stephanie Anne "Steve" Chadwick (née Frizzell, born 15 December 1948) is a New Zealand politician. She served as mayor of Rotorua from 2013 to 2022. She previously held the positions of Minister of Conservation, Women's Affairs, and Associat ...
in the . Chadwick's initial majority of 4,978 votes blew out to over 7,500 in
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
before it was reined in to just 662 in
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
, 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
Todd Michael McClay (born 22 November 1968) is a New Zealand politician and former ambassador. He is the Member of Parliament for Rotorua. He was previously an ambassador for the Cook Islands and Niue to the European Union.
Early life
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. In 2014, McClay was elected as MP for a third term beating television personality
Tāmati Coffey
Tamati Gerald Coffey (born 19 September 1979) is a list Member of the New Zealand Parliament for the New Zealand Labour Party. Prior to entering Parliament, he was most notably an award-winning broadcaster fronting many shows over a decade, for ...
by a similar majority to that in the previous election.
Rotorua is also an electorate where the
New Zealand First
New Zealand First ( mi, Aotearoa Tuatahi), commonly abbreviated to NZ First, is a nationalist and populist political party in New Zealand. The party formed in July 1993 following the resignation on 19 March 1993 of its leader and founder, Winst ...
party does well, with its biggest appeal among provincial New Zealanders, and as results in
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 ...
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
List MPs from Rotorua
Members of Parliament elected from
party list
An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can ...
s in elections where that person also unsuccessfully contested the Rotorua electorate. Unless otherwise stated, all MPs terms began and ended at general elections.
Election results
2020 election
2017 election
2014 election
2011 election
Electorate (as at 26 November 2011): 42,886
2008 election
2005 election
2002 election
1999 election
1996 election
1993 election
1990 election
1987 election
1984 election
1981 election
1978 election
1975 election
1972 election
1969 election
1966 election
1963 election
1960 election
1957 election
1954 election
1943 election
1938 election
1935 election
1931 election
1928 election
1925 election
Table footnotes:
1922 election
1919 election
Table footnotes:
Notes
References
*
*
*
External links
Electorate Profile ''Parliamentary Library''
{{Authority control
New Zealand electorates
Bay of Plenty Region
1919 establishments in New Zealand
1946 disestablishments in New Zealand
1954 establishments in New Zealand
Rotorua