Stuart Tayler Smith (born 1963) is a

New Zealand National Party The New Zealand National Party ( mi, Rōpū Nāhinara o Aotearoa), shortened to National () or the Nats, is a centre-right political party in New Zealand. It is one of two major parties that dominate contemporary New Zealand politics, alongside ...

politician who has been a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

for the Kaikōura electorate since the 2014 general election. Before entering parliament he was a Marlborough grape grower and chairman of the New Zealand Winegrowers Association.

Political career

Fifth National Government (2014–2017)

In 2013 Smith contested the National Party selection for the Kaikōura seat, defeating incumbent Colin King. He was elected at the 2014 election with a majority of 12,570 votes. During the 2014–17 Parliamentary term, Smith served as Deputy Chair of the Primary Production Committee and the Social Services Committee.

Sixth Labour Government (2017–present)

During the

2017 New Zealand general election The 2017 New Zealand general election took place on Saturday 23 September 2017 to determine the membership of the 52nd New Zealand Parliament. The previous parliament was elected on 20 September 2014 and was officially dissolved on 22 August 20 ...

, Smith retained Kaikōura for the National Party, defeating

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 ...

candidate Janette Walker by slightly reduced majority of 10,553 votes. Following the formation of the Labour-NZ First-Greens coalition minority government after the election, the National party returned to

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 Comed ...

, with outgoing Prime Minister

Bill English Sir Simon William English (born 30 December 1961) is a New Zealand former National Party politician who served as the 39th prime minister of New Zealand from 2016 to 2017 and as the 17th deputy prime minister of New Zealand and minister of f ...

becoming

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

. English ranked Smith at 46th in his new shadow cabinet, the lowest ranked of any MP elected prior to the 2017 election. He was also appointed as National's spokesperson for Civil Defense and the

Earthquake Commission The Earthquake Commission, ( mi, Kōmihana Rūwhenua), is a New Zealand Crown entity that invests in natural disaster research and education as well as providing natural disaster insurance to residential property owners. In March 2022, a bill ...

. Following English's resignation in early 2018,

Simon Bridges Simon Joseph Bridges (born 12 October 1976) is a former New Zealand politician and lawyer. He served as Leader of the National Party and Leader of the Opposition between 2018 and 2020, and as the Member of Parliament for Tauranga from the to ...

was elected party leader, and Smith was given a significant promotion. Moving up in the National rankings and taking on the

Viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

portfolio while retaining his previous Civil Defense and Earthquake Commission spokesperson roles. In 2019 Bridges promoted Smith to 27th in caucus and appointed him to the Immigration portfolio. After

Todd Muller Todd Michael Muller (; born 23 December 1968) is a New Zealand politician who served as the Leader of the New Zealand National Party and the Leader of the Opposition from 22 May to 14 July 2020. Muller entered Parliament at the 2014 general el ...

was elected National leader in May 2020, Smith was demoted one place in the National rankings to 28th and dropping his Civil Defense and Earthquake portfolios while retaining his Viticulture and Immigration spokespersonships. During the

2020 New Zealand general election The 2020 New Zealand general election was held on Saturday 17 October 2020 to determine the composition of the 53rd parliament. Voters elected 120 members to the House of Representatives, 72 from single-member electorates and 48 from closed ...

, Smith retained Kaikōura, defeating Labour candidate Matt Flight by a significantly reduced majority of 2,295 votes, reflecting the nationwide landslide towards the Labour party.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Stuart Living people New Zealand National Party MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates 21st-century New Zealand politicians Candidates in the 2017 New Zealand general election 1963 births