Napier 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 in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806 * An electoral district An ...

, returning one Member of Parliament to 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 ...

. It is named after the city of

Napier Napier may refer to: People * Napier (surname), including a list of people with that name * Napier baronets, five baronetcies and lists of the title holders Given name * Napier Shaw (1854–1945), British meteorologist * Napier Waller (1893–19 ...

, the main urban area within the electorate. The electorate was established for the 1861 election and has existed since. Since the 2014 general election, Napier has been held by

Stuart Nash Stuart Alexander Nash (born August 1967) is a politician from New Zealand. He was a list member of the House of Representatives for the Labour Party from to 2011, and was re-elected in the as representative of the Napier electorate. He ente ...

of the

New Zealand Labour Party The New Zealand Labour Party ( mi, Rōpū Reipa o Aotearoa), or simply Labour (), is a centre-left political party in New Zealand. The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers descr ...

. Previously, it had been held by

Chris Tremain Christopher James Tremain (born 1966) is a New Zealand businessman and retired politician. He served as member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for the National Party from until his retirement in 2014. Family and personal life Bo ...

of the

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 ...

, who stood down prior to the 2014 election.

Population centres

The electorate includes the following population centres: *

* Taradale *

Wairoa Wairoa is a town and territorial authority district in New Zealand's North Island. The town is the northernmost in the Hawke's Bay region, and is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of ...

Frasertown Frasertown is a small settlement in the northern Hawke's Bay Region of New Zealand's eastern North Island. It is located inland from Wairoa at the junction of SH38, and the inland route (the Tiniroto Road; the former SH36) to Gisborne. Sta ...

Nūhaka Nūhaka is a small settlement in the northern Hawke's Bay Region of New Zealand's eastern North Island, lying on New Zealand State Highway 2, State Highway 2 between Wairoa and Gisborne, New Zealand, Gisborne. The road to Mahia turns off the highw ...

History

The electorate was created in 1861, and preceded by the electorate from 1853 to 1860 and then briefly the electorate in 1860. It was a two-member electorate from 1876 to 1881. The first representative was Henry Powning Stark, who won the election on 19 February 1861. There were speculations that

Douglas Maclean Charles Douglas MacLean (January 10, 1890 – July 9, 1967) was an American stage and silent film actor who later worked as a producer and screenwriter in the sound era. Early life and stage career Born in Philadelphia, MacLean was educated at ...

would be the conservative candidate in the Napier electorate in the upon his return from England instead of George Swan, but this was not correct. Swan contested the election and was successful against the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

candidate Michael Gannon. In the , Swan was challenged by the Liberal Party candidate

Samuel Carnell Samuel Carnell (1832 – 14 October 1920) was a Liberal Party Member of Parliament in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. Member of Parliament He won the Napier electorate with the swing to the Liberals in 1893, but lost in 1896 Events Jan ...

, with the latter being successful against the incumbent. In the , Carnell in turn was challenged by the conservative candidate Douglas Maclean, with Maclean achieving a large majority against the incumbent. In the , the incumbent,

Bill Barnard William Edward Barnard (29 January 1886 – 12 March 1958) was a New Zealand lawyer, politician and parliamentary speaker. He was a member of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament from 1928 New Zealand general election, 1928 until 1943 New Zealand ...

of the Labour Party, was challenged by John Butler of the Reform Party as the official candidate of the

United–Reform Coalition The United–Reform Coalition, also known as the National Political Federation from 1935, was a coalition between two of the three major parties of New Zealand, the United and Reform parties, from 1931 to 1936. The Coalition formed the Governmen ...

, and United Party member

Vigor Brown John Vigor Brown (18 June 1854 – 2 September 1942), known as Vigor Brown, was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for Napier, in the North Island. He was Mayor of Napier for a total of 18 years. He was a well-known figure in his adopted city, ...

as an Independent. Brown, at the time Mayor of Napier and previously MP for Napier for many years, withdrew just before the election, but too late for his name to be excluded from the ballot papers. The election was won by Barnard.

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 ...

Russell Fairbrother Elwin Russell Fairbrother is a lawyer and former New Zealand politician. He was a Labour Party Member of Parliament from 2002 to 2008. Early years Fairbrother, who is commonly known by his middle name, was born into a truck driving family an ...

was first elected in the electorate in the 2002 election, replacing long-standing MP

Geoff Braybrooke Geoffrey Bernard Braybrooke (4 April 1935 – 9 March 2013) was a New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1981 to 2002, representing the Labour Party. He was one of the party's more socially conservative MPs. Biography Early life and ...

. In the ,

defeated Fairbrother, winning the electorate for the National Party for the first time since the . In the

2008 election This electoral calendar 2008 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2008 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, even though they are not elections. By-elections are no ...

, Tremain retained the electorate with an increased majority over Fairbrother. In the , Tremain beat Labour's

. Tremain announced in September 2013 that he would not contest the 2014 election. Wayne Walford succeeded Tremain as National's candidate for the seat,

contested the electorate for the Labour Party for the second time, and

Garth McVicar Garth Neil McVicar (born ) is a New Zealand political lobbyist who founded the Sensible Sentencing Trust (SST) law-and-order advocacy group in 2001. In August 2014, he stood down from SST to focus on a campaign for election to Parliament. McVica ...

stood for the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. McVicar had a high-profile due to his previous involvement with the

Sensible Sentencing Trust The Sensible Sentencing Trust is a political advocacy group based in Napier, New Zealand. The Trust's stated goal is "to educate both the public and victims of serious violent and/or sexual crime and homicide" It focuses on advocating for the ri ...

lobby group. In July 2014, Walford was referred to Police by the

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

for breaching the Electoral Act by failing to display an authorisation statement on his campaign vehicle. Nash had a majority of 3,850 votes over Walford. McVicar's 7,603 votes

split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...

the traditional National Party votes (24.8% of electors who gave their party vote to National gave their electorate vote to McVicar, a total of 4,465 votes), which helped Nash win the election.

Members of Parliament

Unless otherwise stated, all MPs terms began and ended at a general election. Key

single-member electorate

multi-member electorate

single-member electorate

List MPs

Members of Parliament elected from party lists in elections where that person also unsuccessfully contested the Napier 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): 44,266

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

1951 election

1949 election

1946 election

1943 election

1938 election

1935 election

1931 election

1928 election

1925 election

1922 election

1919 election

1914 election

1911 election

1908 election

1905 election

1902 election

1899 election

1893 election

1890 election

1877 by-election

1861 by-election

Table footnotes

Notes

References

* * * * *

External links

Electorate Profile
''Parliamentary Library'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Napier (New Zealand Electorate) New Zealand electorates Napier, New Zealand 1860 establishments in New Zealand