Owairaka 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 or c ...

that existed for one parliamentary term from 1996 to 1999. Located in suburban

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

, it was held by

Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...

, who would become

Prime Minister of New Zealand The prime minister of New Zealand ( mi, Te pirimia o Aotearoa) is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, took office on 26 October 2017. The prime minister (inf ...

immediately after Owairaka was abolished.

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 Owairaka), and 10 electorates were recreated, giving a net loss of 34 electorates. For the 1996 election, the electorate moved west. The Owairaka electorate gained its north-western area from what previously belonged to New Lynn. The Owairaka electorate took over the complete area that previously belonged to the electorate. The southern half of the electorate went to Owairaka as did the western part of the electorate. The electorate covered a suburban part of the city of

including Avondale, New Windsor, Lynfield, Hillsborough,

Three Kings The biblical Magi from Middle Persian ''moɣ''(''mard'') from Old Persian ''magu-'' 'Zoroastrian clergyman' ( or ; singular: ), also referred to as the (Three) Wise Men or (Three) Kings, also the Three Magi were distinguished foreigners in the ...

, the southern parts of

Mount Eden Mount Eden is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand whose name honours George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland. It is south of the Central Business District (CBD). Mt Eden Road winds its way around the side of Mount Eden Domain and continues to weave b ...

, and Mount Albert.

History

The electorate was established in the first

(MMP) election in . The election was won by

, who had held the Mount Albert electorate since the . The electorate was abolished after one parliamentary term for the . The southern half of the Owairaka electorate went to the newly established electorate, whilst the northern half went to the recreated Mount Albert electorate. Clark returned to the Mount Albert electorate, which she continued to represent until her resignation in 2009. From 1999 to 2008, Clark was

Members of Parliament

Key

Election results

1996 election

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Owairaka (New Zealand Electorate) Historical electorates of New Zealand Politics of the Auckland Region 1996 establishments in New Zealand 1999 disestablishments in New Zealand