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The 2014 New Zealand general election took place on Saturday 20 September 2014 to determine the membership of the
51st New Zealand Parliament The 51st New Zealand Parliament was elected at the 2014 general election. This Parliament consists of 121 members (120 seats plus one overhang seat) and was in place from September 2014 until August 2017, followed by the 2017 New Zealand genera ...
. Voters elected 121 members to the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
, with 71 from single-member electorates (an increase from 70 in 2011) and 49 from
party lists 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 c ...
. Since 1996, New Zealand has used the
Mixed Member Proportional Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP or MMPR) is a type of representation provided by some mixed electoral systems which combine local winner-take-all elections with a compensatory tier with party lists, in a way that produces p ...
(MMP) voting system, giving voters two votes: one for a political party and one for their local electorate MP. The party vote decides how many seats each party gets in the new Parliament; a party is entitled to a share of the seats if it receives 5% of the party vote or wins an electorate. Normally, the House has 120 seats but extra seats may be added where there is an overhang, caused by a party winning more electorates than seats it is entitled to. The one-seat overhang from the 50th Parliament remained for the 51st Parliament, after
United Future United Future New Zealand, usually known as United Future, was a Centrism, centrist List of political parties in New Zealand, political party in New Zealand. The party was in government between 2005 and 2017, first alongside New Zealand Labou ...
won one electorate when their 0.22% party vote did not entitle them to any seats. A total of 3,140,417 people were registered to vote in the election; around 92.6% of all eligible New Zealanders. A total of 2,446,279 votes were cast, including a record 717,579 advance votes, more than double the number cast in 2011. Turnout was 77.90%, higher than the 2011 election, but the sixth-lowest since women gained the vote in 1893. The centre-right
National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...
, led by incumbent
Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
John Key Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th prime minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as leader of the National Party from 2006 to 2016. Following his father's death when ...
, won a plurality with 47.0% of the party vote and 60 of the 121 seats. On election night counts, the party appeared to hold the first majority since 1994 with 61 seats, but lost one seat to the Green Party on the official count. National re-entered
confidence and supply In parliamentary system, parliamentary democracies based on the Westminster system, confidence and supply is an arrangement under which a minority government (one which does not control a majority in the legislature) receives the support of one ...
agreements with the centrist
United Future United Future New Zealand, usually known as United Future, was a Centrism, centrist List of political parties in New Zealand, political party in New Zealand. The party was in government between 2005 and 2017, first alongside New Zealand Labou ...
, the neoliberal
ACT Party ACT New Zealand (; ), also known as the ACT Party or simply ACT, is a right-wing, classical liberal, right-libertarian, and conservative political party in New Zealand. It is currently led by David Seymour, and is in coalition with the Nationa ...
, and the indigenous rights-based
Māori Party 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 Co ...
to form a
minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...
and give the Fifth National Government a third term. The centre-left Labour Party, National's traditional opponent, lost ground for the fourth election in a row, receiving 25.1% of the party vote and 32 seats. The
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
dropped in the party vote from 11.1% to 10.7%, but remained steady on 14 seats.
New Zealand First New Zealand First (), commonly abbreviated to NZ First or NZF, is a political party in New Zealand, founded and led by Winston Peters, who has served three times as Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand, deputy prime minister. The party has form ...
meanwhile increased its vote share to 8.7% and seat count to 11. The Māori Party, ACT, and United Future retained their Parliamentary representation, despite losing party votes. The Internet Mana Party did not return to Parliament after its only representative in Parliament,
Hone Harawira Hone Pani Tamati Waka Nene Harawira is a New Zealand Māori activist and former parliamentarian. He was elected to parliament as the member for the Māori electorate of Te Tai Tokerau in 2005 as the Māori Party candidate. In 2011, following ...
, was defeated in his electorate of .


Background


MMP review

A referendum on the voting system took place in conjunction with the 2011 election, with 57.8% of voters voting to keep the existing Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) voting system. Under the terms of the Electoral Referendum Act 2010 the majority vote in favour of retaining MMP meant that the Electoral Commission had the task of conducting an independent review of the workings of the MMP system. The Commission released a consultation paper in February 2012 calling for public submissions on ways to improve the MMP system, with the focus put on six areas: # basis of eligibility for list seats (thresholds) #
by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
candidates # dual candidacy # order of candidates on
party lists 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 c ...
# overhang # proportion of electorate seats to list seats The Commission released a proposal paper for consultation in August 2012 and published its final report on 29 October 2012. In the report, the Commission recommended the following: * Reducing the party vote threshold from 5 percent to 4 percent. If introduced, the 4 percent threshold should be reviewed after three general elections. * Abolishing the one electorate seat threshold – a party must cross the party vote threshold to gain list seats. * Abolishing the provision of overhang seats for parties not reaching the threshold – the extra electorates would be made up at the expense of list seats to retain 120 MPs * Retaining the status quo for by-election candidacy and dual candidacy. * Retaining the status quo with closed party lists, but increasing scrutiny in selection of list candidates to ensure parties comply with their own party rules. * Parliament should give consideration to fixing the ratio between electorate seats and list seats at 60:40 (72:48 in a 120-seat parliament). Parliament has the right to decide whether to implement any changes to the system, which had been largely unchanged since it was introduced in 1994 for the . In November 2012 a
private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in wh ...
under the name of opposition Labour Party member
Iain Lees-Galloway Iain Francis Lees-Galloway (born 18 September 1978), initially Iain Galloway, is a New Zealand former politician. He represented the Palmerston North electorate in Parliament for the Labour Party. He was the Minister for Workplace Relations, Im ...
proposed implementing the first two recommendations; it was drawn from the member's bill ballot on 14 November 2013, but by the time Parliament dissolved for the election, it was still awaiting its first reading. In May 2014
Judith Collins Judith Anne Collins (born 24 February 1959) is a New Zealand politician who has served as the attorney-general and minister of defence since 27 November 2023. She served as the leader of the Opposition and leader of the New Zealand National P ...
and John Key announced that no inter-party consensus existed on implementing the recommendations of the Commission, so the Government would not introduce any legislation.


50th Parliament (2011–14)

Following the 2011 general election, the
National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...
entered into
confidence and supply In parliamentary system, parliamentary democracies based on the Westminster system, confidence and supply is an arrangement under which a minority government (one which does not control a majority in the legislature) receives the support of one ...
agreements with ACT, the
Māori Party 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 Co ...
and
United Future United Future New Zealand, usually known as United Future, was a Centrism, centrist List of political parties in New Zealand, political party in New Zealand. The party was in government between 2005 and 2017, first alongside New Zealand Labou ...
to continue the Fifth National Government. These arrangements give the National-led government a majority of seven seats, with 64 on confidence-and-supply in the 121-seat Parliament. The Labour,
Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...
,
New Zealand First New Zealand First (), commonly abbreviated to NZ First or NZF, is a political party in New Zealand, founded and led by Winston Peters, who has served three times as Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand, deputy prime minister. The party has form ...
and
Mana Mana may refer to: Religion and mythology * Mana (Oceanian cultures), the spiritual life force energy or healing power that permeates the universe in Melanesian and Polynesian mythology * Mana (food), archaic name for manna, an edible substance m ...
parties are all in opposition, but only the Labour Party constitutes the formal Opposition. At the 2011 election, the National Party gained 59 seats, the Labour Party 34 seats, the Green Party 14 seats, New Zealand First eight seats, Māori three seats, and Mana, ACT, and United Future gained one seat each. One change was made to the allocation during the Parliament. In 2012, Brendan Horan was expelled from the NZ First caucus but continued to sit as an Independent, meaning NZ First had seven caucus MPs for the remainder of the Parliament. On 31 May 2013, the Electoral Commission de-registered United Future after it could not prove it had the 500 financial members required for registration. The party successfully re-registered on 13 August 2013, but in the interim its sole MP,
Peter Dunne Peter Francis Dunne (born 17 March 1954) is a New Zealand retired politician. Dunne was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Ōhāriu electorate and its predecessors from 1984 to 2017, first as a member of the Labour Party from 1984 to 1 ...
, sat in the house as an independent. On 13 June 2014, ACT's sole MP John Banks resigned from Parliament after being found guilty of filing a false electoral return for his 2010 Auckland mayoral campaign. As his resignation came within six months of the election, his seat was left vacant, meaning ACT had no representation in Parliament until the general election.


Dates

On 10 March 2014, Prime Minister John Key announced that the election would take place on Saturday 20 September 2014. As in 2011, the Prime Minister announced the date early, although only six months in advance compared to the nearly ten months in 2011. Traditionally, the election date is a closely guarded secret, and announced as late as possible. A general election must take place every three years, and Parliaments generally run the full three-year term unless an early election is called or the election date is set to circumvent holding a by-election. Voting for the previous election occurred on Saturday, 26 November 2011. In 1950, New Zealand introduced a legal requirement to hold elections on a Saturday, and beginning with the , a convention evolved to hold general elections on the last Saturday of November. The events of upset this convention, and it took until the for election dates to creep gradually back towards the conventional timing, only for an early election to occur in . By the , the conventional "last Saturday of November" was achieved again. If the convention had been followed in 2014, the election would have taken place on 29 November. In October 2013, Prime Minister
John Key Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th prime minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as leader of the National Party from 2006 to 2016. Following his father's death when ...
hinted that the election would take place before November. The setting of the election date became further influenced by Australia inviting New Zealand to attend the G20 summit in Brisbane on 15 and 16 November 2014, with the possibility that some leaders might make flying visits to New Zealand. Ideally, major diplomatic visits and engagements should be avoided during the election period, as they can distract politicians from campaigning and voters may see them as an attempt to influence the election result. Key dates relating to the General Election include:


Electorate boundaries

Per the Electoral Act 1993, the South Island must have 16 general electorates, with the number of North Island general and Maori electorates calculated by dividing the respective population in each group by one-sixteenth of the South Island general electorate population, within a tolerance of five percent. At the 2011 election, the North Island had 47 general electorates and the Maori roll had seven Māori electorates, totalling 70 electorates across the country. Following the March
2013 New Zealand census The 2013 New Zealand census was the thirty-third national census. "The National Census Day" used for the census was on Tuesday, 5 March 2013. The population of New Zealand was counted as 4,242,048 – an increase of 214,101 or 5.3% over the 20 ...
and the 2013 Maori electoral option, the Representation Commission re-drew some electorate boundaries. In October 2013, Statistics New Zealand announced that there would be one additional North Island general electorate, bringing the total number of North Island general electorates to 48 and the overall number of electorates to 71. Growth in Auckland saw three existing electorates, Auckland Central,
Helensville Helensville () is a town in the North Island of New Zealand. It is sited northwest of Auckland, close to the southern extremity of the Kaipara Harbour. State Highway 16 passes through the town, connecting it to Waimauku to the south, and Ka ...
and Hunua, exceed their quota by at least 14 percent. Population changes in Christchurch following the
2011 earthquakes This is a list of earthquakes in 2011. Only earthquakes of magnitude 6 or above are included, unless they result in damage and/or casualties, or are notable for some other reason. Smaller events in remote areas will be excluded from the list as ...
meanwhile saw the
Christchurch East Christchurch East, originally called Christchurch City East, is a current New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It was first created for the and was abolished for two periods, from 1875–1905 and again from 1946–1996. It was last created fo ...
electorate drop to 23 percent below quota, while the urban fringe electorate of Selwyn grew to 14 percent above quota. The Representation Commission, tasked with redrawing the electorate boundaries, released its final electorate boundaries on 17 April 2014. The largest changes took place in northern and western Auckland, with two new electorates – and – created, while the existing electorate was dissolved. Upper Harbour centres on the
Upper Harbour Bridge The Upper Harbour Bridge (also called the Greenhithe Bridge) is a motorway bridge in west Auckland, New Zealand. It is technically two bridges, spanning the Upper Waitematā Harbour, and connecting Hobsonville (in West Auckland) and Gree ...
, stretching from
Wairau Valley Wairau Valley is the valley of the Wairau River in Marlborough, New Zealand and also the name of the main settlement in the upper valley. State Highway 63 runs through the valley. The valley opens onto the Wairau Plain, where Renwick and B ...
to Massey, and was predicted to be a safe National seat. Kelston centres on the western Auckland suburb of the same name, stretching from
Oratia Oratia is a semi-rural locality on the western edge of metropolitan West Auckland in New Zealand. It is approximately to the south west of Auckland CBD (Central Business District), and sits at the eastern edge of the Waitākere Ranges Herit ...
to Waterview, and was predicted to be a safe Labour seat. Kelston's creation took population from the Mount Albert electorate, which in turn allowed Mount Albert to take Westmere and
Grey Lynn Grey Lynn is an inner suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, located to the west of the city centre. Originally a separate borough, Grey Lynn amalgamated with Auckland City in 1914. Grey Lynn is centred on Grey Lynn Park, which was not part of t ...
from Auckland Central, bringing Auckland Central within quota. Helensville's over-quota has been solved by the creation of the Upper Harbour electorate, while Hunua has lost the area south of the Auckland Region boundary to to bring it within quota. In Christchurch, the under-quota and electorates took population from in the north and from
Port Hills The Port Hills () are a range of hills in Canterbury Region of New Zealand, so named because they lie between the city of Christchurch and its port at Lyttelton, New Zealand, Lyttelton. They are an eroded remnant of the Banks Peninsula Volcano ...
in the south. While it was correctly predicted Christchurch East would remain a Labour seat, the prediction that the marginal Christchurch Central electorate would move in Labour's favour proved false; the seat instead swung in National's favour. The loss of Labour-leaning urban parts of Waimakariri made it a safer seat for National, which increased it majority from 642 votes in 2011 to 2,133 in 2014. The
Halswell Originally a separate village, Halswell is now a residential suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, located southwest of Cathedral Square on State Highway 75. History Halswell is named after Edmund Halswell QC (1790–1874), a government off ...
-Oaklands-
Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...
area moved from Selwyn into Port Hills to compensate for Port Hills' loss and to bring Selwyn within quota. As Halswell-Oaklands-Westmorland are predominantly National-leaning, it caused the Labour-held electorate of Port Hills to become more marginal. In Wellington, the Labour-leaning electorate took the National-leaning western hill suburbs of Lower Hutt from and , in exchange for Rimutaka taking the Labour-leaning
state housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...
suburb of
Naenae Naenae (, occasionally spelled NaeNae) is a suburb of Lower Hutt, New Zealand. It lies on the eastern edge of the floodplain of the Hutt River, four kilometres from the Lower Hutt Central business district. A small tributary of the Hutt, the ...
. The changes allowed Ōhariu to take Wadestown off the over-quota Wellington Central electorate. This was correctly predicted to make Hutt South more marginal; Labour's Trevor Mallard retained the seat in 2011 by a 4825-vote majority, and this reduced to just 709 in 2014, while Rimutaka's
Chris Hipkins Christopher John Hipkins (born 5 September 1978) is a New Zealand politician who has served as leader of the New Zealand Labour Party since January 2023 and leader of the Opposition (New Zealand), leader of the Opposition since November 2023. H ...
increased his majority by 3,378 votes.


Retiring MPs

Twenty-two existing Members of Parliament did not stand for re-election, including fourteen members of the governing National Party.


List-only MPs

Bill English Sir Simon William English (born 30 December 1961) is a New Zealand former politician who served as the 39th prime minister of New Zealand from 2016 to 2017 and Leader of the New Zealand National Party, leader of the New Zealand National Party, ...
(
National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...
) announced in January 2014 that he would retire as the electorate MP for
Clutha-Southland Clutha-Southland was a parliamentary constituency returning one member to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The last MP for Clutha Southland was Hamish Walker of the National Party. He held the seat for one term, being elected at the ...
and he instead stood as a list-only MP.


Contesting parties and candidates

At the close of nominations, 554 individuals had been nominated to contest the election, up from 544 at the 2011 election. Of those, 71 were list-only, 114 were electorate-only (including 13 candidates from non-registered parties and 23 independent candidates), and 369 contested for both list and electorate seats. Just under 30% of candidates (164) were female, up from 27% in 2011. Political parties registered with the Electoral Commission on Writ Day can contest the general election as a party. Each such party can submit a party list to contest the party vote, and can have a party election-expenses limit in addition to limits on individual candidates' campaigns. At Writ Day, 19 political parties had registered to contend the general election. At the close of nominations, 15 registered parties had put forward a party list to the Commission to contest the party vote, up from 13 in 2011. On 27 May 2014, the Mana Party and Internet Party announced an agreement to field a combined party list at the election under the Internet Mana Party banner. Their electorate candidates, however, can continue to campaign under each individual party's banner. While registered, the 1Law4All Party and the
Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...
did not put forward party lists. Non-registered parties contending the election include: * Climate Party (Auckland Central, Rongotai) *
Communist League The Communist League ( German: ''Bund der Kommunisten)'' was an international political party established on 1 June 1847 in London, England. The organisation was formed through the merger of the League of the Just, headed by Karl Schapper, and th ...
(Manukau East, Maungakiekie) * Economic Euthenics Party (Wigram) * Expatriate Party (Ikaroa-Rāwhiti) * Human Rights Party (Mount Albert) *
Money Free Party The Money Free movement is a political movement that advocates for a resource-based economy, where all work is voluntary. The movement has political parties in New Zealand and the United Kingdom and is aligned with work of the American-based Ja ...
(Auckland Central, Kaikōura, Nelson, Northland, West Coast-Tasman) * Patriotic Revolutionary Front (Rongotai) Independents are standing in Botany, Dunedin North (×2), Epsom (×4), Helensville (×2), Hutt South, Mount Albert, Northland, Ōhariu, Ōtaki, Rongotai, Tauranga (×2), Wellington Central, West Coast-Tasman, Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, Tāmaki Makaurau and Te Tai Tokerau.


Campaigning


Campaign expense limits and broadcasting allocations

During the three-month regulated period prior to election day (i.e. 20 June to 19 September 2014), parties and candidates have limits on how much they may spend on election campaigning. It is illegal in New Zealand to campaign on election day itself. For the 2014 election, every registered party contending the party vote is permitted to spend $1,091,000 plus $25,700 per electorate candidate on election campaigning during the regulated period, excluding radio and television campaigning (broadcasting funding is allocated separately). A party contesting all 71 electorates is therefore permitted to spend $2,915,700 on election campaigning. All electorate candidates are permitted to spend $25,700 each on campaigning over and above their party's allocation. Registered parties are allocated a separate broadcasting budget for radio and television campaigning, and broadcasting time on
Radio New Zealand Radio New Zealand (), commonly known as RNZ or Radio NZ, is a New Zealand public service broadcaster and Crown entity. Established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995, it operates news and current affairs station, RNZ National, and a classi ...
and
Television New Zealand Television New Zealand (, "Te Reo Tātaki" meaning "The Leading Voice"), more commonly referred to as TVNZ, is a New Zealand state-owned media company and Crown entity. The company operates a television network, TVNZ+, streaming service, and 1N ...
to make opening and closing addresses. Only money from the broadcasting allocation can be used to purchase airtime; the actual production costs of advertisements can come from the general election expenses budget. The Electoral Commission sets the amount of broadcasting funds and time each party gets. The initial election broadcasting allocation was announced on 6 June 2014. Two parties who were allocated broadcasting funds and time failed to register by Writ Day, so their funding and allocation of time for closing address were redistributed to the remaining parties. ACT did not receive any redistributed funding as they had lost their only MP since the initial allocation. Broadcasting funding was further redistributed on 29 August after the Alliance failed to register its party list (a requirement to receive broadcasting funds). This coincided with the Conservative Party's bid to receive a court-mandated increase in broadcasting funds and time, which was taken into consideration when funding was redistributed for the second time. Third party promoters, such as
trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
s and
lobby groups Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...
, can campaign during the regulated period. The maximum expense limit is $308,000 for those groups registered with the Electoral Commission, and $12,300 for unregistered groups. Those third party promoters registered for the election include: * ActionStation * Campaign 4 Change * Dairy Workers Union * Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union * Family First *
Federated Mountain Clubs of New Zealand The Federated Mountain Clubs of New Zealand (Inc) (commonly referred to by its acronym, FMC), is a New Zealand environment and conservation NGO. It is the only national association of over 95 tramping, mountain climbing clubs and schools. Me ...
* Financial Services Council *
First Union New Zealand Workers First Union is a national trade union in New Zealand that was formed as First Union on 1 October 2011 by the merger of the National Distribution Union and Finsec. It changed to the current name in March 2024. Leadership and structure FI ...
* Jill Whitmore * Living Wage Movement Aotearoa New Zealand *
Maritime Union of New Zealand The Maritime Union of New Zealand is a trade union which represents waterfront workers, seafarers and related workers in New Zealand. It was formed in 2002 from the merger of the New Zealand Waterfront Workers' Union and the New Zealand Seafa ...
* New Zealand Aged Care Association *
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU or CTU; ) is a national trade union centre in New Zealand. The NZCTU represents 360,000 workers, and is the largest democratic organisation in New Zealand. History It was formed in 1987 by the m ...
*
New Zealand Educational Institute The New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI; in Māori: Te Riu Roa) is the largest education trade union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1883 and has a membership of 50,000. History The NZEI was founded by a merger of district institutes o ...
*
New Zealand Nurses Organisation The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO), Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa is New Zealand's largest trade union and professional organisation that represents the nursing profession, midwives, hauora and caregivers. It is one of the old ...
* New Zealand Post Primary Teachers' Association *
New Zealand Union of Students' Associations The New Zealand Union of Students' Associations (NZUSA) was a representative body that advocated for the interests of tertiary students in New Zealand. Between 1935 and 2006, it was known as the New Zealand University Students' Association, until ...
* The Opinion Partnership * Pitt Street Methodist Church *
Public Service Association The Public Service Association (), or PSA, is a democratic trade union with over workers in the New Zealand public sector. The stated aims of the PSA are to provide support for public and not-for-profit community services, support worker voic ...
* Service and Food Workers Union *
Unite Union Unite Union (Unite) is a trade union in New Zealand. It represents a number of workers across various industries, and was the sponsor of the campaign directed towards improving working conditions for fast food workers in the country, in addit ...
All campaign expense limits are inclusive of GST.


Campaigning timeline


Early campaigning: before 20 August

* 20 July – Election hoardings and billboards begin to appear. * 31 July – The 50th New Zealand Parliament concludes with the adjournment debate. * 10 August – Labour officially launches its election campaign in Auckland, making a promise of free GP visits and prescriptions to pregnant women and those aged under 13 and over 65. * 13 August –
Nicky Hager Nicolas Alfred Hager (born 1958) is a New Zealand investigative journalist. He has produced seven books since 1996, covering topics such as intelligence networks, environmental issues and politics. He is one of two New Zealand members of the I ...
releases the book '' Dirty Politics'', based on leaked e-mails from blogger Cameron Slater, alleging various ways National Party figures participated in Slater's "attack politics." Among other claims, Hager suggests one of John Key's staff members accessed the Labour Party online database, which journalist John Armstrong compared to the
Watergate break-in The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Nixon's resignation in 1974, in August of that year. It revol ...
.


First week: 20–24 August

* 20 August – Writ Day: radio and television advertising begins. * 22 August – The party radio opening addresses air on
Radio New Zealand National RNZ National (), formerly Radio New Zealand National, and known until 2007 as the National Programme or National Radio, is a publicly funded non-commercial New Zealand English-language radio network operated by Radio New Zealand. It specialises ...
at 20:06. * 23 August – The party television opening addresses air on TV One at 19:00. * 24 August **
National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...
officially launches its election campaign in South Auckland. It promises to allow
KiwiSaver KiwiSaver is a New Zealand savings scheme which has been operating since 2 July 2007. Participants can normally access their KiwiSaver funds only after the age of 65, but can withdraw them earlier in certain limited circumstances, for example if ...
members to withdraw member tax credits to help buy a first home, double the KiwiSaver first home deposit subsidy, and increase the limit on house prices to qualify for the subsidy. ** Internet Mana officially launches its election campaign in Auckland.
Kim Dotcom Kim Dotcom (né Schmitz; born 21 January 1974), also known as Kimble and Kim Tim Jim Vestor, is a Finnish-German Internet entrepreneur and political activist who lives in Glenorchy, New Zealand. He rose to fame in Germany in the 1990s as a ha ...
makes a comment that he once hacked the German credit rating system and put the Prime Minister's rating to zero because he "didn't like the guy." When interviewed, Internet Party press secretary
Pam Corkery Pamela Corkery (born 1956) is a New Zealand journalist, broadcaster, and former politician who served one term (1996–1999) as a member of Parliament for the left-wing Alliance party. Private life Corkery (née Mc Nutt) was born in the South Is ...
intervenes, calling reporter Brook Sabin a "puffed-up little shit".


Second week: 25–31 August

* 27 August – The National and Conservative parties admit they had installed motion-activated cameras to monitor their election hoardings, which had been subject to persistent vandalism. Among the more creative vandalism are Labour Auckland Central candidate
Jacinda Ardern Dame Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern ( ; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician and activist who was the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, leader of the Labour Party from 2017 to 2023. She was ...
as a pirate and Conservative leader
Colin Craig Colin Craig (born 8 January 1968) is a New Zealand businessman and perennial candidate who was the founding leader of the Conservative Party of New Zealand. Craig is a millionaire who owns companies that manage high-rise buildings. His current ...
as a member of
KISS A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...
. * 28 August – The first TVNZ leaders' debate between John Key and David Cunliffe takes place. * 30 August –
Judith Collins Judith Anne Collins (born 24 February 1959) is a New Zealand politician who has served as the attorney-general and minister of defence since 27 November 2023. She served as the leader of the Opposition and leader of the New Zealand National P ...
resigns as a minister due to recurring controversies throughout her tenure as Minister of Justice. Her resignation comes following an accusation by
Winston Peters Winston Raymond Peters (born 11 April 1945) is a New Zealand politician. He has led the political party New Zealand First since he founded it in 1993, and since November 2023 has served as the 25th Minister of Foreign Affairs (New Zealand), ...
that her office came to him with a possible leadership challenge against
John Key Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th prime minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as leader of the National Party from 2006 to 2016. Following his father's death when ...
, and the revelation of an e-mail from blogger Cameron Slater in 2011 that suggests Collins may have undermined a Director of the Serious Fraud Office.


Third week: 1–7 September

* 2 September –
The Press ''The Press'' () is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand, owned by media business Stuff (company), Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday t ...
leaders' debate between John Key and David Cunliffe takes place in Christchurch. Key claims a win after Cunliffe could not answer whether family homes held in a
trust Trust often refers to: * Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality It may also refer to: Business and law * Trust (law), a legal relationship in which one person holds property for another's benefit * Trust (bu ...
would be exempt under Labour's
capital gains tax A capital gains tax (CGT) is the tax on profits realized on the sale of a non-inventory asset. The most common capital gains are realized from the sale of stocks, bonds, precious metals, real estate, and property. In South Africa, capital g ...
policy. * 3 September – Advance voting opens, with Labour leader David Cunliffe and Internet Party founder
Kim Dotcom Kim Dotcom (né Schmitz; born 21 January 1974), also known as Kimble and Kim Tim Jim Vestor, is a Finnish-German Internet entrepreneur and political activist who lives in Glenorchy, New Zealand. He rose to fame in Germany in the 1990s as a ha ...
among the first to vote. * 5 September – The TVNZ multi-party leaders' debate takes place. The leaders participating are
Russel Norman Russel William Norman (born 2 June 1967) is a New Zealand politician and environmentalist. He was a Member of Parliament and co-leader of the Green Party. Norman resigned as an MP in October 2015 to work as Executive Director of Greenpeace A ...
(Green),
Winston Peters Winston Raymond Peters (born 11 April 1945) is a New Zealand politician. He has led the political party New Zealand First since he founded it in 1993, and since November 2023 has served as the 25th Minister of Foreign Affairs (New Zealand), ...
(NZ First),
Peter Dunne Peter Francis Dunne (born 17 March 1954) is a New Zealand retired politician. Dunne was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Ōhāriu electorate and its predecessors from 1984 to 2017, first as a member of the Labour Party from 1984 to 1 ...
(United Future),
Te Ururoa Flavell Te Ururoa James William Ben Flavell (born 7 December 1955), also known as Hemi Flavell, is a New Zealand politician. Born in Tokoroa, Flavell was a teacher, principal, and education executive before beginning a political career. He won the Wai ...
(Māori),
Hone Harawira Hone Pani Tamati Waka Nene Harawira is a New Zealand Māori activist and former parliamentarian. He was elected to parliament as the member for the Māori electorate of Te Tai Tokerau in 2005 as the Māori Party candidate. In 2011, following ...
(Internet Mana), Jamie Whyte (ACT), Brendan Horan (NZIC) and
Colin Craig Colin Craig (born 8 January 1968) is a New Zealand businessman and perennial candidate who was the founding leader of the Conservative Party of New Zealand. Craig is a millionaire who owns companies that manage high-rise buildings. His current ...
(Conservative). * 7 September – ACT officially launches its election campaign at Ellerslie, Auckland, making promises to repeal the
Resource Management Act The Resource Management Act (RMA) passed in 1991 in New Zealand is a significant, and at times, controversial Act of Parliament. The RMA promotes the sustainable management of natural and physical resources such as land, air and water. New Zea ...
and abolish the
Overseas Investment Office The Overseas Investment Office is the New Zealand government agency responsible for regulating foreign direct investment into New Zealand. The Office is responsible for high value investments (2006: NZD $100m+), investments in sensitive land an ...
if elected.


Fourth week: 8–14 September

* 8 September – An expletive-filled email is sent by Mana Party leader
Hone Harawira Hone Pani Tamati Waka Nene Harawira is a New Zealand Māori activist and former parliamentarian. He was elected to parliament as the member for the Māori electorate of Te Tai Tokerau in 2005 as the Māori Party candidate. In 2011, following ...
to party members. In it, Harawira claims the Internet Party is putting too many resources into promoting cannabis law reform rather than into Mana's flagship policy of providing breakfast and lunch to students at low
socio-economic decile In the education in New Zealand, New Zealand education system, decile was a key measure of socioeconomic status used to target funding and support schools. In academic contexts the full term "socioeconomic decile" or "socioeconomic decile band" wa ...
schools. * 10 September ** The
TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso * Canal 3 Niger, a commercial television channel in Niger * Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala * Can ...
leaders' debate between John Key and David Cunliffe takes place. ** 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 ...
announces it will not allow photography in polling booths, after several incidents where advance voters had taken
selfie A selfie () is a self-portrait photograph or a short video, typically taken with an electronic camera or smartphone. The camera would be usually held at arm's length or supported by a selfie stick instead of being controlled with a self-timer ...
s with their completed ballot paper or behind voting screens and posted them to social media. Posting an image of a completed ballot paper within 3 days of election day is illegal, and can attract a $20,000 fine.


Final week: 15–19 September

* 15 September ** The Internet Party organises "The Moment of Truth", an event held in Auckland to release information related to New Zealand's involvement in the Five Eyes network.
Kim Dotcom Kim Dotcom (né Schmitz; born 21 January 1974), also known as Kimble and Kim Tim Jim Vestor, is a Finnish-German Internet entrepreneur and political activist who lives in Glenorchy, New Zealand. He rose to fame in Germany in the 1990s as a ha ...
,
Glenn Greenwald Glenn Edward Greenwald (born March 6, 1967) is an American journalist, author, and former lawyer. In 1996, Greenwald founded a law firm concentrating on First Amendment to the United States Constitution, First Amendment litigation. He began blo ...
,
Edward Snowden Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is a former National Security Agency (NSA) intelligence contractor and whistleblower who leaked classified documents revealing the existence of global surveillance programs. Born in 1983 in Elizabeth ...
and
Julian Assange Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. He came to international attention in 2010 after WikiLeaks published a series of News leak, leaks from Chels ...
all participate. ** A
Māori Television 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 Co ...
Reid Research poll of the electorate is released, showing Labour candidate Kelvin Davis on 37%, only one percent behind incumbent Mana Party leader Hone Harawira. Harawira is relying on an electorate win to allow Internet Mana to enter Parliament without needing to get 5% of the party vote. * 16 September – The publishers for US rapper
Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...
files a lawsuit with the Wellington High Court, alleging the National Party had infringed copyright by using an instrumental version of the song "
Lose Yourself "Lose Yourself" is a song by American rapper Eminem from the soundtrack to the 2002 film '' 8 Mile''. The song was composed and produced by Eminem, longtime collaborator Jeff Bass, one half of the production duo Bass Brothers, and Luis Resto. ...
" in its television advertisements without permission. The party rejects the lawsuit, with campaign manager
Steven Joyce Steven Leonard Joyce (born 7 April 1963) is a New Zealand former politician, who entered the New Zealand House of Representatives in 2008 as a member of the New Zealand National Party. As a broadcasting entrepreneur with RadioWorks, he was a ...
saying the song was "pretty legal", having been purchased from an Australian music library. * 17 September – The second TVNZ leaders' debate between John Key and David Cunliffe takes place. Key reiterates for supporters not to split the party vote, saying "If you want steak for dinner tonight, go and buy steak; don't buy a lamb chop. If you want a National government, party vote National." Cunliffe says he would work with the Greens and NZ First after the election, which based on the
3 News ''Newshub'' (stylised as Newshub.) was a New Zealand news service that operated from 1989 to 2024 and served as the local news division of Warner Bros. Discovery New Zealand until its closure. The division, known as ''3 News'' until 2016, had ...
Reid Research poll released the same day would out-poll National and its "ragtag bunch of right-wing weirdos". Both leaders ruled out working with the Internet Mana Party after the election. * 18 September ** Conservative leader Colin Craig's press secretary, Rachel MacGregor, resigns, allegedly calling Craig a "manipulative man". Craig only learns about the resignation when questioned about it by the media, and says the resignation most likely relates to
burnout Burnout or burn-out may refer to: Entertainment * ''Burnout'' (film), a 2017 Moroccan film * ''Burn Out'' (film), a 2017 French film * Burnout (ride), a Funfields amusement ride in Australia * ''Burnout'' (series), a racing game series created by ...
. ** National leader John Key and NZ First leader Winston Peters publicly endorse Labour candidate Kelvin Davis in Te Tai Tokerau. In response, incumbent Hone Harawira says that National and NZ First are trying to sway the election against the wishes of voters. * 19 September – Last day of campaigning. Party closing addresses air on TV One at 19:30 and
Radio New Zealand National RNZ National (), formerly Radio New Zealand National, and known until 2007 as the National Programme or National Radio, is a publicly funded non-commercial New Zealand English-language radio network operated by Radio New Zealand. It specialises ...
at 20:06.


Opinion polling

Opinion polls have been undertaken periodically since the 2011 election by
Fairfax Media Fairfax Media was a media (communication), media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased ''The ...
(Fairfax Media
Ipsos Ipsos Group S.A. (; derived from the Latin expression, ) is a multinational market research and consulting firm with headquarters in Paris, France. The company was founded in 1975 by Didier Truchot, Chairman of the company, and has been publ ...
),
MediaWorks New Zealand MediaWorks New Zealand is a New Zealand-based company specialising in radio, outdoor advertising and interactive media. It is owned by Australian out-of-home advertising company QMS. It operates eight national radio brands, eleven websites and ...
(
3 News ''Newshub'' (stylised as Newshub.) was a New Zealand news service that operated from 1989 to 2024 and served as the local news division of Warner Bros. Discovery New Zealand until its closure. The division, known as ''3 News'' until 2016, had ...
Reid Research),
The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand, ...
(Herald Digipoll),
Roy Morgan Research Roy Morgan, formerly known as Roy Morgan Research, is an independent Australian social and political market research and public opinion statistics company headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. It operates nationally as Roy Morgan and internatio ...
, and
Television New Zealand Television New Zealand (, "Te Reo Tātaki" meaning "The Leading Voice"), more commonly referred to as TVNZ, is a New Zealand state-owned media company and Crown entity. The company operates a television network, TVNZ+, streaming service, and 1N ...
('' One News'' Colmar Brunton). The graph on the left below shows the collated results of all five polls for parties that polled above the 5% electoral threshold at the 2011 election; The graph on the right shows results for parties that polled between 1% and 4.9%, or won an electorate seat, at the 2011 election, as well as parties contesting the 2014 election which have polled over 1.0% since 2011. After the November 2011 election, National remained around the 47% mark in polling until the end of 2013, when its popularity slowly rose to 49% by the last week before the election. Labour recovered from its 27.5% election result to cross the 30% mark in March 2012, before levelling out around 33% for most of 2013. From around November 2013, Labour's support started slipping, down to 25% by election day. The Green Party and New Zealand First did not move much from the 11% and 5% marks respectively until the last few weeks before the election, where they each gained 1–2%. No other party has polled above the 5% threshold, although the Conservative Party came close on individual polls in the weeks before the election.


Results

Preliminary results were gradually released after 19:00 (
NZST Time in New Zealand is divided by law into two standard time zones. The main islands use New Zealand Standard Time (NZST), 12 hours in advance of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) / military M (Mike), while the outlying Chatham Islands use C ...
) on 20 September, with the targets that all advance vote results were available by 20:30 and all preliminary results were available by 23:30. The preliminary count is done within the polling booths, and only includes ordinary votes; it does not include any
special vote In elections in New Zealand, a special vote, also known as a special declaration vote, is a provisional ballot used in special circumstances. Special votes are cast by voters who are not able to cast an ordinary vote. The voter's eligibility to ...
s. Special votes include votes from those who enrolled after the deadline on 20 August, those who voted outside their electorate (this includes all overseas votes), hospital votes, and those voters enrolled on the unpublished roll. All voting papers, counterfoils and electoral rolls are returned to the electorate's returning officer for a compulsory recount; this also includes approving and counting any special votes, and compiling a master roll to ensure no voter has voted more than once. Official results, including all recounted ordinary votes and special votes, were released at 14:00 on Saturday 4 October 2014. Parties and candidates had 3 working days afterwards (i.e. until 8 October 2014) to apply to the
District Court District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations, some call them "small case court" usually as the lowest level of the hierarchy. These courts generally work under a higher court which exercises control over the lower co ...
for a
judicial recount An election recount is a repeat tabulation of votes cast in an election that is used to determine the correctness of an initial count. Recounts will often take place if the initial vote tally during an election is extremely close. Election reco ...
. On 7 October 2014, Mana Party leader
Hone Harawira Hone Pani Tamati Waka Nene Harawira is a New Zealand Māori activist and former parliamentarian. He was elected to parliament as the member for the Māori electorate of Te Tai Tokerau in 2005 as the Māori Party candidate. In 2011, following ...
filed for a judicial recount of the
Te Tai Tokerau Te Tai Tokerau () is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorate that was created out of the Northern Maori electorate ahead of the first Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) election in 1996. It was held first by Tau Henare representing New Zea ...
electorate. The recount was taken under the auspices of Judge TJ Broadmore at the Kaitaia District Court on 8 and 9 October, and apart from a few minor changes in vote tallies, the official result was upheld.


Overall results

, colspan=12 align=center, , - style="text-align:center;" ! colspan=2 rowspan=2 style="width:213px;" , Party ! Colspan=3 , Party vote ! Colspan=3 , Electorate vote ! Colspan=4 , Seats , - style="text-align:center;" ! Votes ! % ! Change
( pp) ! Votes ! % ! Change
( pp) ! List ! Electorate ! Total ! +/- , - , , 1,131,501 , 47.04 , 0.28 , 1,081,787 , 46.08 , 1.23 , 19 , 41 , 60 , 1 , - , , 604,535 , 25.13 , 2.35 , 801,287 , 34.13 , 0.99 , 5 , 27 , 32 , 2 , - , , 257,359 , 10.70 , 0.36 , 165,718 , 7.06 , 0.10 , 14 , 0 , 14 , , - , , 208,300 , 8.66 , 2.06 , 73,384 , 3.13 , 1.29 , 11 , 0 , 11 , 3 , - , , 31,849 , 1.32 , 0.11 , 42,108 , 1.79 , 0.02 , 1 , 1 , 2 , 1 , - , , 16,689 , 0.69 , 0.37 , 27,778 , 1.18 , 0.25 , 0 , 1 , 1 , , - , , 5,286 , 0.22 , 0.38 , 14,722 , 0.63 , 0.24 , 0 , 1 , 1 , , - , , 95,598 , 3.97 , 1.32 , 81,075 , 3.45 , 1.07 , 0 , 0 , 0 , , - , , 34,094 , 1.42 , 0.34 , 37,181 , 1.58 , 0.20 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 1 , - , , 10,961 , 0.46 , 0.07 , 4,936 , 0.21 , 0.08 , 0 , 0 , 0 , , - , , 5,113 , 0.21 , ''new'' , 4,448 , 0.19 , ''new'' , 0 , 0 , 0 , ''new'' , - , , 1,730 , 0.07 , 0.01 , 4,647 , 0.20 , 0.10 , 0 , 0 , 0 , , - , , 1,096 , 0.05 , ''new'' , — , — , — , , 0 , 0 , ''new'' , - , , 872 , 0.04 , ''new'' , 1,929 , 0.08 , ''new'' , 0 , 0 , 0 , ''new'' , - , , 639 , 0.03 , ''new'' , 1,797 , 0.08 , ''new'' , 0 , 0 , 0 , ''new'' , - , , — , — , 0.05 , 59 , 0.00 , 0.06 , 0 , 0 , 0 , , - , style="background-color:#ffffff" , , style="text-align:left;" , Unregistered Parties , — , — , — , 887 , 0.04 , 0.03 , 0 , 0 , 0 , , - , , — , — , — , 3,864 , 0.16 , 0.03 , 0 , 0 , 0 , , - ! colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Valid votes ! 2,405,622 ! 98.34 ! 0.16 ! 2,347,607 ! 95.97 ! 0.65 ! Colspan=4 , , - , colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Informal votes , 10,857 , 0.44 , 0.43 , 27,886 , 1.14 , 1.20 , Colspan=4 , , - , colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Disallowed votes , 29,818 , 1.22 , 0.29 , 70,804 , 2.89 , 0.55 , Colspan=4 , , - , colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Below
electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of votes that a candidate or political party requires before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can operate in various ...
, 150,103 , 6.14 , — , — , — , — , Colspan=4 , , - ! colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Total ! 2,446,297 ! 100 ! ! 2,446,297 ! 100 ! ! 50 ! 71 ! 121 ! , - , colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Eligible voters and Turnout , 3,140,417 , 77.90 , 3.96 , 3,140,417 , 77.90 , 3.96 , Colspan=4 ,


Non-parliamentary parties

Eight parties did not gain 5% of the party vote or win an electorate seat, entitling them to no representation in the 51st Parliament. Despite speculation that the Conservative Party might cross the 5% threshold, it did not; nonetheless, it secured an increase in its share of the party vote, winning just under 4.0%. The
Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party (ALCP), also known as the Cannabis Party, is a political party in New Zealand. It is dedicated to the legalisation of cannabis for medical, recreational and industrial use. It was founded in 1996 and has stood i ...
received 0.46% of the vote, twice as many as the lowest-polling party to gain a seat,
United Future United Future New Zealand, usually known as United Future, was a Centrism, centrist List of political parties in New Zealand, political party in New Zealand. The party was in government between 2005 and 2017, first alongside New Zealand Labou ...
.


Voting summary


Electorate results

Prior to the election, the National Party held the majority of the electorate seats with 41. Labour held 22 seats, Māori held three seats, and ACT, Mana and United Future held one seat each. There are two new electorates in 2014, and . National held steady on 41 electorates, Labour gained three seats to hold 27 electorates, Māori lost two seats to hold one, and ACT and United Future held steady with one seat each. The Mana Party lost its only seat, after sole incumbent MP
Hone Harawira Hone Pani Tamati Waka Nene Harawira is a New Zealand Māori activist and former parliamentarian. He was elected to parliament as the member for the Māori electorate of Te Tai Tokerau in 2005 as the Māori Party candidate. In 2011, following ...
lost to Labour's Kelvin Davis. In the two new electorates, Labour's
Carmel Sepuloni Carmel Jean Sepuloni (born 1977) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 20th deputy prime minister of New Zealand. A member of the Labour Party, she was first elected to Parliament in 2008 for a three-year term as a list Member of Parli ...
won Kelston, while National's Paula Bennett won Upper Harbour. Bennett previously held , which was disestablished prior to the election in favour of the two new electorates. In 11 electorates, the incumbents did not seek re-election, and the seats passed to new MPs of the same party. In the remaining 3 electorates where the incumbent did not seek re-election, the electorate changed allegiance. In , Labour's
Stuart Nash Stuart Alexander Nash (born August 1967) is a New Zealand politician and lawyer. He was a member of the House of Representatives for Labour Party from to 2011, and was re-elected in as a representative of Napier electorate. In October 2017 ...
won the seat off retiring National MP Chris Tremain, caused by large
vote splitting In social choice theory and politics, a spoiler effect happens when a losing candidate affects the results of an election simply by participating. Voting rules that are not affected by spoilers are said to be spoilerproof. The frequency and se ...
between National candidate Wayne Walford and Conservative candidate
Garth McVicar Garth Neil McVicar (born 1951) 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. M ...
. In and , Labour won both seats off the retiring Māori Party co-leaders Pita Sharples and Tariana Turia. Of the 55 electorates where the incumbents sought re-election, only the aforementioned Te Tai Tokerau changed hands. The table below shows the results of the 2014 general election: Key: , - , colspan =10 style="background-color:#FFDEAD" ,
Māori electorates In Politics of New Zealand, New Zealand politics, Māori electorates, colloquially known as the Māori seats (), are a special category of New Zealand electorates, electorate that give Reserved political positions, reserved positions to repre ...
, - Notes:


List results


Party vote by electorate

The following is a breakdown of the party vote received in each electorate. Only parties that polled over 5 percent in at least one electorate are included.


Successful list MPs


Unsuccessful list candidates


Changes in MPs

In total, 23 new MPs were elected to Parliament and 4 former, non-sitting MPs returned. Eight MPs stood and were not re-elected. In addition
Bill English Sir Simon William English (born 30 December 1961) is a New Zealand former politician who served as the 39th prime minister of New Zealand from 2016 to 2017 and Leader of the New Zealand National Party, leader of the New Zealand National Party, ...
went from being an electorate MP to a list MP, while Kelvin Davis went from being a list MP to an electorate MP. Among the new MPs was 24-year-old
Todd Barclay Todd Keith Barclay (born 8 June 1990) is a former New Zealand politician. A member of the National Party, he was elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives in 2014 as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Clutha-Southland. In 2017, Barclay ...
, elected for National in , who became not only the youngest MP in the new Parliament, but also the first New Zealand MP to be born in the 1990s. As a comparison, he was only 4 months old when outgoing Clutha-Southland MP Bill English was first elected at the . ;New MPs Darroch Ball,
Todd Barclay Todd Keith Barclay (born 8 June 1990) is a former New Zealand politician. A member of the National Party, he was elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives in 2014 as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Clutha-Southland. In 2017, Barclay ...
,
Andrew Bayly Andrew Henry Bayly (born 1962) is a New Zealand businessman, adventurer, and politician. He was elected to the New Zealand Parliament at the 2014 general election as the MP for Hunua, representing the New Zealand National Party. He is curren ...
, Mahesh Bindra,
Chris Bishop Christopher Bishop (born 4 September 1983) is a New Zealand politician for the National Party. He was first elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives in 2014 as a list MP. Bishop won the Hutt South electorate in 2017 but lost the ...
,
Matt Doocey Matthew Maurice Doocey (born 1972) is a New Zealand politician who was elected to the New Zealand Parliament at the 2014 general election as a representative of the New Zealand National Party. He was re-elected in 2017 with a majority increase ...
, Sarah Dowie,
Marama Fox Marama Kahu Fox is a former New Zealand politician who was elected to the New Zealand parliament at the 2014 general election as a representative of the Māori Party. Following her election to parliament, she was named Māori Party co-leader al ...
,
Peeni Henare Peeni Ereatara Gladwyn Henare () is a New Zealand Labour Party politician who has been a member of the New Zealand parliament since the 2014 general election. Henare held the Tāmaki Makaurau Māori electorate since 2014 before being defeated ...
,
Brett Hudson Brett Stuart Patrick Hudson (born January 18, 1953) is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He was the youngest member of the musical group the Hudson Brothers, which was formed by his older brothers, Mark and Bill, in 1965. He is now a ...
,
Barbara Kuriger Barbara Joan Kuriger (born 1961) is a New Zealand politician who has served as Deputy Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives since December 2023. A member of the National Party, Kuriger was first elected as the Member of Parliament ...
, Clayton Mitchell,
Todd Muller Todd Michael Muller (; born 23 December 1968) is a New Zealand former 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 gen ...
,
Jono Naylor Jonathan Mark Naylor (born 1966), commonly known as Jono Naylor, is a New Zealand politician from Palmerston North. He was Mayor of Palmerston North from 2007 New Zealand local elections, 2007 until 2014, when he was elected to the New Zealand H ...
, Parmjeet Parmar,
Shane Reti Shane Raymond Reti (born 5 June 1963) is a New Zealand politician and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives, and a Cabinet Minister with the roles of Minister for Pacific Peoples, Minister of Science, Innovation, and Technology, ...
, Adrian Rurawhe, Jenny Salesa, Alastair Scott,
David Seymour David Breen Seymour (born 24 June 1983) is a New Zealand politician who has served as the 21st deputy prime minister of New Zealand since 2025 and as the 1st minister for regulation since 2023. A member of the ACT Party, he has served as its ...
, James Shaw, Stuart Smith, Fletcher Tabuteau ;Returning MPs
Ron Mark Ron Stanley Mark (born 29 January 1954) is a New Zealand politician of the New Zealand First party, and former soldier, who served as Minister of Defence between October 2017 and November 2020. He served as mayor of Carterton from 2010 to 2014, ...
,
Stuart Nash Stuart Alexander Nash (born August 1967) is a New Zealand politician and lawyer. He was a member of the House of Representatives for Labour Party from to 2011, and was re-elected in as a representative of Napier electorate. In October 2017 ...
,
Pita Paraone Rewiti Pomare Kingi "Pita" Paraone (30 November 1945 – 26 August 2019) was a New Zealand politician and chairman of the Waitangi National Trust Board. He was a member of the New Zealand First party. Early life and family Paraone was born on ...
,
Carmel Sepuloni Carmel Jean Sepuloni (born 1977) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 20th deputy prime minister of New Zealand. A member of the Labour Party, she was first elected to Parliament in 2008 for a three-year term as a list Member of Parli ...
;Defeated MPs:
Carol Beaumont Carol Ann Beaumont (born 6 October 1960) is a New Zealand unionist and Labour Party politician. She twice served as a list member of Parliament from 2008 to 2011 and 2013 to 2014, and was elected Labour Party senior vice president in 2021. Ea ...
,
Hone Harawira Hone Pani Tamati Waka Nene Harawira is a New Zealand Māori activist and former parliamentarian. He was elected to parliament as the member for the Māori electorate of Te Tai Tokerau in 2005 as the Māori Party candidate. In 2011, following ...
, Brendan Horan, Raymond Huo,
Asenati Taylor Le'Aufa'amulia Asenati Lole-Taylor (born ) is a former New Zealand politician. She was a member of the House of Representatives for the New Zealand First party from 2011 to 2014. Early life Born in Samoa, Taylor emigrated to New Zealand at the ...
,
Moana Mackey Moana Lynore Mackey (born 28 February 1974) is a New Zealand politician and has represented the New Zealand Labour Party in the New Zealand Parliament from 2003 until 2014. She has Māori, Irish, Scottish and Spanish ancestry. Early life and ...
,
Maryan Street Maryan Street (born 5 April 1955) is a New Zealand unionist, academic and former politician. She was president of the New Zealand Labour Party from 1993 to 1995 and a Labour Party list member of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 200 ...
,
Holly Walker Holly Ruth Walker (born 15 November 1982) is a New Zealand writer, public servant, and former politician. Walker was elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives from 2011 to 2014, as a Green Party list MP. After leaving Parliament, sh ...
(Electorate only, not the Green Party List)


Demographics of elected MPs


Electoral expenses

The Electoral Commission released party electoral expense returns on 23 February 2015, stating how much each party spent on campaigning between 20 June and 19 September 2014. Candidate only expenses were excluded.


Post-election events


Leadership changes

On 30 September 2014, Labour leader
David Cunliffe David Richard Cunliffe (born 30 April 1963) is a New Zealand management consultant and former politician who was Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition (New Zealand), Leader of the Opposition from September 2013 to ...
stepped down and forced a party leadership election. Andrew Little won leadership of the Labour Party,


Local by-elections

Two sitting mayors of local councils were elected:
Jono Naylor Jonathan Mark Naylor (born 1966), commonly known as Jono Naylor, is a New Zealand politician from Palmerston North. He was Mayor of Palmerston North from 2007 New Zealand local elections, 2007 until 2014, when he was elected to the New Zealand H ...
(National) of Palmerston North City and
Ron Mark Ron Stanley Mark (born 29 January 1954) is a New Zealand politician of the New Zealand First party, and former soldier, who served as Minister of Defence between October 2017 and November 2020. He served as mayor of Carterton from 2010 to 2014, ...
(NZ First) of
Carterton District Carterton () is a small town in the Wellington Region of New Zealand and the seat of the Carterton District (a territorial authority or local government district). It lies in a farming area of the Wairarapa in New Zealand's North Island. It is ...
. Both announced they would stand down as mayors if elected to Parliament, resulting in by-elections being called in Palmerston North and Carterton. Nominations for the Palmerston North mayoral by-election close on 22 December 2014, with the by-election taking place on 10 February 2015 if needed. Carterton's incumbent deputy mayor, John Booth, was elected mayor unopposed on 28 October 2014.


Financial market reaction

Within an hour of the
New Zealand Exchange New Zealand's Exchange (), known commonly as the NZX, is the national stock exchange for New Zealand and a publicly owned company. NZX is the parent company of Smartshares, and Wealth Technologies. , the NZX had a total of 179 listed securiti ...
opening on Monday 22 September, the headline
NZX 50 Index The S&P/NZX 50 Index is the main stock market index in New Zealand. It comprises the 50 biggest stocks by free-float market capitalisation trading on the New Zealand Stock Market (NZSX). The calculation of the free-float capitalisation excludes ...
jumped 1.27%, led by the country's five main electricity generator-retailers:
Contact Energy Contact Energy Limited is a New Zealand electricity generation, electricity generator, a wholesaler of natural gas, and a retailer of electricity retailing, electricity, natural gas, broadband and Liquefied petroleum gas, LPG. It is the second ...
, Genesis Energy,
Meridian Energy Meridian Energy Limited is a New Zealand electricity generator and retailer. The company generates the largest proportion of New Zealand's electricity, generating 35 percent of the country's electricity in the year ending December 2014, and i ...
,
Mighty River Power Mercury NZ Limited is a New Zealand electricity generation and multi-product utility retailer of electricity, gas, broadband and mobile telephone services. All the company's electricity generation is Renewable energy, renewable. Mercury has a p ...
and
TrustPower Mercury NZ Limited is a New Zealand electricity generation and multi-product utility retailer of electricity, gas, broadband and mobile telephone services. All the company's electricity generation is Renewable energy, renewable. Mercury has a p ...
. During the previous Parliament, the National Party partially
privatised Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation wh ...
Genesis, Meridian and Mighty River, reducing the Crown's share from 100% to 51%. In response, the Labour and Green parties promised to reform the wholesale electricity market if elected, which would have provided cheaper retail prices by cutting how much generators could profit off their wholesale prices.


Election offences

Under section 197(1g) of the Electoral Act 1993, it is illegal for any person to publish anything that may influence voters to vote in a particular way between 00:00 and 19:00 on election day. The rule applies equally to traditional media and
social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
, and those found breaking the rule can be fined up to $20,000. After the election, 24 people were caught out by the rule and referred to Police. Among those were former
All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...
Jonah Lomu Jonah Tali Lomu (12 May 1975 – 18 November 2015) was a New Zealand professional rugby union player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential players in the history of the sport, and as one of the most talented sportsm ...
, current All Black
Israel Dagg Israel Jamahl Akuhata Dagg (born 6 June 1988) is a former New Zealand rugby union player who played for the Crusaders in Super Rugby. He has also played for the New Zealand Sevens team, and represents Hawkes Bay in the ITM Cup. Dagg played i ...
, and Olympic rowing medallist Eric Murray, who were caught tweeting their support for the National Party during the gag period. A complaint was made against the Civilian Party for failure to include a promoter statement on their Facebook page as required by section 204F of the Electoral Act. Ben Uffindell, Party Leader, noted that the omission of the promoter statement was inadvertent and immediately placed a promoter statement onto the page after being instructed to do so by the Electoral Commission.


Notes


Further reading

* * *


References


External links


Election coverage
at ''
The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand, ...
''
Election coverage
at
Radio New Zealand National RNZ National (), formerly Radio New Zealand National, and known until 2007 as the National Programme or National Radio, is a publicly funded non-commercial New Zealand English-language radio network operated by Radio New Zealand. It specialises ...

Election coverage
at
Television New Zealand Television New Zealand (, "Te Reo Tātaki" meaning "The Leading Voice"), more commonly referred to as TVNZ, is a New Zealand state-owned media company and Crown entity. The company operates a television network, TVNZ+, streaming service, and 1N ...
{{New Zealand elections