Rangitīkei (before 2008 spelled Rangitikei without a macron) 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 ...

, returning one Member of Parliament to the

New Zealand House of Representatives The House of Representatives () is the Unicameral, sole chamber of the New Zealand Parliament. The House passes Law of New Zealand, laws, provides Ministers in the New Zealand Government, ministers to form the Cabinet of New Zealand, Cabinet, ...

. The current MP for Rangitīkei is Suze Redmayne of the National Party. She has held this position since

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

. The electorate has existed continuously since the 1861 general election.

Profile

Rangitīkei is the third largest general electorate by area in the North Island. It encircles, but does not include,

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; , colloquially known as Palmerston or Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatū Plains, the city is near the north bank of the Manaw ...

. The electorate straddles State Highway 1 through Bulls, Marton,

Taihape Taihape is in the Rangitikei District of the North Island of New Zealand. It serves a large rural community. New Zealand State Highway 1, State Highway 1, which runs North to South through the centre of the North Island, passes through the town ...

, and Waiouru as far as

Mount Ruapehu Mount Ruapehu (; English ) is an active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Taupō Volcanic Zone and North Island North Island Volcanic Plateau, volcanic plateau in New Zealand. It is northeast of Ohakune and southwest of the southern s ...

Its largest centre is Feilding. Its western boundary, from south of

Whanganui Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whanganui is ...

, extends northwards to include the communities of Ohakune,

National Park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

, and

Taumarunui Taumarunui is a small town in the King Country of the central North Island of New Zealand. It is on an alluvial plain set within rugged terrain on the upper reaches of the Whanganui River, 65 km south of Te Kūiti and 55 km west of T� ...

. At the 2014 boundary review, the population of the RangitĪkei electorate was below tolerance and projected to decline further, so the Representation Commission shifted population around Shannon from into RangitĪkei. Between Census 2006 and Census 2013 the RangitĪkei electorate experienced a 0.4% decline in population in comparison to a 5.3% increase in New Zealand as a whole. One in ten (10.0%) stated their highest qualification as a Level 2 certificate, the fourth-largest share among general electorates. One in ten (10.4%) also listed their occupation as a community and personal service worker, the fifth-largest percentage. Six industries accounted for close to two-thirds (61.3%) of those working in 2013: agriculture, forestry, and fishing (16.8%); manufacturing (9.3%); education and training (9.0%); public administration (8.9%); health care and social assistance (8.9%); and retail trade (8.4%).

History

A seat named Wanganui and Rangitikei was contested at the very first general election in New Zealand in

1853 Events January–March * January 6 – ** Florida Governor Thomas Brown signs legislation that provides public support for the new East Florida Seminary, leading to the establishment of the University of Florida. **U.S. President-elect ...

. The use of an electorate named Rangitikei in its own right dates from the third session of the New Zealand Parliament. In a somewhat auspicious start for the seat, the first Member of Parliament for the seat in 1861 was future Prime Minister William Fox. Fox resigned twice; first on 16 May 1865, causing the (won by Robert Pharazyn), and then on 11 March 1875, causing the (won by

John Ballance John Ballance (27 March 1839 – 27 April 1893) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 14th premier of New Zealand from January 1891 until his death in April 1893. He governed as the leader of New Zealand's first organised List of pol ...

). Three members died while holding the seat: Douglas Hastings Macarthur died on 24 May 1892 and was succeeded by John Stevens; Arthur Remington died on 17 August 1909 and was succeeded by Robert Smith; and Sir Roy Jack died on 24 December 1977 and was succeeded by

Bruce Beetham Bruce Craig Beetham (16 February 1936 – 3 May 1997) was an academic and politician from New Zealand, whose career spanned the 1970s and early 1980s. A lecturer at Hamilton's University of Waikato and at the Hamilton Teachers' Training Colle ...

. The current boundaries of the seat date from the introduction of mixed-member proportional (MMP) voting in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. The seat was created by adding the southern tip of

King Country The King Country ( Māori: ''Te Rohe Pōtae'' or ''Rohe Pōtae o Maniapoto'') is a region of the western North Island of New Zealand. It extends approximately from Kawhia Harbour and the town of Ōtorohanga in the north to the upper reaches of th ...

to the northern tip of the Manawatu seat, and drafting in the towns to the east of

from Waitotara. The rural

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

nature of the seat makes it a safe National seat, though for six years in the 1970s and 80s it was held by a third party MP,

Social Credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed in the 1920s and 1930s by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made t ...

leader

Members of Parliament

Key

List MPs

Members of Parliament elected from party lists in elections where that person also unsuccessfully contested the Rangitīkei electorate. Unless otherwise stated, all MPs terms began and ended at general elections. Key

Election results

2023 election

2020 election

2017 election

2014 election

2011 election

Electorate (as at 26 November 2011): 41,343

2008 election

2005 election

1999 election

Refer to Candidates in the New Zealand general election 1999 by electorate#Rangitikei for a list of candidates.

1996 election

1993 election

1990 election

1987 election

1984 election

1981 election

1978 election

1978 by-election

1975 election

1972 election

1969 election

1966 election

1963 election

1960 election

1957 election

1954 election

1951 election

1949 election

1946 election

1931 election

1928 election

1909 by-election

1899 election

1892 by-election

1890 election

1880 by-election

1876 election

1875 by-election

Table footnotes

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rangitikei (New Zealand electorate) New Zealand electorates 1860 establishments in New Zealand Politics of Rangitikei