Aoraki (New Zealand electorate)

Aoraki was a New Zealand parliamentary electorate that existed for four parliamentary terms from 1996 to 2008. It was held by Jim Sutton of the Labour Party for three terms, and the remaining term by Jo Goodhew of the National Party. It was located in the South Island, covering southern Canterbury and northern Otago. It was named after the mountain Aoraki / Mount Cook.

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 (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 Aoraki), and 10 electorates were recreated, giving a net loss of 34 electorates.

History

The electorate of Aoraki was created for the 1996 elections, as part of the major redistribution in the transition to MMP. It was effectively a merger of the old seats of Timaru and Waitaki, bringing the town of Timaru and its surrounding farmland together in one electorate.

The boundaries of Aoraki did not undergo any significant changes since the seat was created. However, in boundary changes for the 2008 general election, Aoraki ceased to exist, with the bulk of its population centres being transferred to a resurrected electorate named Rangitata. The southern part went to Waitaki.

Election results

Key

  Labour     National  

Election	Winner
1996 election		Jim Sutton
1999 election
2002 election
2005 election		Jo Goodhew

Election results

2005 election

General Election 2005: Aoraki
Notes: Green background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party Votes	%	±%
	National	Jo Goodhew		18,252			14,635
	Labour	N Jim Sutton		11,315			13,596
	Green	Kate Elsen		2,038			1,524
	NZ First	Kerry Lundy		1,203			2,048
	United Future	Mark Rogers		340			878
	Progressive	Claire Main		320			523
	ACT	Kevin Murray		215			398
	Direct Democracy	John Sullivan		99			19
	Legalise Cannabis						130
	Destiny						91
	Māori						38
	Christian Heritage						31
	Democrats						30
	Alliance						24
	99 MP						19
	Family Rights						13
	Libertarianz						6
	One NZ						3
	RONZ						3
Informal votes				255			137
Total Valid votes				33,782			34,027
	National gain from Labour		Majority	6,937

2002 election

General Election 2002: Aoraki
Notes: Green background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Y Jim Sutton		16,316			13,950
	National	Wayne Marriott		9,863			7,550
	Green	David Musgrave		1,327			1,613
	United Future	Tony Bunting		1,176			1,879
	Christian Heritage	McGregor Simpson		616			387
	ACT	Kevin Murray		579			1,377
	Legalise Cannabis	Christine Mitchell		453			264
	Progressive	Lynley Simmons		446			643
	Alliance	Andrew Buchanan		197			337
	NZ First						2,758
	ORNZ						521
	Mana Māori						11
	One NZ						10
	NMP						8
Informal votes				373			132
Total Valid votes				30,973			31,308
	Labour hold		Majority	6,453

1999 election

General Election 1999: Aoraki
Notes: Green background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Y Jim Sutton		17,415	51.48		14,413
	National	Wayne Marriott		10,276	30.38		10,393
	Alliance	Lynley Simmons		2,031	6.00		2,881
	Green	David Musgrave		1,061	3.14		1,505
	Christian Heritage	McGregor Simpson		1,023	3.02		953
	NZ First	Albert Gould		705	2.08		992
	Legalise Cannabis	Christine Mitchell		659	1.95		450
	ACT	Dean Richardson		657	1.94		1,694
	South Island						209
	Libertarianz						139
	United NZ						137
	Future NZ						115
	Animals First						66
	McGillicuddy Serious						35
	One NZ						17
	Natural Law						7
	People's Choice Party						5
	Mana Māori						4
	NMP						4
	Republican						3
	Freedom Movement						2
	Mauri Pacific						1
Informal votes				511			313
Total Valid votes				33,827			34,025
	Labour hold		Majority	7,139

1996 election

General election 1996: Aoraki
Notes: Green background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Y Jim Sutton		13,538	41.02		10,088
	National	Stuart Boag		10,606	32.14		10,861
	NZ First	Jenny Bloxham		4,595	13.92		3,802
	Alliance	Rex Verity		3,021	9.15		4,491
	Christian Coalition	Robin Donovan		635	1.92		1,211
	ACT	Alan Cone		531	1.61		1,677
	McGillicuddy Serious	Royal van der Werf		75	0.23		85
	Legalise Cannabis						615
	United NZ						184
	Animals First						42
	Progressive Green						40
	Natural Law						25
	Green Society						17
	Superannuitants & Youth						12
	Advance New Zealand						6
	Conservatives						6
	Ethnic Minority Party						3
	Mana Māori						2
	Libertarianz						1
	Asia Pacific United						0
	Te Tawharau						0
Informal votes				288			121
Total Valid votes				33,001			33,168
	Labour win new seat		Majority	2,932

External links

• Electorate Profile Aoraki