Nelson is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the House of Representatives of New Zealand. From 1853 to 1860, the electorate was called Town of Nelson. From 1860 to 1881, it was City of Nelson. The electorate is the only one that has continuously existed since the 1st Parliament in 1853.
Nelson is based around the city of Nelson, with the town of Richmond and the smaller community of Hope drafted in to bring the electorate up to the required population quota.
A significant adjustment to the electorate's boundaries was carried out ahead of the change to mixed-member proportional (MMP) voting in 1996; the decrease in South Island electorates from 25 to 16 lead to the abolition of one western South Island electorate; Tasman was split between West Coast and the then (geographically) much smaller Nelson electorate.
The Representation Commission adjusted the boundaries in the 2007 review, which first applied at the 2008 election;[1] the electorate was not changed in the 2013/14 review.[2]Brightwater was moved to West Coast-Tasman at the 2020 redistribution.[3]
Historyedit
An electorate based around Nelson has been contested at every election since the first Parliament in 1853. Two of the original 24 electorates from the 1st Parliament still exist (New Plymouth is the other one), but Nelson is the only original electorate that has existed continuously.[4]
The electorate was initially known as Town of Nelson. From 1866 to 1881, it was called City of Nelson. Since 1881, it has been known as simply Nelson.[5]
From 1853 to 1881, Nelson was a two-member electorate.[5]James Mackay and William Travers were the first two representatives elected in 1853. Travers and William Cautley (MP for Waimea) both resigned on 26 May 1854. Travers subsequently contested the seat that Cautley had vacated, being elected in the 21 June 1854 Waimea by-election. Samuel Stephens, who succeeded Travers in Nelson, died before the end of the first term, but the seat remained vacant.
Nelson became a single member electorate in 1881. Henry Levestam, who was first elected in an 1881 by-election to replace Adams was confirmed by the voters at the next three general elections (1881, 1884 and 1887), but he died in office on 11 February 1889.[6]
Joseph Harkness won the resulting 1889 by-election and was confirmed in the 1890 election.[7] He retired at the end of the parliamentary term in 1893 and was succeeded by John Graham, who with the 1893 election started a representation of the electorate that would last until his retirement in 1911.[8]
Atmore's death did not cause a by-election, as the 1946 election was held in November of that year. The contest was won by Edgar Neale of the National Party.[11] He held the electorate until 1957, when he retired.
Neale was succeeded by Stan Whitehead of the Labour Party in the 1957 election. This started Labour's dominance in the electorate, which was to last for four decades. Whitehead died on 9 January 1976 in the office and this caused the 1976 by-election, which was won by Labour's Mel Courtney. In the 1981 election, Courtney stood as an Independent against Labour's Philip Woollaston, with the latter the successful candidate. Woollaston retired in 1990 and was succeeded by Labour's John Blincoe. When the electorate was enlarged for the 1996 election, it absorbed most of the former seat of Tasman, held by National's Nick Smith. Smith defeated Blincoe and held the seat until the 2020 election, when Labour's Rachel Boyack won the seat.
Despite a National Party candidate being elected for Nelson between 1996 and 2020, Labour has won the party vote in Nelson in all but three elections during the period (the three elections of the Fifth National Government). Nelson is also an electorate in which the Green Party performs better locally than the party does nationally. Combined, votes at the 2017 election for the Green Party candidate Matt Lawrey and Labour Party candidate Rachel Boyack would have been sufficient to unseat the incumbent Smith.[12]
Members of Parliament elected from party lists in elections where that person also unsuccessfully contested the Nelson electorate. Unless otherwise stated, all MPs terms began and ended at general elections.
Blue 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, or other incumbent.
A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Blue 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, or other incumbent.
A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Blue 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, or other incumbent.
A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Blue 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, or other incumbent.
A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Blue 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, or other incumbent.
A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Blue 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, or other incumbent.
A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Blue 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, or other incumbent.
A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Blue 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, or other incumbent.
A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Blue 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, or other incumbent.
A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Blue 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, or other incumbent.
A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
^2017 Mana Party swing is relative to the votes for Internet-Mana in 2014; it shared a party list with the Internet Party in the 2014 election
^2017 Internet Party swing is relative to the votes for Internet-Mana in 2014; it shared a party list with Mana Party in the 2014 election
^2014 Internet Mana swing is relative to the votes for Mana in 2011; it shared a party list with Internet in the 2014 election.
Notesedit
^Report of the Representation Commission 2007(PDF). Representation Commission. 14 September 2007. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-477-10414-2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
^Report of the Representation Commission 2014(PDF). Representation Commission. 4 April 2014. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-477-10414-2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
^"Report of the Representation Commission 2020" (PDF). 17 April 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
^Cherie Sivignon (24 September 2017). "Nick Smith wins Nelson seat, electors see red for party vote". Nelson Mail. Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
^Cyclopedia Company Limited (1906). "Present And Past Members Of Parliament". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Nelson, Marlborough & Westland Provincial Districts. Christchurch. Retrieved 4 July 2010.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Cyclopedia Company Limited (1906). "Present And Past Members Of Parliament". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Nelson, Marlborough & Westland Provincial Districts. Christchurch. Retrieved 4 July 2010.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Cyclopedia Company Limited (1906). "Present And Past Members Of Parliament". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Nelson, Marlborough & Westland Provincial Districts. Christchurch. Retrieved 4 July 2010.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Cyclopedia Company Limited (1906). "Present And Past Members Of Parliament". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Nelson, Marlborough & Westland Provincial Districts. Christchurch. Retrieved 4 July 2010.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Cyclopedia Company Limited (1906). "Present And Past Members Of Parliament". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Nelson, Marlborough & Westland Provincial Districts. Christchurch. Retrieved 4 July 2010.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^"Amended official result for the Nelson Electoral District". New Zealand Gazette. 10 November 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
^"Nelson – Official Result". Electoral Commission. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
^"Official Count Results – Nelson (2017)". Electoral Commission. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
^"Official Count Results – Nelson (2014)". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
^"Electorate Candidate and Party Votes Recorded at Each Polling Place – Nelson, 1996" (PDF). Retrieved 13 July 2013.
^"Part III – Party Lists of Successful Registered Parties" (PDF). Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
^"Part III – Party Lists of unsuccessful Registered Parties" (PDF). Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
^Part 1: Votes recorded at each polling place (Technical report). New Zealand Chief Electoral Office. 1993. p. 68.
^Part 1: Votes recorded at each polling place (Technical report). New Zealand Chief Electoral Office. 1990. p. 72.
^"City Election". Nelson Examiner. 26 December 1868.
^"The Nomination". Nelson Evening Mail. 18 December 1868.
Referencesedit
Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946–1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. ISBN 0-475-11200-8.
Scholefield, Guy (1950) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer.
Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.