Rangitata (New Zealand electorate)

Rangitata electorate boundaries used since the 2014 election

Rangitata is an electorate in the South Island of New Zealand. It first existed for two parliamentary terms in the late 19th century and was re-established for the 2008 general election. It largely replaced the Aoraki electorate, but included parts of the Rakaia electorate as well. It is held by Jo Goodhew of the National Party, who was previously MP of the Aoraki electorate. Rangitata is a relatively safe National seat, though not as safe relative to its surrounding neighbours Selwyn and Waitaki due to both Timaru and Temuka being Labour Party strongholds.

Population centres

In the 1887 electoral redistribution, although the Representation Commission was required through the Representation Act 1887 to maintain existing electorates "as far as possible", rapid population growth in the North Island required the transfer of three seats from the South Island to the north. Ten new electorates were created, including Rangitata, and one former electorate was recreated.^[1]

The boundaries of the Rangitata electorate were last adjusted in the 2013/14 review, when an area around Rakaia was transferred to the Selwyn electorate.^[2]

The current electorate includes the following population centres (with approximate populations in brackets):

• Ashburton (17,700)
• Methven (1,300)
• Rakaia (1,000)
• Temuka (4,000)
• Timaru (42,800)

History

The Rangitata electorate was first established for the 1887 election.^[3] The election was contested by William Rolleston, who had represented Geraldine in the previously Parliament, Searby Buxton, and William Palmer.^[4] Buxton beat Rolleston, who had been in Parliament since 1868, by 588 to 507 votes, with Palmer receiving 14 votes.^[5][6] Buxton held the electorate until the end of the term in 1890,^[7] when the electorate was abolished again.^[3]

The electorate was re-established for the 1893 election^[3] and won by William Maslin, who served until the end of the parliamentary term in 1896.^[8] The electorate was again abolished at the end of that term.^[3]

The present electorate, established for the 2008 election, consists of the old Aoraki electorate, and those parts of the old Rakaia electorate not included in the Selwyn electorate.

It was created after a review of electoral boundaries conducted in the wake of the 2006 census of population and dwellings, which showed that there has been a general northwards population movement. Even though the number of South Island electorates is fixed, the decline in the population of electorates from Rakaia south has resulted in the boundaries of electorates from Invercargill north to Rakaia shifting northwards. At the time of the formation of the Rangitata electorate, Jo Goodhew was the incumbent in the Aoraki electorate.^[9] She has held the Rangitata electorate since its creation and in the 2014 election, she more than doubled her majority.^[9][10]

Members of Parliament

Key

  Independent     Liberal     National  

Election results

2014 election

General election 2014: Rangitata[11]
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	Y Jo Goodhew		23,518	65.17	+9.40	20,108	55.32	+1.66
	Labour	Steven Gibson		9,411	26.08	−11.07	8,064	22.18	−4.78
	Conservative	Oliver Vitali		1,577	4.37	+4.37	1,580	4.35	+1.95
	ACT	Tom Corbett		469	1.30	+0.46	165	0.45	−0.57
	NZ First						2,848	7.83	+2.03
	Green						2,715	7.47	−0.58
	Legalise Cannabis						217	0.60	−0.04
	Internet Mana						142	0.39	+0.30[lower-alpha 1]
	United Future						114	0.31	−0.54
	Māori						94	0.26	−0.08
	Ban 1080						84	0.23	+0.23
	Democrats						24	0.07	+0.02
	Civilian						20	0.06	+0.06
	Independent Coalition						13	0.04	+0.04
	Focus						9	0.02	+0.02
Informal votes				1,111			154
Total Valid votes				36,086			36,351
Turnout				36,351	78.23	+3.41
	National hold		Majority	14,107	39.09	+20.47

2011 election

General election 2011: Rangitata[12]
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	Y Jo Goodhew		19,580	55.77	−2.09	19,282	53.66	+5.09
	Labour	Julian Blanchard		13,043	37.15	+0.86	9,687	26.96	−7.89
	Green	Gerrie Ligtenberg		1,766	5.03	+5.03	2,894	8.05	+3.85
	United Future	Andrew McMillan		418	1.19	+0.58	307	0.85	−0.01
	ACT	Tom Corbett		303	0.86	−0.88	367	1.02	−2.75
	NZ First						2,084	5.80	+2.03
	Conservative						863	2.40	+2.40
	Legalise Cannabis						229	0.64	+0.10
	Māori						123	0.34	+0.03
	Mana						32	0.09	+0.09
	Alliance						24	0.07	−0.04
	Libertarianz						20	0.06	+0.03
	Democrats						19	0.05	+0.02
Informal votes				970			351
Total Valid votes				35,110			35,931
	National hold		Majority	6,537	18.62	−2.95

Electorate (as at 26 November 2011): 48,024^[13]

2008 election

Table footnotes

Notes

References

• McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN 0-477-01384-8. 
• Scholefield, Guy Hardy (1925) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record (2nd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer. 
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103. 

External links

• Electorate Profile from Elections NZ