Port Waikato (New Zealand electorate)

Electoral district in New Zealand

Port Waikato

Single-member general constituency for the New Zealand House of Representatives
Formation| 1996, 2020
Region| Waikato
Character| Rural
Term| 3 years
Member for Port Waikato

Andrew Bayly[1]
since 25 November 2023
Party| National
List MPs| Casey Costello (NZ First)
Previous MP| null
Party vote distribution

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Port Waikato is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate which existed for four parliamentary terms from 1996 to 2008, and was recreated by the 2019/20 electoral redistribution ahead of the 2020 election. It was held by Bill Birch for one term, and by Paul Hutchison for the following three terms. From 2020, it was held by Andrew Bayly. All of these were members of the National Party.

During the campaign for the 2023 general election, the ACT Party candidate died. Only a poll for the party vote was held during this election; the electorate vote was determined in the 2023 Port Waikato by-election.

## Population centres

[edit]

The 1996 election was notable for the significant change of electorate boundaries, based on the provisions of the Electoral Act 1993.[2] 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 Port Waikato), and 10 electorates were recreated, giving a net loss of 34 electorates.

The Port Waikato electorate was formed from parts of the Franklin, Raglan, and Waikato electorates, all of which were abolished.[3] In its initial area, towns with more than one polling booth were Huntly, Pukekohe, Ngāruawāhia, Tuakau, and Waiuku. Localities with a single polling booth were Aka Aka, Awhitu, Bombay, Buckland, Glen Massey, Glen Murray, Glenbrook, Horotiu, Mauku, Meremere, Naike, Ohinewai, Onewhero, Orini, Otaua, Paerata, Pōkeno, Port Waikato, Pukekawa, Pukemiro, Pukeoware, Puni, Raglan, Rangiriri, Ruawaro, Taupiri, Te Ākau, Te Hoe, Te Kauwhata, Te Kohanga, Te Kowhai, Te Pahu, Te Uku, Waerenga, Waikaretu, Waikokowai, Waingaro, Waipipi, Waiterimu, Waitetuna, Whatawhata, and Whitikahu.[4]

## History

[edit]

Bill Birch was the first representative of the Port Waikato electorate following the 1996 election. Throughout his long parliamentary career, which started in 1972, Birch always represented the electorate in which the town of Pukekohe was located, where he had established a business prior to entering parliament.[5] When Birch retired at the 1999 election, he was succeeded by Paul Hutchison, a medical specialist. When the Port Waikato electorate was abolished in 2008, Hutchison transferred to the reconstituted Hunua electorate, which he represented until his retirement from politics at the 2014 election.[6][7]

In the 2019/2020 boundary review, the Representation Commission recreated it. This was necessitated by significant population growth in South Auckland and the Waikato region. It was created out of the western portion of Hunua and the northwestern area of Waikato.[8] Of the nine creations at that redistribution, it was one of the four included in the initial proposals.[9]

In 2023, Neil Christensen, who was a candidate for the ACT Party, died during the advance voting period. This triggered the Port Waikato by-election for the candidate vote, which will be held on 25 November 2023.[10]

### Members of Parliament

[edit]

Key

National Labour

Election  | Winner

|

1996 election |  | Bill Birch
1999 election |  | Paul Hutchison
2002 election
2005 election
(Electorate abolished 2008–2020; see Hunua)
2020 election |  | Andrew Bayly
2023 election | Cancelled due to death of a candidate[10]
2023 by-election |  | Andrew Bayly

### List MPs

[edit]

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

Key

Election  | Winner

|

2008  |  | Louisa Wall1
2023 |  | Andrew Bayly2
| Casey Costello

1Wall was elected from the party list in March 2008 following the resignation of Ann Hartley.

2 Bayly was elected from the National's party list in the 2023 New Zealand general election after the cancellation of electorate vote in Port Waikato after the death of the ACT Party candidate. Bayly was elected as the seat's MP in the subsequent 2023 Port Waikato by-election.

## Election results

[edit]

### 2023 by-election

[edit]

The following table shows the preliminary results of the by-election.[11]

2023 Port Waikato by-election

Notes: Blue background denotes the winner of the by-election.
Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list prior to the by-election.
Yellow background denotes the winner of the by-election, who was a list MP prior to the by-election.
A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%
| National | Y Andrew Bayly | 14,296  | 76.33  | +37.59
| NZ First | Casey Costello | 2,864  | 15.29  | —
| NewZeal | Alfred Ngaro | 409  | 2.18  | +1.74
| Animal Justice | Anna Rippon  | 297  | 1.59  | —
| NZ Loyal | Kim Turner  | 237  | 1.27  | —
| DemocracyNZ | Scotty Bright  | 225  | 1.20  | —
| Women's Rights | Jill Ovens | 188  | 1.00  | —
| Independent | Gordon Dickson  | 88  | 0.47  | —
| Vision NZ | Vijay Sudhamalla  | 48  | 0.26  | —
Informal votes  | 76  | 0.41  | -1.28
| National hold | Majority | 11,432  | 61.04  | +50.36

### 2023 election

[edit]

The electorate vote was cancelled due to the death of ACT candidate Neil Christensen.[12] Only the party vote is shown below, with candidates as originally nominated at the close of nominations.

2023 general election: Port Waikato[13]

Notes:  |

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.

Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%  | Party votes  | %  | ±%
| National | Andrew Bayly | —  | —  | —  | 21,277  | 49.88  | +13.71
| Labour | Gwendoline Keel  | —  | —  | —  | 7,918  | 18.56  | -21.56
| ACT | Neil Christensen  | —  | —  | —  | 5,107  | 11.97  | +1.33
| NZ First | Casey Costello | —  | —  | —  | 3,146  | 7.38  | +4.46
| Green | Karla Buchanan  | —  | —  | —  | 2,486  | 5.83  | +2.50
| NZ Loyal | Kim Turner  | —  | —  | —  | 552  | 1.29  | —
| Opportunities |  | 508  | 1.19  | +0.27
| Te Pāti Māori |  | 381  | 0.89  | +0.57
| DemocracyNZ | Scotty Bright  | —  | —  | —  | 232  | 0.54  | —
| NewZeal |  | 229  | 0.54  | +0.21
| Legalise Cannabis |  | 177  | 0.41  | +0.05
| Freedoms NZ |  | 150  | 0.35  | +0.18
| Animal Justice | Anna Rippon  | —  | —  | —  | 94  | 0.22  | —
| New Conservative |  | 66  | 0.15  | -1.53
| Women's Rights |  | 29  | 0.07  | —
| Leighton Baker Party |  | 25  | 0.06  | —
| New Nation |  | 22  | 0.05  | —
| Vision NZ | Vijay Sudhamalla  | —  | —  | —  |
Informal votes  | —  |  |  | 258  |  |
Total valid votes | —  |  |  | 42,657  |  |

### 2020 election

[edit]

2020 general election: Port Waikato[14]

Notes:  |

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.

Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%  | Party votes  | %  | ±%
| National | Andrew Bayly | 15,635  | 38.74  | —  | 14,756  | 36.17  | —
| Labour | Baljit Kaur  | 11,322  | 28.06  | —  | 16,369  | 40.12  | —
| Heartland | Mark Ball | 8,462  | 20.97  | —  | 574  | 1.41  | —
| Green | Bill Wilson  | 1,342  | 3.32  | —  | 1,357  | 3.33  | —
| ACT | Dave King  | 1,340  | 3.32  | —  | 4,343  | 10.64  | —
| New Conservative | Steven Senn  | 529  | 1.31  | —  | 684  | 1.68  | —
| Advance NZ | Jamie Macgregor  | 341  | 0.84  | —  | 353  | 0.87  | —
| Independent | Ian James Cummings  | 285  | 0.71  | —  |
| Outdoors | Lucille Rutherfurd  | 209  | 0.52  | —  | 49  | 0.12  | —
| ONE | Ian Johnson  | 176  | 0.44  | —  | 135  | 0.33  | —
| Independent | Nick Pak  | 40  | 0.10  | —  |
| NZ First |  | 1,190  | 2.92  | —
| Opportunities |  | 374  | 0.92  | —
| Legalise Cannabis |  | 147  | 0.36  | —
| Māori Party |  | 130  | 0.32  | —
| Sustainable NZ |  | 26  | 0.06  | —
| Vision NZ |  | 22  | 0.05  | —
| TEA |  | 17  | 0.04  | —
| Social Credit |  | 7  | 0.02  | —
Informal votes  | 675  |  |  | 269  |  |
Total valid votes | 40,356  |  |  | 40,802  |  |
| National win new seat  | Majority | 4,313  | 10.68  |

### 1999 election

[edit]

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

### 1996 election

[edit]

1996 general election: Port Waikato[4][15][16]

Notes:  |

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.

Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%  | Party votes  | %  | ±%
| National | Bill Birch | 12,529  | 43.80  |  | 10,809  | 37.58  |
| NZ First | John Forbes  | 5,527  | 19.32  |  | 4,996  | 17.37  |
| Labour | Terry Hughes  | 4,888  | 17.09  |  | 6,354  | 22.09  |
| Alliance | Francis Petchey  | 2,922  | 10.22  |  | 2,452  | 8.52  |
| ACT | Marlene Lamb  | 804  | 2.81  |  | 1,796  | 6.24  |
| Christian Coalition | Rick Hayward  | 733  | 2.56  |  | 1,211  | 4.21  |
| United NZ | Diane Colson  | 720  | 2.52  |  | 319  | 1.11  |
| McGillicuddy Serious | David Sutcliffe  | 397  | 1.39  |  | 122  | 0.42  |
| Natural Law | Rhonda-Lisa Comins  | 84  | 0.29  |  | 27  | 0.09  |
| Legalise Cannabis |  | 441  | 1.53  |
| Progressive Green |  | 64  | 0.22  |
| Animals First |  | 51  | 0.18  |
| Green Society |  | 25  | 0.09  |
| Superannuitants & Youth |  | 23  | 0.08  |
| Mana Māori |  | 21  | 0.07  |
| Ethnic Minority Party |  | 18  | 0.06  |
| Conservatives |  | 17  | 0.06  |
| Libertarianz |  | 10  | 0.03  |
| Advance New Zealand |  | 8  | 0.03  |
| Asia Pacific United |  | 1  | 0.00  |
| Te Tawharau |  | 0  | 0.00  |
Informal votes  | 266  |  |  | 105  |  |
Total valid votes | 28,604  |  |  | 28,765  |  |
| National win new seat  | Majority | 7,002  | 24.48  |

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Port Waikato - Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
2. ^ Electoral Act 1993 (Act 87). 17 August 1993. Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
3. ^ "Electorate Profile Port Waikato" (PDF). New Zealand Parliamentary Library. October 2005. p. 3\. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
4. ^ a b "Electorate Candidate and Party Votes Recorded at Each Polling Place – Port Waikato, 1996" (PDF). Retrieved 9 July 2015.
5. ^ Birch, Bill (8 October 1999). "House: Valedictory of Rt. Hon. Sir William Birch" (Press release). Wellington. Scoop. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
6. ^ Vance, Andrea (25 October 2013). "National MPs to retire". Stuff. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
7. ^ "Dr Paul Hutchison". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
8. ^ "Report of the Representation Commission 2020" (PDF). 17 April 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
9. ^ "What's happening now in the boundary review". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
10. ^ a b Cheng, Derek (9 October 2023). "Election 2023: Act candidate Neil Christensen dies, by-election to be held for Port Waikato". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
11. ^ "Port Waikato - Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
12. ^ "ACT Party Port Waikato candidate Neil Christensen dies". RNZ. 9 October 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
13. ^ New Zealand Electoral Commission. "Port Waikato – Official Result". electionresults.govt.nz. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
14. ^ New Zealand Electoral Commission (6 November 2020). "Port Waikato – Official Result". Electionresults.govt.nz. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
15. ^ "Part III – Party Lists of Successful Registered Parties" (PDF). Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
16. ^ "Part III – Party Lists of unsuccessful Registered Parties" (PDF). Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.

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