2013 Christchurch East by-election explained

Election Name:2013 Christchurch East by-election
Country:New Zealand
Flag Year:2013
Type:parliamentary
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2011 New Zealand general election
Previous Year:2011 general
Next Election:2014 New Zealand general election
Next Year:2014 general
Turnout:13,726
Candidate1:Poto Williams
Party1:New Zealand Labour Party
Popular Vote1:8,414
Percentage1:61.30%
Swing1:5.86pp
Candidate2:Matt Doocey
Party2:New Zealand National Party
Popular Vote2:3,577
Percentage2:26.06%
Swing2:10.40pp
Candidate3:David Moorhouse
Party3:Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
Popular Vote3:954
Percentage3:6.96%
Swing3:2.15pp
MP
Before Election:Lianne Dalziel
After Election:Poto Williams
Before Party:New Zealand Labour Party
After Party:New Zealand Labour Party
Result:Hold

A by-election was held in the New Zealand electorate of Christchurch East on 30 November 2013.[1] The seat was vacated following the resignation of Lianne Dalziel of the Labour Party from parliament, who contested and won the Christchurch mayoralty in October 2013.

The electorate is regarded as a safe Labour seat; the party has, apart from the 50-year gap when the electorate was abolished, held the electorate since the, although significant population changes since the 2011 Christchurch earthquake had made this allegiance to Labour less certain. Prior to the election, National's top party official in Canterbury had conceded that the by-election was "very, very hard for [National] to win". The by-election was won by Labour's Poto Williams, who prior to her selection as Labour's candidate was virtually unknown.

Background

Following months of speculation, The Press reported on 20 April 2013 that Lianne Dalziel would challenge Bob Parker for the Christchurch mayoralty.[2] On 19 June Dalziel formally confirmed that she would contest the mayoralty, also announcing that she would resign from Parliament, which would cause a by-election in the Christchurch East electorate.[3] Dalziel's resignation took effect on 11 October, the day before the announcement of the mayoralty election-results.[4]

Candidates

Ten candidates were nominated.[5]

Poto Williams (Labour)

The Labour Party nominated Poto Williams for the by-election.[6] In a surprise move, then Labour leader David Shearer appointed former MP Jim Anderton as the party's by-election campaign manager. Anderton, who was first elected to Parliament in for Labour in,[7] left the party in 1989 over policy differences and, until his retirement as MP in 2011, led his own parties (the NewLabour Party and Jim Anderton's Progressive Party).[8] [9] The Labour Party nomination process started in August and Deon Swiggs was the first person to declare his candidacy. Swiggs, a 26-year-old who developed a profile following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, has been a Labour supporter since age 15.[10] A day later, James Caygill confirmed his candidacy to represent the Labour Party. He is the son of former Minister of Finance David Caygill.[11] The third person to join the Labour candidacy race was Tina Lomax, who is the principal of Kingslea School and who, from 2004 to 2010, was a Burwood-Pegasus Community Board member.[12] Karen Hayes is a registered nurse and midwife, Christina Laalaai-Tausa is a PhD candidate at the University of Canterbury, and the sixth candidate was Poto Williams, the regional manager of St John of God Hauora Trust.[13] Clayton Cosgrove, an existing list MP who had lost the electorate to National's Kate Wilkinson at the last election, had considered standing in the by-election, but in the end decided not to put his name forward for the Labour nomination.[14]

Matt Doocey (National)

The National Party nominated political newcomer Matt Doocey for the by-election, who is a manager for the Canterbury District Health Board.[15] The party's Canterbury Westland Regional Chair, Roger Bridge, noted that a sitting government has never won a by-election in an electorate that it did not already hold.[16] Bridge later conceded that it would be "very, very hard for us to win".[17] When Kate Wilkinson, National MP for the electorate, announced in early November 2013 that she would retire at the end of the term of the 50th Parliament, rumours immediately surfaced that Doocey would replace her as National's Waimakariri candidate, and the Christchurch East by-election would help him gain experience in contesting an election.[18] [19]

Doocey is a member of the well-known Carter family. Family patriarch Maurice Carter, a Christchurch City Councillor for over 30 years (1956–1989), was his grandfather, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, David Carter, is his uncle. Doocey grew up in Christchurch and attended St Bede's College for his secondary schooling. The Dooceys bought their current home in Redwood, which currently falls into the Waimakariri electorate, in April 2011.[20]

David Moorhouse (Green)

The Green Party nominated software developer David Moorhouse for the by-election.[21] [22] He stood for the party in Christchurch Central electorate at the 2011 general election.[23]

Other candidates

ACT PartyGareth Veale was the candidate for the ACT Party. Veale is a 24-year-old earthquake claims specialist whose campaign is focusing on issues of crime and property rights.[24]
Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis PartyPaula Lambert was the candidate for the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party.
Conservative PartyThe Conservative Party nominated Leighton Baker, a future leader of the party.[25] [26]
Democrats for Social CreditThe Democrats for Social Credit nominated Jenner Lichtwark, a novelist.[27]
IndependentsThree people were contesting the by-election as independent candidates. One, Adam Holland, previously contested the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti by-election, and says that he will be running on "a platform of donating the entirety of my parliamentary salary to the region".[28] The other independent candidates are Ian Gaskin and Sam Park.[29]

Blair Anderson, a former deputy leader of the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party,[30] considered standing as an independent, but did not put a nomination forward. He had previously stood unsuccessfully for the Christchurch mayoralty on several occasions.[31] [32] [33] [34]

Notes and References

  1. News: Date set for Christchurch East by-election . 3 News NZ . Simon . Wong . 30 September 2013 . 30 September 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131014173712/http://www.3news.co.nz/Date-set-for-Christchurch-East-by-election/tabid/1607/articleID/315225/Default.aspx . 14 October 2013 . dead .
  2. News: Dalziel invites Johnson to join mayoral race . https://web.archive.org/web/20131014211521/http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/8574677/Dalziel-seeks-running-mate-in-mayoral-race . 14 October 2013 . live . 20 April 2013 . . 20 April 2013 . . A1 . dmy .
  3. News: Cairns . Lois . Heavyweights fight for city . https://web.archive.org/web/20150924172221/http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/8811913/Heavyweights-fight-for-City . 24 September 2015 . live . 19 June 2013 . . 19 June 2013 . A1 . dmy .
  4. News: Cairns . Lois . Dalziel formally enters mayoralty race . 26 August 2013 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20131014211211/http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/local-elections-2013/8940226/Dalziel-formally-enters-mayoralty-race . 14 October 2013 . live . 19 July 2013 . dmy .
  5. News: Conway . Glenn . Candidates named for Christchurch East . 8 November 2013 . . 5 November 2013.
  6. News: Labour selects Christchurch East candidate . . 21 September 2013 . 21 September 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060616/http://www.3news.co.nz/Labour-selects-Christchurch-East-candidate/tabid/1607/articleID/314153/Default.aspx . 21 September 2013 . dead .
  7. Book: Wilson, James Oakley . New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 . 4th . First ed. published 1913 . 1985 . V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer . Wellington . 154283103 . 180.
  8. News: Conway . Glenn . Anderton back in politics . . 28 August 2013 . . A5.
  9. News: Today in politics: Thursday, August 22 . 27 August 2013 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20131021192729/http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/politics/9071589/Today-in-politics-Thursday-August-22 . 21 October 2013 . live . 22 August 2013 . dmy .
  10. News: Young . Rachel . Deon Swiggs to challenge Dalziel seat . 26 August 2013 . . A5 . 26 August 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131021192716/http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/the-east/9085151/Deon-Swiggs-to-challenge-Dalziel-seat . 21 October 2013 . live . dmy .
  11. News: Conway . Glenn . Caygill Jr aiming for Beehive . https://web.archive.org/web/20131021192721/http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/the-east/9089178/Caygill-Jr-aiming-for-Beehive . 21 October 2013 . live . 27 August 2013 . . A2 . 27 August 2013 . dmy .
  12. News: Stylianou . Georgina . Principal eyes up Dalziel's seat . https://web.archive.org/web/20131021192734/http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/9111311/Principal-eyes-up-Dalziels-seat . 21 October 2013 . live . 2 September 2013 . . A3 . 2 September 2013 . dmy .
  13. News: Rutherford . Hamish . Six seek Lianne Dalziel's Labour spot . https://web.archive.org/web/20131021192725/http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/9140396/Six-seek-Lianne-Dalziels-Labour-spot . 21 October 2013 . live . 13 September 2013 . . 8 September 2013 . dmy .
  14. News: Cosgrove not standing for Christchurch East . A5 . . 6 September 2013.
  15. News: National's Christchurch East candidate named . https://web.archive.org/web/20131023060952/http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/9159592/Nationals-Christchurch-East-candidate-named . 23 October 2013 . live . 13 September 2013 . . 12 September 2013 . A3 . dmy .
  16. Web site: National opens nominations for Christchurch East By-election . . 13 September 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131023055206/http://www.national.org.nz/Article.aspx?articleId=41795 . 23 October 2013 . dead . dmy-all .
  17. News: 'Realistic' Nats reject by-election hopes . A9 . . 23 October 2013.
  18. News: Glenn . Conway . . 8 November 2013 . A7 . Wilkinson to fall on her sword.
  19. News: Glenn . Conway . . 8 November 2013 . 9 November 2013 . Canterbury MP Kate Wilkinson quits .
  20. News: . 16 November 2013 . 30 November 2013 . Chch East candidate: Matthew Doocey .
  21. Web site: David Moorhouse . . 30 September 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131029192127/https://www.greens.org.nz/candidates/david-moorhouse . 29 October 2013 . dead . dmy-all .
  22. News: Glenn . Conway . . 1 October 2013 . A4 . Greens name Christchurch East candidate . 30 September 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131029194005/http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/local-elections-2013/9226203/Greens-name-Chch-East-candidate . 29 October 2013 . live . dmy .
  23. Web site: Green's candidate says he'll help locals . MSN NZ . 1 October 2013.
  24. Web site: ACT New Zealand. Christchurch East By-Election. 23 November 2013.
  25. News: Conservative Party targets NZ First faithful . . 27 October 2013 . 27 October 2013.
  26. Web site: New Leader for the Conservative Party . 2017 . 1 February 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170202055214/http://www.conservativeparty.org.nz/index.php/2017/01/24/new-leader-for-the-conservative-party/ . 2 February 2017 . dead .
  27. DSC selects Lichtwark for Christchurch East . . 1 October 2013 . 24 September 2013.
  28. Christchurch East By Election Candidacy Announcement . Adam Holland . 14 October 2013 . 14 October 2013.
  29. http://www.elections.org.nz/news-media/christchurch-east-election-candidates-announced Christchurch East By-election Candidates Announced
  30. News: Bring on the challengers, says Dalziel . 1 October 2013 . . 8 July 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131014211052/http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/8889540/Bring-on-the-challengers-says-Dalziel . 14 October 2013 . live . dmy .
  31. Web site: Max . Robertson . . Declaration of Results of Elections . 20 October 2004 . 18 August 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131022152155/http://www1.ccc.govt.nz/council/proceedings/2004/october/Clause1Attachment.pdf . 22 October 2013 . dmy-all .
  32. Web site: Max . Robertson . . 2007 Local Government Elections . 17 October 2007 . 19 August 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131022151646/http://resources.ccc.govt.nz/files/Declaration-of-Result-of-Election-2007-Christchurch.pdf . 22 October 2013 . dead . dmy-all .
  33. Web site: Clare . Sullivan . . 2010 Triennial Elections . 14 October 2010 . 19 August 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131022152152/http://resources.ccc.govt.nz/files/DeclarationofResults2010Triennial%20Elections.pdf . 22 October 2013 . dead . dmy-all .
  34. Web site: Your 2013 Nominations . . 12 September 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130808055316/http://www.ccc.govt.nz/thecouncil/howthecouncilworks/councilelections/candidateprofiles.aspx . 8 August 2013 . dmy-all .

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