Waiariki (New Zealand electorate)

Waiariki is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorate that was established for the 1999 election, replacing the Te Tai Rawhiti electorate. It is currently held by Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, who won it in the 2020 and 2023 general elections.

Waiariki
Single-member Māori constituency for the New Zealand House of Representatives
Location of Waiariki  within Bay of Plenty and Waikato
Region	Bay of Plenty and Waikato
Current constituency
Created	1999
Current MP	Rawiri Waititi
Party	Te Pāti Māori

Waiariki was an important electorate in the 2020 election as Waititi's win allowed the Māori Party to re-enter parliament with two MPs, despite not reaching the 5% party vote threshold needed for parties without an electorate seat.

Population centres

Rotorua

The electorate includes the following population centres:

• Tauranga
• Whakatāne
• Rotorua
• Taupō

In the 2013/14 redistribution, a minor boundary adjustment was undertaken. A small area, including the village of Tuai, was transferred to Waiariki from the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti electorate.^[1]

Tribal areas

The electorate includes the following tribal areas:

• Waitaha-Nui-ā-Hei
• Ngāti Ranginui
• Ngāi Te Rangi
• Te Arawa
• Ngāti Awa
• Ngāi Tūhoe
• Whakatōhea
• Ngāi Tai
• Te Whānau-ā-Apanui
• Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa
• Ngāti Tūwharetoa

History

The electorate was created for the 1999 election. The first representative was Mita Ririnui of the Labour Party, with Tuariki Delamere (Te Tawharau) coming second, Arapeta Tahana (Alliance) coming third and Kahukore Baker (New Zealand First) coming fourth.^[2]

In the 2002 election, Ririnui was confirmed with 61.93% of the electorate vote. Rihi Vercoe and Hamuera Mitchell of Mana Māori and the National Party came second and third, respectively.^[2]

In the 2005 election, Ririnui was beaten by Te Ururoa Flavell of the Māori Party. Hawea Vercoe of Destiny New Zealand came a distant third.^[3] The 2008 election was contested by two contenders: the incumbent and Ririnui. Flavell was once again confirmed.^[4]

The 2011 election was contested by three contenders: Flavell, Annette Sykes of the Mana Party and Louis Te Kani of the Labour Party. Flavell had a comfortable lead over Sykes, with Te Kani coming third.^[5] In the 2014 election, Flavell gained a much increased majority.^[6]

Labour's Tāmati Coffey beat Flavell in 2017. This left the Māori Party without any electorate seats, and consequently, no parliamentary representation as they had not reached the 5% party vote threshold required to enter Parliament without winning an electorate.^[7] The Māori Party's Rawiri Waititi won the electorate back at the 2020 election, which allowed the Māori Party to have two MPs.^{[citation needed]}

Members of Parliament

Key

  Labour   Te Pāti Māori

Election	Winner
1999 election		Mita Ririnui
2002 election
2005 election		Te Ururoa Flavell
2008 election
2011 election
2014 election
2017 election		Tāmati Coffey
2020 election		Rawiri Waititi
2023 election

List MPs

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

Election	Winner
2005 election		Mita Ririnui
2008 election
2020 election		Tāmati Coffey

Election results

2023 election

2023 general election: Waiariki[8]
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	%	±%
	Te Pāti Māori	Y Rawiri Waititi		21,500	74.24	+27.46	11,300	37.60	+19.85
	Labour	Toni Boynton		5,609	19.36	−24.26	12,892	42.90	−17.77
	Vision NZ	Charles Tiki Hunua		1,067	3.68	–0.74
	Green						1,637	5.44	–0.51
	NZ First						1,109	3.69	–0.02
	National						1,003	3.33	+0.94
	Freedoms NZ						417	1.38	–
	Legalise Cannabis						245	0.81	–0.73
	NZ Loyal						241	0.80	–
	ACT						221	0.73	–0.21
	Opportunities						159	0.52	–0.38
	NewZeal						150	0.49	–0.03
	DemocracyNZ						31	0.10	–
	Women's Rights						30	0.09	–
	Animal Justice						24	0.07	–
	Leighton Baker Party						15	0.04	–
	New Conservatives						7	0.02	–0.36
	New Nation						4	0.01	–
Informal votes				782			556
Total valid votes				28,958			30,051
	Te Pāti Māori hold		Majority	15,891	55.56	+58.72

2020 election

2020 general election: Waiariki[9]
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	%	±%
	Māori Party	Rawiri Waititi		12,389	46.78	+0.51	4,843	17.75	−0.46
	Labour	N Tāmati Coffey		11,553	43.62	−10.12	16,552	60.67	+1.72
	Vision NZ	Hannah Tamaki		1,171	4.42	—	626	2.29	—
	Advance NZ	Ema Williams		747	2.82	—	733	2.69	—
	Outdoors	Rawiri Tekowhai		428	1.62	—	67	0.25	+0.22
	New Conservative	Riki Wayne Broughton		198	0.75	—	105	0.38	+0.32
	Green						1,622	5.95	+2.09
	NZ First						1,001	3.67	−3.75
	National						651	2.39	−2.36
	Legalise Cannabis						421	1.54	+0.84
	ACT						257	0.94	+0.86
	Opportunities						246	0.90	−1.97
	ONE						142	0.52	—
	TEA						7	0.03	—
	Social Credit						4	0.01	−0.01
	Sustainable NZ						4	0.01	—
	Heartland						1	0.00	—
Informal votes				639			417
Total valid votes				26,486			27,282
Turnout				27,699	68.69
	Māori Party gain from Labour		Majority	836	3.16	−4.32

2017 election

2017 general election: Waiariki[10]
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	%	±%
	Labour	Tāmati Coffey		12,362	53.74	+26.96	14,144	58.95	+20.58
	Māori Party	N Te Ururoa Flavell		10,643	46.26	+1.61	4,730	19.71	–2.08
	NZ First						1,780	7.42	–5.09
	National						1,139	4.75	–0.25
	Green						926	3.86	–4.12
	Opportunities						690	2.88	—
	Mana Party						271	1.13	–8.62[lower-alpha 1]
	Legalise Cannabis						168	0.70	–0.29
	Ban 1080						64	0.27	–0.04
	People's Party						27	0.11	—
	ACT						19	0.08	±0.00
	Conservative						15	0.06	–0.29
	Outdoors						7	0.03	—
	Democrats						6	0.03	+0.02
	Internet						5	0.02	–1.50[lower-alpha 2]
	United Future						4	0.02	–0.03
Informal votes				574			334
Total valid votes				23,005			23,995
Turnout				24,329
	Labour gain from Māori Party		Majority	1,719	7.47	–12.98

2014 election

2014 general election: Waiariki[11]
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	%	±%
	Māori Party	Y Te Ururoa Flavell		9,726	44.62	+1.57	4,880	21.79	+0.58
	Labour	Rawiri Waititi		5,837	26.78	+2.38	8,595	38.37	+3.32
	Mana Party	Annette Sykes		5,482	25.15	+0.65
	Independent Coalition	Pat Spellman		301	1.38	+1.38	41	0.18	+0.18
	NZ First						2,801	12.51	+1.57
	Internet Mana						2,524	11.27	–5.35[lower-alpha 3]
	Green						1,787	7.98	–0.86
	National						1,120	5.00	–0.68
	Legalise Cannabis						222	0.99	+0.99
	Conservative						78	0.35	+0.05
	Ban 1080						70	0.31	+0.31
	ACT						17	0.08	–0.07
	United Future						11	0.05	–0.07
	Focus						8	0.04	+0.04
	Civilian						5	0.02	+0.02
	Democrats						2	0.01	±0.00
Informal votes				451			229
Total valid votes				21,797			22,398
	Māori Party hold		Majority	3,889	17.84	+7.25

2011 election

2011 general election: Waiariki[5]
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	%	±%
	Māori Party	Y Te Ururoa Flavell		7,651	43.05	–25.12	3,989	21.21	–14.05
	Mana	Annette Sykes		5,768	32.45	+32.45	3,125	16.62	+16.62
	Labour	Louis Te Kani		4,355	24.50	–7.33	6,591	35.05	–10.52
	NZ First						2,058	10.94	+3.14
	Green						1,663	8.84	+6.19
	National						1,068	5.68	+0.18
	Legalise Cannabis						201	1.07	+0.14
	Conservative						57	0.30	+0.30
	ACT						28	0.15	–0.07
	United Future						22	0.12	–0.02
	Alliance						2	0.01	–0.02
	Libertarianz						2	0.01	–0.01
	Democrats						1	0.01	–0.005
Informal votes				993			465
Total valid votes				17,774			18,807
	Māori Party hold		Majority	1,883	10.59	–25.74

Electorate (as at 26 November 2011): 33,240^[12]

2008 election

2008 general election: Waiariki[4]
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	%	±%
	Māori Party	Y Te Ururoa Flavell		12,781	68.17	+13.59	6,890	35.26	+4.47
	Labour	Mita Ririnui		5,969	31.83	–7.67	8,903	45.57	–7.54
	NZ First						1,525	7.80	+1.12
	National						1,075	5.50	+2.67
	Green						518	2.65	+0.35
	Family Party						205	1.05	+1.05
	Legalise Cannabis						182	0.93	+0.29
	Kiwi						57	0.29	+0.29
	Bill and Ben						47	0.24	+0.24
	ACT						42	0.21	+0.10
	Progressive						28	0.14	–0.10
	United Future						26	0.13	–0.32
	Workers Party						13	0.07	+0.07
	Pacific						9	0.05	+0.05
	Alliance						6	0.03	±0.00
	RAM						6	0.03	+0.03
	Libertarianz						4	0.02	+0.02
	Democrats						2	0.01	–0.01
	RONZ						1	0.01	–0.01
Informal votes				675			366
Total valid votes				18,750			19,539
Turnout				20,614	64.54	–4.89
	Māori Party hold		Majority	6,812	36.33	+21.25

2005 election

2005 general election: Waiariki[3]
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	%	±%
	Māori Party	Te Ururoa Flavell		10,392	54.58		6,104	30.79
	Labour	N Mita Ririnui		7,521	39.50	–22.43	10,530	53.11	+0.18
	Destiny	Hawea Vercoe		1,126	5.91		528	2.66
	NZ First						1,324	6.68	–9.85
	National						562	2.83	–0.91
	Green						457	2.30	–7.67
	Legalise Cannabis						126	0.64	–2.03
	United Future						89	0.45	–2.28
	Progressive						48	0.24	–0.62
	ACT						22	0.11	–0.44
	Family Rights						10	0.05
	Christian Heritage						7	0.04	–1.23
	Alliance						5	0.03	–1.66
	One NZ						4	0.02	–0.05
	RONZ						4	0.02
	99 MP						3	0.02
	Democrats						3	0.02
	Direct Democracy						1	0.01
	Libertarianz						0	0.00
Informal votes				655			322
Total valid votes				19,039			19,827
Turnout				20,794	69.43	+11.74
	Māori Party gain from Labour		Majority	2,871	15.08

2002 election

2002 general election: Waiariki[2]
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	%	±%
	Labour	Y Mita Ririnui		9,361	61.93	+16.82	8,322	52.93	–1.99
	Mana Māori	Rihi Vercoe		2,644	17.49		947	6.02	–2.41
	National	Hamuera Mitchell		1,356	8.97	+5.28	588	3.74	–0.85
	United Future	Huikakahu Kawe		852	5.64	+3.99	429	2.73	+1.541
	Alliance	Sharon Heta		542	3.59	–9.10	265	1.69	–4.17
	Christian Heritage	Judith Francis		361	2.39		199	1.27	+0.38
	NZ First						2,599	16.53	+1.33
	Green						1,568	9.97	+6.32
	Legalise Cannabis						420	2.67	+0.15
	ORNZ						147	0.93
	Progressive						136	0.86
	ACT						87	0.55	+0.03
	One NZ						11	0.07	+0.04
	NMP						5	0.03	+0.02
Informal votes				529			186
Total valid votes				15,116			15,723
Turnout				16,309	57.69
	Labour hold		Majority	6,717	44.44	+19.34

¹ United Future swing is compared to 1999 results from both United NZ and Future NZ combined, as the two merged in 2000.

1999 election

1999 general election: Waiariki[2]
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	%	±%
	Labour	Mita Ririnui		7,853	45.11		9,670	54.92
	Te Tawharau	N Tuariki Delamere[note 1]		3,484	20.01
	Alliance	Arapeta Tahana		2,210	12.69		1,032	5.86
	NZ First	Kahukore Baker		2,139	12.29		2,676	15.20
	National	George Ngatai		643	3.69		809	4.59
	Mana Wahine	Alamein Kopu		296	1.70
	Mauri Pacific	Te Orohi Paul		292	1.68		302	1.73
	Future NZ	Toa Faulkner		288	1.65		202	1.16
	Freedom Movement	Helen Wepiha-Tai		204	1.17		41	0.24
	Mana Māori						1,469	8.43
	Green						643	3.65
	Legalise Cannabis						439	2.52
	Christian Heritage						155	0.89
	ACT						92	0.52
	Animals First						21	0.12
	Libertarianz						14	0.08
	Natural Law						11	0.06
	McGillicuddy Serious						9	0.05
	People's Choice						8	0.05
	United NZ						6	0.03
	One NZ						5	0.03
	NMP						1	0.01
	Republican						1	0.01
	South Island						1	0.01
Informal votes				528			330
Total valid votes				17,409			17,607
	Labour win new seat		Majority	4,369	25.10

Notes

1. 2017 Mana swing is relative to the votes for Internet Mana in 2014; it shared a party list with Internet in the 2014 election.
2. 2017 Internet swing is relative to the votes for Internet Mana in 2014; it shared a party list with Mana in the 2014 election.
3. 2014 Internet Mana swing is relative to the votes for Mana in 2011; it shared a party list with Internet in the 2014 election.

1. Te Tawharau contested the electorate vote independently, but encouraged voters to give their party vote to Mana Māori

References

1. Report of the Representation Commission 2014 (PDF). Representation Commission. 4 April 2014. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-477-10414-2. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
2. "Electorate Profile Waiariki" (PDF). Parliamentary Library. October 2005. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
3. "Official Count Results – Waiariki". Chief Electoral Office, Wellington. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
4. "Official Count Results – Waiariki". Chief Electoral Office, Wellington. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
5. "Official Count Results – Waiariki". Electoral Commission. 10 December 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
6. "Official Count Results – Waiariki". Electoral Commission. 21 September 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
7. "Maori Party in turmoil after Tāmati Coffey wins Waiariki seat for Labour". TVNZ. 23 September 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
8. "Waiariki – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
9. "Waiariki – Official Result". Electoral Commission. 18 October 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
10. "Waiariki – Official Result". Electoral Commission. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
11. "Official Count Results – Waiariki". Electoral Commission. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
12. "Enrolment statistics". Electoral Commission. 26 November 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2011.

37.9833°S 177.0000°E / -37.9833; 177.0000