Christchurch Central is a New Zealand parliamentary
electorate in the
South Island city of
Christchurch. The electorate was established for the
1946 election and, until
2011 had always been won by the
Labour Party. Since 2008, the incumbent was
Brendon Burns but the election night results for the
2011 election resulted in a tie; the special vote results combined with a judicial recount revealed a 47-vote majority for
Nicky Wagner, the National list MP based in the electorate. Wagner significantly increased her winning margin in the
2014 election after having declared the electorate "unwinnable" for National earlier in the year following a boundary review. At the
2017 election Wagner lost the seat to Labour's
Duncan Webb, who retained it at the
2020 election.
Population centres
The
1941 New Zealand census had been postponed due to World War II, so the 1946 electoral redistribution had to take ten years of population growth and movements into account. The
North Island gained a further two electorates from the
South Island due to faster population growth. The abolition of the
country quota through the Electoral Amendment Act, 1945 reduced the number and increased the size of rural electorates. None of the existing electorates remained unchanged, 27 electorates were abolished, eight former electorates were re-established, and 19 electorates were created for the first time, including Christchurch Central.[1]
The Christchurch Central electorate was created in
1946.[4]Labour held the seat for the next 65 years, though a high turnout for the
Alliance saw
Tim Barnett's
1996 majority come in at under a thousand. The incumbent, Brendon Burns, had a majority in the 2008 election of also just under one thousand.[5]
Palmer retired at the
1990 election and was succeeded by
Lianne Dalziel. At the
1996 election, i.e. with the advent of
MMP, Dalziel did not contest an electorate but stood as a list candidate only.
Tim Barnett succeeded her and held the electorate until the
2008 election, when he retired.
Brendon Burns succeeded Barnett.
The election night results for the
2011 election resulted in a tie; Burns and
Nicky Wagner of the National Party received 10,493 votes each. The outcome of the election thus depended on the special votes.[7] This was the first time a tie result had been achieved since 1928.[8] When the final vote count was announced on 10 December, Wagner was declared the winner with a majority of 45 over Burns, making the result the second-smallest majority after
Waitakere. Due to the closeness of the results a judicial recount was held where Wagner's majority increased by 2 votes to 47.[9][10]
When draft electoral boundary changes were released, Wagner declared the electorate "unwinnable" for National. Although she was expected to not contest the
2014 general election, she announced at the end of January 2014 that she would try to defend her seat.[11] Labour chose Tony Milne as their candidate for Christchurch Central.[12] Wagner had a 2,420 majority over Milne.[13] The Labour Party chose Duncan Webb as its candidate for the
2017 general election. He is a prominent lawyer and earthquake claims advocate.[14] Webb narrowly won the seat in 2017, and massively increased his majority at the
2020 election amid that year's Labour landslide.
Members of Parliament
Christchurch Central has been represented by eight MPs. Since its creation in 1946 until the
2011 general election it had been a safe seat for the
Labour Party. It was then held by the National Party until the
2017 general election when it swung back to Labour.
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.
McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books.
ISBN0-477-01384-8.
Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946-1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington.
ISBN0-475-11200-8.
Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer.
OCLC154283103.
Christchurch Central is a New Zealand parliamentary
electorate in the
South Island city of
Christchurch. The electorate was established for the
1946 election and, until
2011 had always been won by the
Labour Party. Since 2008, the incumbent was
Brendon Burns but the election night results for the
2011 election resulted in a tie; the special vote results combined with a judicial recount revealed a 47-vote majority for
Nicky Wagner, the National list MP based in the electorate. Wagner significantly increased her winning margin in the
2014 election after having declared the electorate "unwinnable" for National earlier in the year following a boundary review. At the
2017 election Wagner lost the seat to Labour's
Duncan Webb, who retained it at the
2020 election.
Population centres
The
1941 New Zealand census had been postponed due to World War II, so the 1946 electoral redistribution had to take ten years of population growth and movements into account. The
North Island gained a further two electorates from the
South Island due to faster population growth. The abolition of the
country quota through the Electoral Amendment Act, 1945 reduced the number and increased the size of rural electorates. None of the existing electorates remained unchanged, 27 electorates were abolished, eight former electorates were re-established, and 19 electorates were created for the first time, including Christchurch Central.[1]
The Christchurch Central electorate was created in
1946.[4]Labour held the seat for the next 65 years, though a high turnout for the
Alliance saw
Tim Barnett's
1996 majority come in at under a thousand. The incumbent, Brendon Burns, had a majority in the 2008 election of also just under one thousand.[5]
Palmer retired at the
1990 election and was succeeded by
Lianne Dalziel. At the
1996 election, i.e. with the advent of
MMP, Dalziel did not contest an electorate but stood as a list candidate only.
Tim Barnett succeeded her and held the electorate until the
2008 election, when he retired.
Brendon Burns succeeded Barnett.
The election night results for the
2011 election resulted in a tie; Burns and
Nicky Wagner of the National Party received 10,493 votes each. The outcome of the election thus depended on the special votes.[7] This was the first time a tie result had been achieved since 1928.[8] When the final vote count was announced on 10 December, Wagner was declared the winner with a majority of 45 over Burns, making the result the second-smallest majority after
Waitakere. Due to the closeness of the results a judicial recount was held where Wagner's majority increased by 2 votes to 47.[9][10]
When draft electoral boundary changes were released, Wagner declared the electorate "unwinnable" for National. Although she was expected to not contest the
2014 general election, she announced at the end of January 2014 that she would try to defend her seat.[11] Labour chose Tony Milne as their candidate for Christchurch Central.[12] Wagner had a 2,420 majority over Milne.[13] The Labour Party chose Duncan Webb as its candidate for the
2017 general election. He is a prominent lawyer and earthquake claims advocate.[14] Webb narrowly won the seat in 2017, and massively increased his majority at the
2020 election amid that year's Labour landslide.
Members of Parliament
Christchurch Central has been represented by eight MPs. Since its creation in 1946 until the
2011 general election it had been a safe seat for the
Labour Party. It was then held by the National Party until the
2017 general election when it swung back to Labour.
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.
McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books.
ISBN0-477-01384-8.
Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946-1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington.
ISBN0-475-11200-8.
Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer.
OCLC154283103.