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Rangitata
Single-member constituency for the New Zealand House of Representatives
Location of Rangitata within Canterbury
Region	Canterbury
Area	6,809.61 km (2,629.21 sq mi)
Current constituency
Created	2008
Current MP	James Meager
Party	National

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 James Meager of the National Party following the 2023 general election. Previously it was held by Jo Luxton of the Labour Party following the 2020 general election, and Andrew Falloon of the National Party from the 2017 election. Rangitata was a relatively safe National seat until it changed to the Labour Party in the 2020 general election. Following the 2023 general election, the New Zealand National Party regained the seat.

The electorate includes both rural areas, and towns such as Timaru and Temuka, these two towns being Labour strongholds giving the electorate a different composition to its more conservative neighbours Selwyn and Waitaki.

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.

The boundaries of the Rangitata electorate were adjusted in the 2013/14 review, when an area around Rakaia was transferred to the Selwyn electorate. The boundary shifted eastwards again in the 2019/20 review, when the boundary was aligned with the Rakaia River.

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

• Ashburton (20,000)
• Methven (1,300)
• Temuka (4,000)
• Timaru (42,800)

History

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

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

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, which showed that there had been a general northwards population movement. Even though the number of South Island electorates was fixed, the decline in the population of electorates from Rakaia south 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. She held the Rangitata electorate since its creation and in the 2014 election, she more than doubled her majority.

Goodhew announced in January 2017 that she would not be contesting the 2017 general election after being dropped from cabinet. The electorate was won at the election by Andrew Falloon, retaining it for the National Party.

In mid-July 2020, Falloon announced that he would not be seeking re-election at the 2020 general election, citing personal reasons following the suicide of a friend. Following reports that Falloon had sent pornographic images to several women, he resigned as the Member for Rangitata under pressure from National Party leader Judith Collins.

On 9 August 2020, the National Party nominated Environment Canterbury councillor Megan Hands as their new candidate for Rangitata. During the 2020 general election held on 17 October, the Labour Party's candidate Jo Luxton captured Rangitata from National, defeating Hands by a final margin of 4,408 votes.

Members of Parliament

Key

  Independent   Liberal   National   Labour

List MPs

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

Election results

2023 election

2023 general election: Rangitata
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	James Meager		22,792	56.33	+16.49	18,167	44.9	+13.42
	Labour	N Jo Luxton		11,946	29.52	−20.81	10,660	26.34	−22.51
	NZ First	Robert Ballantyne		2,159	5.34	+5.34	3,010	7.43	+5.43
	Green	Barbara Gilchrist		1,784	4.41	+2.3	2,351	5.81	+2.69
	NZ Loyal	Wayne Shearer		755	1.87	+1.87	586	1.45	+1.45
	New Conservatives	Karl Thomas		310	0.70	-1.91	148	0.37	-1.64
	Independent	Michael Clarkson		170	0.26	+0.26
	New Nation	Dolf Van Amersfoort		92	0.23	+0.23	55	0.14	+0.14
	ACT						4,082	10.1	+0.44
	Opportunities						522	1.3	+0.33
	Legalise Cannabis						211	0.52	+0.04
	Te Pāti Māori						156	0.39	+0.26
	NewZeal						148	0.37	+0.37
	DemocracyNZ						123	0.30	+0.30
	Leighton Baker Party						75	0.19	+0.19
	Freedoms NZ						68	0.17	+0.17
	Animal Justice Party						62	0.15	+0.15
	Women's Rights						37	0.09	+0.09
Informal votes				188			419
Total valid votes				40,427			40,649
	National gain from Labour		Majority	4,408	26.81	+16.32

2020 election

2017 election

2014 election

2014 general election: Rangitata
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	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
	United Future						114	0.31	−0.54
	Māori Party						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

2011 general election: Rangitata
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	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 Party						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

2008 election

Table footnotes

1. Falloon resigned as the MP for Rangitata on 21 July 2020. As this date was closer than 6 months to the general election in October, a vacancy existed until the election.
2. 2017 Mana Party swing is relative to the votes for Internet-Mana in 2014; it shared a party list with the Internet Party in the 2014 election
3. 2017 Internet Party swing is relative to the votes for Internet-Mana in 2014; it shared a party list with Mana Party in the 2014 election
4. 2014 Internet Mana swing is relative to the votes for Mana in 2011; it shared a party list with Internet in the 2014 election.

Notes

1. McRobie 1989, pp. 50–53.
2. Report of the Representation Commission 2014 (PDF). Representation Commission. 4 April 2014. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-477-10414-2. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
3. ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 163.
4. "Rangitata". The Press. Vol. XLIV, no. 6859. 17 September 1887. p. 6. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
5. "Rangitata". Auckland Star. Vol. XVIII, no. 228. 28 September 1887. p. 5. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
6. Wilson 1985, p. 231.
7. Scholefield 1950, p. 99.
8. Scholefield 1950, p. 1253.
9. ^ "Hon Jo Goodhew". New Zealand Parliament. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
10. Montgomerie, Jack (22 September 2014). "Goodhew, Dean back with bigger majorities". The Timaru Herald. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
11. "National MP Jo Goodhew quits after being dumped from Cabinet". The New Zealand Herald. 25 January 2017. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
12. "Rangitata – Official Result 2017 general elections". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 15 January 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
13. "National MP Andrew Falloon quits amid 'significant mental health issues'". The New Zealand Herald. 20 July 2020. Archived from the original on 20 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
14. Cooke, Henry (21 July 2020). "Andrew Falloon sent sexually explicit photos to another young woman". Stuff. Archived from the original on 20 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
15. "New sex-text claims: National MP Andrew Falloon quits politics immediately; Judith Collins says she 'no longer trusts his story'". The New Zealand Herald. 21 July 2020. Archived from the original on 20 July 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
16. O'Brien, Tova (20 July 2020). "'Pattern of behaviour' emerging: Further allegations of lewd images sent by disgraced ex-National MP Andrew Falloon". Newshub. Archived from the original on 20 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
17. Comer, Rachel; Mohanlall, Samesh (9 August 2020). "Megan Hands National's new Rangitata candidate". Timaru Herald. Stuff. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
18. "Rangitata – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
19. "Rangitata - Official Result". Wellington: New Zealand Electoral Commission. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
20. "Rangitata - Official Result". Wellington: New Zealand Electoral Commission. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
21. "Official Count Results – Rangitata". Wellington: New Zealand Electoral Commission. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
22. "Official Count Results – Rangitata (2014)". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
23. "Official Count Results – Rangitata (2011)". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
24. "Enrolment statistics". Electoral Commission. 26 November 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
25. "Official Count Results – Rangitata (2008)". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 26 April 2016.

References

• McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN 0-477-01384-8.
• Scholefield, Guy Hardy (1925) . New Zealand Parliamentary Record (2nd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer.
• Scholefield, Guy (1950) . New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer.
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) . New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.

External links

• Electorate Profile from Elections NZ

• New Zealand electorates
• Politics of the Canterbury Region
• 1887 establishments in New Zealand
• 1893 establishments in New Zealand
• 2008 establishments in New Zealand
• 1890 disestablishments in New Zealand
• 1896 disestablishments in New Zealand