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Tāmaki is a parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the House of Representatives of New Zealand. The electorate is named after the Tamaki River that runs immediately east of the seat. The electorate is represented by Simon O'Connor, who became the National Party candidate after Allan Peachey withdrew from the 2011 election for health reasons; Peachey died before the election.
Contents
Population centres
The 1941 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 Tamaki.
Tāmaki is based around Auckland City's wealthy eastern beaches, Mission Bay, Meadowbank, Saint Heliers, Kohimarama and Glendowie; it also contains the working-class suburb of Glen Innes on its southern fringe. Tāmaki is the home of a selection of New Zealand's emblematic historical moments: Ngāti Whatua activism at Bastion Point (sparking a chain of events leading to the modern Treaty of Waitangi grievance settlement process) occurred inside the seat's boundaries, a seat at the time represented by the contentious Robert Muldoon, the Prime Minister responsible for the Crown's response to the occupation of Bastion Point. Among other Ngāti Whatua land taken through governmental application of public works legislation is Paratai Drive, once New Zealand's most expensive street. The area around Mission Bay is also home to the Savage Memorial, a huge site dedicated to the memory of former Labour Michael Joseph Savage, architect of the welfare state in New Zealand.
History
The National Party has held Tāmaki in all its various incarnations since 1960, when future Prime Minister Rob Muldoon (later Sir Robert) began his parliamentary career by ousting long-time Labour stalwart Bob Tizard, and staying firmly in place until his self-selected departure from parliament at the end of 1991. In four elections (1972, 1975, 1978 and 1981) Bill Andersen of the Socialist Unity Party ran against him, receiving between 39 and 188 votes.
Muldoon's departure caused a by-election in 1992, where candidate Clem Simich won despite fierce competition in an environment where both major parties were out of favour with the electorate. Simich gave up his seat ahead of the 2005 election to high school principal Allan Peachey. Simich was returned to parliament from his party's list, having chosen to move from standing for one of his party's safest seats to instead contest Māngere, easily Labour's safest seat. Since 2005, Tāmaki was represented by Allan Peachey, who announced his retirement at the end of the parliamentary term in 2011 for health reasons. Simon O'Connor was chosen by the National Party to contest the electorate in the 2011 general election.
Members of Parliament
Unless otherwise stated, all MPs terms began and ended at general elections.
Key
Labour National ACT
1Rob Muldoon resigned effective December 1991
2Allan Peachey announced that, due to his ill-health he would retire at the 2011 election, but he died twenty days before election day
List MPs
Members of Parliament elected from party lists in elections where that person also unsuccessfully contested the Tāmaki electorate. Unless otherwise stated, all MPs terms began and ended at general elections.
2011 election
Electorate (as at 26 November 2011): 49,080