Otago was a New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 Parliamentary electorate

New Zealand electorates

An electorate is a voting district for elections to the Parliament of New Zealand. In informal discussion, electorates are often called seats. The most formal description, electoral district, is rarely seen outside of electoral legislation. Before 1996, all Members of Parliament were directly...

,
which was replaced by the Waitaki electorate

Waitaki (New Zealand electorate)

Waitaki is an electorate for the New Zealand House of Representatives that crosses the boundary of North Otago and South Canterbury towns on the East Coast of the South Island. The electorate was first established for the that determined the 5th New Zealand Parliament...

 and Clutha-Southland electorates for the 2008 election

New Zealand general election, 2008

The 2008 New Zealand general election was held on 8 November 2008 to determine the composition of the 49th New Zealand parliament. The conservative National Party, headed by its Parliamentary leader John Key, won a plurality of votes and seats, ending 9 years of government dominated by the social...

.

The seat was held by the National

New Zealand National Party

The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...

 MP Jacqui Dean

Jacqui Dean

Jacqueline Isobel Dean is a New Zealand politician and the current Member of Parliament for the Waitaki electorate.-Early career:Dean has worked in a number of roles, including professional acting...

 MP. The seat covered the parts of the Otago

Otago

Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. The region covers an area of approximately making it the country's second largest region. The population of Otago is...

 region not in either Dunedin seat, excluding Clutha District

Clutha District

The Clutha District is an administrative district of southern New Zealand, with its headquarters in the Otago town of Balclutha. The Clutha District has a land area of 6,362.86 km² and a 2006 census population of 16,839 usual residents...

, which is in Clutha-Southland. The main towns in Otago are Queenstown

Queenstown, New Zealand

Queenstown is a resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand's South Island. It is built around an inlet called Queenstown Bay on Lake Wakatipu, a long thin Z-shaped lake formed by glacial processes, and has spectacular views of nearby mountains....

, Oamaru

Oamaru

Oamaru , the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is 80 kilometres south of Timaru and 120 kilometres north of Dunedin, on the Pacific coast, and State Highway 1 and the railway Main South Line connects it to both...

, Alexandra

Alexandra, New Zealand

Alexandra is a town in the Central Otago district of the Otago region of New Zealand. It is located on the banks of the Clutha River , on State Highway 8, 188 km by road from Dunedin and 33 km south of Cromwell.At the time of the 2006 census, the permanent population was 4,827, an...

 and Wanaka.

History

The first Otago seat was created in 1978, replacing the Otago Central seat.

The Otago seat was created in 1996 election

New Zealand general election, 1996

The 1996 New Zealand general election was held on 12 October 1996 to determine the composition of the 45th New Zealand Parliament. It was notable for being the first election to be held under the new Mixed Member Proportional electoral system, and produced a parliament considerably more diverse...

 for the first MMP election out of parts of an older Otago seat which did not include Oamaru or Alexandra, but did include the South Canterbury

Canterbury, New Zealand

The New Zealand region of Canterbury is mainly composed of the Canterbury Plains and the surrounding mountains. Its main city, Christchurch, hosts the main office of the Christchurch City Council, the Canterbury Regional Council - called Environment Canterbury - and the University of Canterbury.-...

 town of Twizel. Its size remained relatively unchanged at the boundary review set up after the 1996 and 2006 censuses, but a major upheaval of boundaries has seen Otago seat disappear and the electorate split between the Waitaki and Clutha-Southland electorates. At the same time, its boundary shifts northwards to take in a large chunk of Aoraki, including the towns of Temuka

Temuka

Temuka is a town on New Zealand's Canterbury Plains, 15 kilometres north of Timaru and 142 km south of Christchurch. It is located at the centre of a rich sheep and dairy farming region, for which it is a service town.-History:...

, Twizel, Kurow and Waimate

Waimate

WaimateUrban AreaPopulation:2,835 Extent:Territorial AuthorityName:Waimate District CouncilPopulation:7,206 Land area:3,582.19 km² Mayor:John ColesWebsite:...

. Because of the sweeping changes to the seat's boundaries, the electorate was renamed Waitaki

Waitaki (New Zealand electorate)

Waitaki is an electorate for the New Zealand House of Representatives that crosses the boundary of North Otago and South Canterbury towns on the East Coast of the South Island. The electorate was first established for the that determined the 5th New Zealand Parliament...

.

Representation

Although Otago was a reasonably safe seat for the National Party

New Zealand National Party

The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...

, that party's poor showing at the 2002 election

New Zealand general election, 2002

The 2002 New Zealand general election was held on 27 July 2002 to determine the composition of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the reelection of Helen Clark's Labour Party government, as well as the worst-ever performance by the opposition National Party.Arguably the most controversial...

 saw it elect a Labour

New Zealand Labour Party

The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....

 MP, David Parker. Three years later

New Zealand general election, 2005

The 2005 New Zealand general election held on 17 September 2005 determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. No party won a majority in the unicameral House of Representatives, but the Labour Party of Prime Minister Helen Clark secured two more seats than nearest rival, the...

, a swing to National in provincial New Zealand unseated Parker in favour of National's Jacqui Dean.

Election results

Key

Election	Winner
		Warren Cooper Warren Cooper Warren Cooper QSO is a former New Zealand politician. He was a National Party MP from 1975 to 1996, holding cabinet positions including Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defence. Cooper also twice served as Mayor of Queenstown, from 1968 to 1975 and 1995 to 2001.-Early life:Cooper was...
		Gavan Herlihy Gavan Herlihy Gavan Herlihy is a former New Zealand politician. He was educated at St. Kevin's College and Canterbury University. He was a member of Parliament for the National Party from 1996 to 2002.-Member of Parliament:...
		David Parker
		Jacqui Dean Jacqui Dean Jacqueline Isobel Dean is a New Zealand politician and the current Member of Parliament for the Waitaki electorate.-Early career:Dean has worked in a number of roles, including professional acting...

External links

• Electorate Profile Parliamentary Library