National Party candidate Ankit Bansal (left) shares a joke with his campaign manager Susan Baty and successful Labour Party candidate Tangi Utikere. Photo / Judith Lacy
Manawatū is now represented in Parliament by a rainbow of political colours.
Labour’s Tangi Utikere has won a second term as Palmerston North’s MP, albeit with a much-reduced majority. Final number crunching will need to wait until the official results are declared on November 3.
Pohangina resident Teanau Tuiono returns for a second term via the Green Party list.
Turakina resident and National Party member Suze Redmayne is the new MP for Rangitīkei.
Kiwitea resident Andrew Hoggard enters Parliament at number five on the Act party list.
It was a subdued gathering at Takaro Bowling Club for Labour supporters as the size of their party’s defeat became apparent on Saturday night.
Rangitīkei candidate Zulfiqar Butt told the gathering not to lose heart. “We are there, we will keep on working and next time we will have a different result.”
Utikere thanked his campaign manager, Liam Rutherford, for agreeing to do some things differently, including the T-shaped leaflets that were pulled together over a napkin at the pub.
Utikere thanked his family, who have had his back through eight national and local government campaigns, and his partner, Te Rei Northover.
The mood was more buoyant at the North Street Bowling Club where the Greens were having a barbecue.
Palmerston North and Rangitīkei campaign manager Siobhan Hirst said the theme for the campaign was “fun and fruitful”.
Tuiono was in hot demand with the other campaign teams as Green spokesman for 15 portfolios and an accomplished speaker of te reo Māori, she said.
Tuiono said that as he travelled around the country he found the Greens’ policy resonated with voters.
”We want to take ambitious climate action, we want to have an income guarantee, we want to make sure that if you are one of the 1.4 million renters that you have an opportunity to have a warm whare, be able to put food on the table and all of those things.”
Aotearoa is a rich country that needs a fair tax system, he said.
He was looking forward to having more Green MPs to present the party’s kaupapa.
Tuiono acknowledged his wife Terri Te Tau and his family who had come up from Porirua.
First-time candidate and National Party member Ankit Bansal said he and his team had knocked on nearly 6000 doors and delivered more than 100,000 fliers.
He thanked everyone who had supported him and embraced his candidacy.
Bansal said you did not have to be a polished politician to connect with people. You can be yourself but you need to be visible, accessible and committed to the cause.
Bansal said he was proud of Palmerston North’s multiculturalism and diversity.
He received love and support from all walks of life, ages, communities and cultures.
While he was unsuccessful in unseating Utikere, Bansal said he was happy Palmerston North was no longer a Labour stronghold.
National had won the party vote this election and next time would win the seat, he said.
The city needed a blue MP to better co-ordinate regional projects such as the Regional Freight Ring Road Programme and the rebuilding of Palmerston North Hospital, he said.
Palmerston North electorate preliminary vote count
Candidates
Tangi Utikere (Labour) 13,148
Ankit Bansal (National) 10,415
Mike Harnett (Act) 2398
Teanau Tuiono (Green) 2383
Dean Grant (Loyal) 843
Douglas Begg (Animal Justice) 322
Party Votes
National 10,297
Labour 9472
Green 3521
Act 2510
New Zealand First 1923
The Opportunities Party 660
Te Pāti Māori 427
New Zealand Loyal 335
The full breakdown of party votes for Palmerston North is at electionresults.govt.nz.
