Christopher Luxon speaks on National's win and Chris Hipkins concedes the election.
The final votes are still to be counted but the latest results should see a host of new and diverse faces in Parliament, including an ecologist of Vietnamese and Pākehā heritage (Green Party’s Lan Pham), an ex-Wellington mayor (Andy Foster) and a former spokeswoman for Hobson’s Pledge (New Zealand’s First Casey Costello).
The swing away from Labour has seen its caucus cut by almost half, paving the way for new MPs to come in from other parties and the return of New Zealand First.
Here are the newcomers of 2023 based on the numbers so far:
Redmayne told the Whanganui Chronicle she was proud of herself and her team for running a strong campaign.
“There’s never been a female MP for Rangitīkei, so that’s pretty cool,” Redmayne said.
2. Katie Nimon
Katie Nimon was Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s transport manager.
This was the second time she contested for the Napier seat, having lost to Stuart Nash in 2020 by a margin of about 4500 votes.
But this time around the seat was there for the taking following the resignation of Nash.
Katie Nimon.
She was general manager of the 115-year-old bus company Nimon and Sons where she worked since her teens.
Nimon also has family connections to Napier’s oldest newspaper, the Daily Telegraph, now Hawke’s Bay Today.
She got married last December but chose to keep her name as Kate Nimon believing the name recognition would help her.
Nimon told Hawke’s Bay Today she didn’t think the result which has put her in Parliament was possible, and said waking up on Sunday as her electorate’s new MP felt “pretty cool”.
She comes to the political stage from the primary sector and expressed a keen interest in ensuring Tukituki’s big agricultural employers can prosper in the future.
Wedd said she was also passionate about improving education.
She won the Tuituki electorate, beating Labour’s Anna Lorck.
Wedd said she thought of her family and friends after learning of her win, with her grandfather winning the seat in 1969 - he said he would be proud to see her enter Parliament.
“I want to thank the people of Tukituki for putting their trust in me. It’s so exciting, it’s amazing. We’ve certainly had ... hundreds and hundreds [of messages of congratulations]. We worked really hard,” she told the Herald.
Mike Butterick is a Masterton-based sheep and beef farmer who began his farming career shepherding in Canterbury before moving to Wairarapa more than 30 years ago.
He moved to Wairarapa in 1990 and bought a farm in 1995.
With his wife Rachel, they have worked, lived and raised their family in the Wairarapa.
Mike Butterick wants to address living costs. Photo / NZME
Butterick is also the Meat and Wool Chair of Wairarapa Federated Farmers and is part of the Wairarapa Primary Skills Leaders group.
He was the original spokesperson for the provincial lobby group ‘Fifty Shades of Green’, advocating for changes in climate policies.
He edged out Labour’s Kieran McAnulty in Wairarapa.
Before being elected to Auckland Council, Cameron was the chief executive of the Newmarket Business Association for over five years, where he advocated strongly for local businesses, and led projects to revitalise Newmarket’s town centre and improve security for retailers.
Born in Hawera, Brewer has a Bachelor of Arts from Massey University and also previously worked as a press secretary in the National Party’s parliamentary research unit and Leader’s Office.
Brewer told the Herald he was looking forward to “going through all the paperwork” with his fellow new MPs in the coming days.
He said he was “so pleased” National got good results in his new Upper Harbour seat and across Auckland, praising his colleagues from around the city.
8. Hamish Campbell
Hamish Campbell built his career as a medical researcher and was the Deputy Head of Research for an Australian-based not-for-profit dedicated to multiple sclerosis research and advocacy just before the election.
At MS Australia he oversaw medical research into multiple sclerosis, and he had been a lecturer in medicine at the University of Sydney while working as a scientist at the Children’s Medical Research Institute in Sydney.
Hamish Campbell.
Campbell attended Christchurch Boys’ High School before gaining a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Genetics and a PhD in cancer and viruses from the University of Otago.
He is also involved in a family organic apple orchard in the west of the electorate and runs a flower delivery business with his wife Carol.
Cambell lives in Riccarton with Carol and their two children.
Campbell brought Ilam back to the National Party this election after Labour’s Sarah Pallett disrupted Gerry Brownlee’s 24-year stint as local MP.
Campbell told the Herald “it is a great honour” to be selected by Illam voters, saying he was excited to be their advocate.
McCallum has a Bachelor of Commerce in agriculture, which he completed at Lincoln University.
The Herald could not reach McCallum for comment on his win.
10. Tom Rutherford
Tom Rutherford is a volunteer firefighter at the Mount Maunganui station and is the Greerton Cricket Club captain.
Rutherford is also an umpire for New Zealand hockey and a referee for Bay of Plenty rugby.
He was raised in the Bay of Plenty and has previously worked in communications and media, local government and policy, including working for the mayor of Rotorua, Tania Tapsell.
Rutherford said it was “a huge privilege” to be elected to Parliament during his victory speech last night.
“I think it’s really important [to thank voters] because they’ve put their trust in me to be the local representative,” he said.
11. Ryan Hamilton
Ryan Hamilton has been a Hamilton City Councillor since 2018. He has lived in the Hamilton area for 36 years.
He is a small business owner and runs a networking and development group with the Waikato Chamber of Commerce.
Hamilton hit the headlines during the campaign when several old comments on social media surfaced where he claimed Covid-19 deaths had been overstated and voiced his opposition to fluoridation of water - contrary to his party’s line. He since claimed he had changed his mind about fluoridation.
Hamilton could not be reached for comment when the Herald phoned.
12. Carlos Cheung
Carlos Cheung is the director of Enfield Property Limited, a property management company, and Enfield Body Corporate Limited.
He has experience in biological and biomedical science, having completed a PhD in biological sciences at the University of Auckland. He focuses on diabetes and cardiac disease.
Originally from Hong Kong, Cheung moved to New Zealand as a teenager and has lived in Mt Roskill for over 15 years. He studied at Auckland Grammar School.
He is a member of the Institute of Directors and volunteers with the ARK Collective, a Mt Roskill-based charity and emergency management group.
Cheung told the Herald today he had been receiving lots of messages of support and he was excited for the opportunity to represent Mt Roskill. He said he was focused on delivering for people in his electorate once he got to Wellington.
13. Blair Cameron
Blair Cameron worked as a senior research specialist at Princeton University in the US after first studying at Brown University.
He has worked for the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and Stanford University’s Leadership Academy in research, consulting and teaching roles.
Cameron grew up in Canterbury near Methven, working on farms on weekends and in school holidays.
He got a scholarship to the United World College in Hong Kong when he was 16. Blair returned from overseas in 2020.
Cameron couldn’t be reached for comment on Sunday.
14. David MacLeod
David MacLeod has served as chairman of the Taranaki Regional Council and director of Parininihi ki Waitora, Fonterra and Port Taranaki. He worked with the regional council for 22 years.
MacLeod first started out as an electrician, and as a 23-year-old he bought a stake in Greaves Electrical.
15. Tim Costley
Tim Costley has been a helicopter pilot in the Royal New Zealand Air Force since 2001 and has also held different leadership positions in the RNZAF.
He served in Afghanistan, East Timor and the Solomon Islands and engaged in humanitarian missions in Papua New Guinea, Fiji and New Zealand.
He founded The Missing Wingman Trust, a charity caring for families of Air Force servicemen and served in Prince William’s Equerry in 2014.
Costley completed a Bachelor of Science in mathematical physics from Massey University. He also completed a Master’s degree in international defence and security at Cranfield University in Britain.
16. James Meager
James Meager, of Ngāi Tahu, worked as a public lawyer and before the election worked as a consultant for his firm, Oath Advisory.
He has a Bachelor of Laws and Arts from the University of Otago. While studying at Otago, Meager worked as a student coordinator and strategic projects manager for the university’s Māori health workforce development programme.
He previously worked for Chris Bishop MP and was press secretary for former deputy prime minister Paula Bennett. Meager was also an advisor to former Bill English and Simon Bridges.
He worked at Simpson Grierson in Wellington and Christchurch, including as a senior solicitor in the firm’s public law team.
He was born and raised in Timaru and now lives in Ashburton.
Meager said he had already been straight to work on Sunday morning as MP-elect, and he was excited to do more work for his constituents in Rangitata over the next three years.
17. Rima Nakhle
Rima Nakhle was the Executive Manager of Te Mahia Community Village in Takanini and she established the Te Mahia Community Village Trust to help families in the village in sport, education and social activities.
Nakhle was born in Syndey and moved to New Zealand over a decade ago.
She completed a Bachelor of Laws from Western Syndey University and was admitted to the bar in New Zealand in 2014.
18. Angee Nicholas
Angee Nicholas is a director of her family-owned and operated security company. She was an in-house lawyer at the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse and was a staffer for former MP Nikki Kaye.
She has a Bachelor of Laws from the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) after studying at Ranui Primary and St Dominic’s College. Nicholas was born in the Cook Islands and moved to New Zealand over two decades ago and was raised in West Auckland.
At university, Nicholas was co-president of the Māori and Pacific Islands Law Students Association and was the president and founding member of AUT’s Pacific Island Law Students Association.
Carl Bates started his overseas business, appointing and educating boards and directors of companies in Africa, New Zealand and Australia with his company, Sidar.
He returned to New Zealand in 2020.
He has a Bachelor of Business Studies in Accountancy from Massey University. He studied at Wanganui High School. He was prescient of UN Youth New Zealand.
Bates said being elected to Parliament was “daunting. I’m excited. It’s sinking in, it’s going to take work, and we’ll get into that in the days to come, I’m sure”.
Greg Fleming has spent 25 years working for charities as executive, director and consultant. He is chairman of the Aspiring Leaders Forum and is on the board of several other charities.
He was the founding chairman and trustee of Te Whakaora Tangata, a Manurewa-based charitable trust focused on addressing intergenerational poverty.
Fleming was chief executive officer of the Maxim Institute, Venn Foundation and The Parenting Place.
He was born in Masterton and studied at Wairarapa College. He has a Bachelor of Commerce, which he completed at Victoria Univerity of Wellington.
Vanessa Weenink is a general practitioner in Christchurch. She served in the army for over 20 years, twice serving in Afghanistan and again in East Timor.
She has been chairwoman of the GP Council of the New Zealand Medical Association and deputy chairwoman of the Medical Association.
Weenink is originally from Blenheim.
Labour
1. Cushla Tangaere-Manuel
Cushla Tangaere-Manuel took out Ikaroa-Rāwhiti last night, beating Meka Whaitiri, who jumped waka from Labour to join Te Pāti Māori for the 2023 election.
Tangaere-Manuel spent nine years as CEO of NPEC - the smallest region in the domestic rugby championship - taking the team from a position of being on the brink of bankruptcy to one with an annual surplus.
Along with cementing East Coast’s rugby future, she has also been instrumental in developing the region’s youth rugby competition, putting NPEC in a strong position for the future.
Cushla Tangaere‑Manuel. Photo / Paul Taylor
Tangaere-Manuel joined the New Zealand Māori Rugby Board in 2020.
She was head girl at Ngata Memorial College and her professional background, before she took up her pivotal role in NPEC rugby, was as a journalist working in TV and radio.
2. Reuben Davidson
Reuben Davidson was a former producer for Whitebait Media for 15 years.
He is the former head of the People’s Choice, a centre left political grouping in Christchurch local body politics.
Davidson was the chairman of the Banks Peninsula Community Board and announced after his selection as candidate that he would donate his community board salary to the Mayoral Relief Fund.
Reuben Davidson. Photo / Supplied
As chairman of the board he was paid about $20,000 a year.
Christchurch East is considered a safe seat for Labour. It was held by the party from 1922 to 1946, when it was abolished, and again since 1996, when it was re-established.
Davidson was from Lyttelton but moved to Christchurch East before his successful election in the electorate.
Davidson told the Herald being elected to Parliament was “bittersweet” considering Labour’s defeat.
“Obviously, it would be better to be doing it [being MP] with a strong set of numbers for Labour. But I’m incredibly grateful to the confidence of the voters of Christchurch East and incredibly excited about the opportunity,” he said.
“I’ve had a steady stream of messages - lots of really positive and supporting messages coming in, which is great.”
Act
1. Todd Stephenson
Todd Stephenson worked for Vertex Pharmaceuticals as a patient engagement director and has worked in a variety of public policy and strategic communications positions.
He was born in Lumsden and went to James Hargest College in Invercargill and the University of Otago.
His move to politics comes after working as a barrister and in the pharmaceutical industry for the last 17 years in Sydney.
Todd Stephenson.
Stephenson has returned to Queenstown and is currently living with his partner Alex in a house they built at Hanley’s Farm two years ago.
Cost of living, Government wasteful spending, crime and co-governance are key issues for him in this election.
He was particularly concerned about the provinces’ health services and said they were ‘’under-funded and under-delivered’'.
2. Laura Trask
Laura Trask was born and raised in Christchurch and has held roles on boards, owned a small business and been a coach and manager, according to the Act website.
She began her career in pharmacy before becoming a registered evacuation consultant.
“New Zealand needs people to stand up and restore the freedoms and rights that have been eroded by the current government,” she said.
“As a libertarian, I believe that less government interference in our lives would enable New Zealand to innovate and flourish.”
3. Cameron Luxton
Cameron Luxton is a Pāpāmoa local who believes crime and the cost of living are the most significant issues facing residents of the Bay of Plenty.
He is a self-employed builder and married father of two children and lives in Papamoa.
Luxton said during his campaign Act planned on helping everyone in New Zealand by giving them “a tax cut.
“As a builder and a business owner, I understand better than anyone the challenges that Tauranga faces with infrastructure. I’ve also watched as gang numbers have exploded here, it’s time someone took on the real issues facing this region,” said Luxton.
Luxton said his “OE” was in a place next to Te Urewera National park named Galatea, share-milking a 200ha operation.
He won Apprentice of the Year at the Dairy Industry Awards, but said the most important experience he had during this time was joining a community and developing relationships with people in one of the poorest, most deprived areas in the region.
Luxton declined to comment on his election to Parliament when the Herald phoned, deferring any questions to his party’s press secretary.
4. Andrew Hoggard
Andrew Hoggard, the former national president of Federated Farmers and a board member of the International Dairy Federation, farms near Feilding, in Manawatū.
Andrew Hoggard. Photo / Alex Burton
He was a grand finalist for the 2003 Young Farmer of the Year.
Originally from Upper Hutt, Hoggard went to Heretaunga College. He joined Federated Farmers about 2005.
Hoggard sounded speechless on the phone to the Herald when he spoke of his election to Parliament.
“Look, it’s amazing. It’s still new, fresh,” he said.
Greens
1. Lan Pham
Lan Pham is a former Environment Canterbury councillor and is of Vietnamese and Pākehā descent.
She spent six years on the regional council where she opposed deep sea oil and gas drilling off the Canterbury coast. The council also became the first to declare a climate emergency.
Her background is in freshwater ecology in both public service and grassroots conservation and restoration.
Pham has a long connection to Banks Peninsula through her great-great-grandmother, who arrived in Lyttelton in 1876 and lived the rest of her life in Akaroa.
Lan Pham.
Pham hit headlines in 2017 when she made a spoof music video based on Taylor Swift’s hit song Bad Blood to highlight New Zealand’s “freshwater crisis”.
The Herald could not reach Pham for comment on her election to Parliament.
2. Steve Abel
Steve Abel is a veteran environmental activist who said he hoped to push the party towards a “transformational policy platform”.
Abel is a musician and recently a senior adviser to Greenpeace and an environmental activist for more than two decades, starting with a campaign against logging native trees in 1998.
He said the climate strikes of last year partly inspired him to transition from activism to politics.
Steve Abel.
Abel has been critical of the last Government’s record on environmental issues.
He is a strong believer that upholding Te Tiriti o Waitangi, social justice, and environmental integrity are all essential to achieving a viable society and liveable planet.
Abel told the Herald he was feeling “a mixture of things” upon being elected to Parliament - “But [I’m] very excited to be able to represent the Greens, [and] humbled to be given that responsibility and to serve the country.”
He praised his fellow Green MPs who had won electorate seats, and said he was concerned about “the damage that a National-Act Government can do”.
“Someone warned me about ... getting lots of congratulations. It’s very nice, I’ve heard from people from far afield. It’s sort of nice that I’ve had lots of well-wishers,” he said.
3. Hūhana Lyndon
Ngātiwai Trust Board CEO Hūhana Lyndon wants to be a strong advocate for issues that affect Māori in the north.
She was also chief executive of the Ngāti Hine Forestry Trust and has a strong presence in iwi affairs across the Northland region.
Huhana Lyndon. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson said Hūhana brought an immense wealth of knowledge of the North.
After losing the Auckland Mayoral race, former Labour councillor Fa’anana Efeso Collins swapped sides to stand for the Green Party.
Collins is of Samoan heritage and was born and raised in South Auckland, growing up in a state house in Otara.
He said having represented the poorest ward in Auckland, the experiences had shaped his values around climate justice, social and economic fairness, inclusion, spirituality and hope.
Efeso Collins. Photo / Greg Bowker
During the campaign, Collins said he was the target of a death threat after the party released a policy on ending poverty.
The Green Party called in police because of the seriousness of the threat.
Scott Willis grew up on a farm in Otago and moved to rural France after graduation where he worked on orchards, farms and eco enterprises.
He was also an intern on rural policy at the European Parliament.
More recently, Willis said he had been working in the Māori and community energy sectors “to foster resilience and to help whānau out of the black hole of energy hardship”.
Willis stood as the Green Candidate for the Taieri Electorate in 2020.
6. Darleen Tana
Darlene Tana is an environmental scientist and a long-time environmental advocate and previously stood in the Northland seat in 2020.
Northland-born, she has more than 30 years of experience in senior leadership roles across corporate business and grass-roots community organisations.
Darleen Tana.
Tana said she planned on using that knowledge for the betterment of Māori.
Some projects she had been involved with include aligning satellites with EUTELSAT, the European satellite company, with satellites in Africa to bring broadband to those countries.
7. Tamatha Paul
Paul beat Labour’s Ibrahim Omer to take over Wellington Central for the Green Party.
As a local body politician, the 26-year-old fought against liquor bans on students, campaigned against sexual violence and pulled the plug on a $76 million loan for Wellington Airport.
Paul was not in the party’s candidate pool for a spot on the party list, meaning she needed to win the seat to have any shot at entering Parliament.
Labour’s Grant Robertson won it last election with a 18,878 majority.
After winning her seat, Paul said, “This is a historic moment. We will change history today. And I hope you know that this is our win.”
She said she was overwhelmed by her success, and on social media she said: “It is a privilege and [the] honour of my lifetime to serve you, Wellington Central.”
NZ First
1. Casey Costello
Casey Costello is a former detective sergeant in South Auckland and vice president of the Police Association. She used to be chairwoman of the Taxpayers’ Union and spokeswoman for Hobson’s Pledge.
Of Ngāti Wai/Ngāpuhi and Anglo-Irish heritage, she has been an outspoken critic of the Waitangi Tribunal.
Casey Costello.
“The tribunal has become a mechanism by which it’s become a power play... rather than a democracy, we’re heading to an ethno-national state. We are no longer New Zealanders. We are two ethnic identities, and the division that’s occurring is sad,” she said in a recent interview with Australia’s Institute of Public Affairs.
4. Jamie Arbuckle
Jamie Arbuckle was a Marlborough District councillor who had stood for the party twice before, in 2017 and 2020.
He said he had been “working really hard in the background” for the past two years and was hopeful of a “front bench” position.
Jamie Arbuckle. Photo / Maia Hart / LDR
The fifth-term councillor, who had three tilts at the mayoralty in Marlborough, said he had been on a long political journey, conceding he was “probably a bit young” when he first ran for mayor. He was made chair of the council’s economic, finance and community committee this term.
The NZ First website said Arbuckle’s “extensive knowledge of local government matters and the Resource Management Act will add critical experience to the New Zealand First team”.
5. Andy Foster
Andy Foster is the former mayor of Wellington mayor and had previously stood for the party in 2017.
During his term as mayor, several issues including water infrastructure, the restoration of the Wellington City Library and transport reforms proved controversial.
NZ First candidate and former Wellington mayor Andy Foster. Photo / Mark Mitchell
His leadership was questioned by councillors during debate over the library’s fate, especially when he proposed selling off part of it.
Foster was defeated at the last local body elections by current mayor Tory Whanau.
He was a loud opponent of the Shelly Bay development and welcomed the announcement that the project had been scrapped. Sir Peter Jackson and Dame Fran Walsh have bought it and intend returning the land to its natural state.
6. Tanya Unkovich
Tanya Unkovich is an author and life coach who specialises in grief and she has signalled improving mental health services for young people as one of her priorities.
She had said in media interviews that she was against the new law on therapeutic products, which seeks to regulate medicines and natural health products.
In a video she published in December 2021 but which has since been disabled, she spoke out against vaccine mandates: “The fear has to stop, the separation has to stop, the segregation has to stop, the bullying, the shaming, the gaslighting. It has to stop. It’s abuse. It’s not humane.”
Maipi-Clarke is the youngest MP to be voted into Parliament in 170 years.
Maipi is also the the niece of a pioneer of the Māori language movement Hana Te Hemara, who delivered the Māori language petition on the steps of Parliament in 1972.
Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke Photo / Erica Sinclair
She is also the granddaughter of Taitimu Maipi, the Ngā Tamatoa member who took to the Captain Hamilton statue in its namesake city with a hammer and red paint in 2018, challenging its colonial legacy and Hamilton’s role in the New Zealand Wars of the 1860s.
Her win in Hauraki-Waikato meant Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta has been ousted from Parliament.
2. Tākuta Ferris
Ferris stood for the party in 2020 and when announced Te Pāti president John Tamihere said it took tremendous courage and commitment to put his hand up for another round in the ring.
Ferris, a descendant of Ngai Tahu and Ngāti Kuia, said he was honoured to stand again as the candidate for Te Tai Tonga, which he has now won.
Te Pāti Māori's Tākuta Ferris.
“I will be a staunch champion and advocate for Māori independence. The fight for our tamariki and mokopuna will be fierce, therefore, we must be resolute and relentless,” Ferris said.
