Election 2023: Introducing the final list of Hawke’s Bay electorate candidates

Hawke's Bay had a red hue at the last election, with all four electorates in the region won by Labour candidates. The party will face a challenge retaining all of them this time around. Photo / Paul Taylor

The list of candidates in Hawke’s Bay’s four electorates is complete.

All up, 27 party or independent candidates will be on ballots across the region, when the General Election takes place on October 14.

Tukituki is the most-contested electorate, with 10 candidates taking part. The Labour Party’s Anna Lorck is the incumbent, but is expected to face stiff competition from National’s Catherine Wedd.

Rob Hulman of New Zealand Loyal, Marnz Manning of the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party, Michael Ngahuka of Vision New Zealand, independents Melanie Petrowski and Michael Ponk, Act’s Rob Douglas, the Green Party’s Nick Ratcliffe and Allister Tosh of the Future Youth Party complete the list.

Meka Whaitiri of Te Pāti Māori is the sitting Ikaroa-Rāwhiti MP, having changed allegiance from Labour during this term. Cushla Tangaere-Manuel is the new Labour candidate, with Ata Tuhakaraina of Vision New Zealand the other party representative in that electorate.

Napier will get a new MP, with the incumbent Stuart Nash retiring. Mark Hutchinson has inherited the Labour nomination from Nash, with Katie Nimon representing National.

Julienne Dickey of the Green Party, Martin Langford of DemocracyNZ, Act’s Pawel Milewski, Laurie Turnbull of New Zealand First and independent John Smith are the other people running in Napier.

That leaves Wairarapa, the northern boundary of which extends to Waipawa and incorporates much of Central Hawke’s Bay.

Labour incumbent Kieran McAnulty faces competition from National Party nominee Mike Butterick, Simon Casey of Act, Celia Wade-Brown of the Greens, Te Whakapono Waikare of Te Pāti Māori, independent Jared Gardner and Pete Arnott of New Zealand Loyal.

Candidate list - Tukituki

DOUGLAS, Rob - Act New Zealand

HULMAN, Rob - New Zealand Loyal

LORCK, Anna - Labour Party

MANNING, Romana (Marnz) - Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party

NGAHUKA, Michael - Vision New Zealand

PETROWSKI, Melanie Lorraine - Independent

PONK, Michael - Independent

RATCLIFFE, Nick - Green Party

TOSH, Allister David - Future Youth Party

WEDD, Catherine - National Party

Candidate list - Napier

DICKEY, Julienne - Green Party

HUTCHINSON, Mark - Labour Party

LANGFORD, Martin - DemocracyNZ

MILEWSKI, Pawel - Act New Zealand

NIMON, Katie - National Party

SMITH, John Clive - Independent

TURNBULL, Laurie - New Zealand First Party

Candidate list - Ikaroa-Rāwhiti

TANGAERE-MANUEL, Cushla - Labour Party

TUHAKARAINA, Ata - Vision New Zealand

WHAITIRI, Meka - Te Pāti Māori

Candidate list - Wairarapa

ARNOTT, Pete - New Zealand Loyal

BUTTERICK, Mike - National Party

CASEY, Simon Francis - Act New Zealand

GARDNER, Jared Warren - Independent

McANULTY, Kieran - Labour Party

WADE-BROWN, Celia - Green Party

WAIKARE, Te Whakapono - Te Pāti Māori