A new Upper Harbour electorate has been confirmed for Auckland, as well as other major boundary changes in both Auckland and Christchurch.
The representation commission has released its final boundary changes after hearing objections to its draft proposals, saying 387,000 voters will now be in a different electorate.
Bernard Kendall, the chair of the Representation Commission, said it would bring the number of Auckland electorates to 24. As well as the new Upper Harbour electorate, the current Waitakere seat will be removed and a Kelston seat established.
Finalising the changes will mean parties can now go ahead with selecting candidates for the seats. Conservative Party leader Colin Craig has been among those waiting before deciding which electorate to stand in and National will have to decide whether to give him a helping hand to win an electorate seat.
The Upper Harbour seat, which is safe National territory on paper, would be the most likely but National's Paula Bennett has already said she hopes to stand in it and has the sanction of both Prime Minister John Key and the party President Peter Goodfellow.