Kelvin Davis at Auckland Town Hall Labour HQ during election night. He won the Tai Tokerau electorate for a third term. Photo / Getty Images
The people of Te Tai Tokerau will benefit from the "consistent common-sense approach" of Labour's Kelvin Davis, who has retained the northernmost Māori electorate seat for a third term.
That's what iwi leaders are saying following Davis's landslide win which saw him maintain a commanding lead of the votes throughout Saturday night's general election.
Labour's deputy leader received 11,594 votes, 6601 more than his closest rival, the Māori Party's Mariameno Kapa-Kingi who gained 4993 votes.
Speaking to the Northern Advocate on Sunday, Davis said he was "very humbled" that the people of Tai Tokerau have asked him to represent them for another three years.
"But I don't take the numbers for granted; people have expectations of me that I need to now go out and confirm the mandate they've given me.
"I'm very grateful and now's the time that, once the dust settles, to get out there and get on with things."
Davis also congratulated Kapa-Kingi saying: "She's a wonderful woman and I'd like to thank her for the very good campaign she ran".
Maki Herbert from the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party beat Advance NZ Party co-leader Billy Te Kahika, gaining 1388 votes over his 976 votes.
Janice Arahanga-Epiha from One Party received 321 votes and Daniel Shortland of New Conservative gained 217 votes.
Independent candidates Clinton Dearlove won 216 votes and Moemoea Mohoawhenua 81 votes.
As for the party vote in the electorate, Labour won with 60.8 per cent, while the Māori Party received 9.8 per cent.
Davis said he would now get on with the "bread and butter" issues facing the region such as housing and the cost of living.
"Those are the big things we really need to focus on. Jobs are very important and that's why we've invested in infrastructure in the North."
Kapa-Kingi said she felt buoyed by the number of votes she received and the overall support for the Māori Party.
"I feel really positive for Tai Tokerau; it's fantastic just to get that many votes at all. Now we need to start campaigning today and gearing up for 2023."
Kapa-Kingi extended her mihi to Davis and his whānau.
She was thrilled about the Māori Party returning to Parliament after Rawiri Waititi took the Waiariki seat off Labour's Tāmati Coffey.
"It's great to have Rawiri there bringing that independent Māori voice, which I think is critical.
"It's our time. We've got to really rebuild now and keep going forward and I think we've shown that we can."
Herbert said she felt she'd done well.
"I'm feeling really happy that I got over the 1000-vote mark," she said.
"I've done a lot of work since the last election, I've been at the ground level educating people and it's come through with the votes."
Te Kahika did not respond to calls from the Northern Advocate.
Advance NZ had pinned its hopes on Te Kahika winning the electorate to get into Parliament.
Te Rarawa chairman Haami Piripi said Davis brings "consistency and a common sense approach" to the region.
"From an iwi point of view, it's having that consistency of advocacy that is really important," Piripi said.
"Right now we need stability as iwi and that's what we've had so far.
"Kelvin has been working to make a difference in places hardest to reach like Corrections.
He doesn't make too many headlines but he does a lot of work on the ground."
The Tai Tokerau electorate covers all of Northland from Cape Reinga to Auckland's North Shore communities and includes west Auckland's Henderson, Swanson and Waitākere regions as well as Warkworth, Wellsford, Mangawhai, Dargaville, Whangārei and Russell.
Davis has held the seat since 2014 when he gained a 45 per cent share of the votes beating the Mana Party's Hone Harawira by a 743-vote margin.
He increased his margin to 4807 votes during the 2017 election, receiving 12,673 votes, again ahead of Harawira who received 7866 votes.
Kelvin's parents, Pat and Glenys Davis, were watching Saturday's election unfold from their home in Kawakawa.
Glenys said it was an "amazing result" for Labour and they were very happy their son retained his Te Tai Tokerau seat.
"He's doing a damn good job," Glenys said.
"I don't think he gets the credit that he's due because he's a very hardworking and humble person. He's the kind of person who works hard behind the scenes."