The number of Māori electorates will remain the same – at seven. Meanwhile, the number of general electorates in the South Island, by law, is fixed constant at 16.
Electoral populations – and therefore general electorates – are based on the latest Census data including population and dwellings data, and Māori electoral option data.
New electorate boundaries will be drawn based on this latest data and population projections.
One of the Māori electorates – Ikaroa-Rāwhiti – will also have its boundaries redrawn because its electoral population currently sits outside the 5% tolerance.
The quota for general electorates is 69,875 people in the North Island and 70,037 people in the South Island.
For Māori electorates, the quota is 74,367 people. Each electorate population is required to be within 5% of the quota.
The Census population count – which includes people who were in New Zealand on Census night – was 4,993,923 – almost 300,000 more people than the 2018 Census.
The general electoral population of the North Island is 3,353,982, up 5.5% from 2018.
For the South Island it is 1,120,593, up 7% from 2018.
Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.
