National's Waikato MPs at Parliament on Tuesday, from left: Ryan Hamilton (Hamilton East); Scott Simpson (Coromandel); Louise Upston (Taupō); Tim van de Molen (Waikato); Tama Potaka (Hamilton West). Barbara Kuriger (Taranaki-King Country - inset right) was unavailable as her flight was cancelled due to strong wind. Inset left: Debbie Ngarewa-Packer (Te Tai Hauāuru), Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke (Hauraki-Waikato) and Rawiri Waititi (Waiariki). Main photo / Bradley Richardson
National's Waikato MPs at Parliament on Tuesday, from left: Ryan Hamilton (Hamilton East); Scott Simpson (Coromandel); Louise Upston (Taupō); Tim van de Molen (Waikato); Tama Potaka (Hamilton West). Barbara Kuriger (Taranaki-King Country - inset right) was unavailable as her flight was cancelled due to strong wind. Inset left: Debbie Ngarewa-Packer (Te Tai Hauāuru), Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke (Hauraki-Waikato) and Rawiri Waititi (Waiariki). Main photo / Bradley Richardson
Nine Waikato electorates were contested at this month’s election. Waikato Herald invited MPs elected in those electorates to answer questions about their goals for the next parliamentary term.
Each candidate was asked what they thought their electorate’s most urgent challenge was, and how they would tackle it. Among other things,they were also asked about their personal goals and how their skills and experience would help them in the coming term.
Click the links below to see how the MPs responded:
A response from MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke did not reach us in time for publication, but will be published when it is received.
What’s happening next and what about the Port Waikato byelection?
On November 3, the special votes, including overseas voters and people who voted outside of their electorate, will be counted and the final results of the election will be published.
And then on November 25, the Port Waikato byelection will be held, called after one of the candidates - Act’s Neil Christensen - died earlier this month after voting had opened. The seat was held by National’s Andrew Bayly, who is expected to take it again and bring another National list MP into Parliament.
While we wait for those dates, National and incoming Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will be negotiating with Act and New Zealand First over a potential coalition deal to form the next government.
Speaking to On the Campaign, NZ Herald deputy political editor Thomas Coughlan said they will be working to have things done by November 3, rather than holding out for the byelection.
Listen to the full episode of On The Campaign for more on what will happen next for National, the coalition agreements, and Labour.
“Everyone knows the Port Waikato byelection is going to go National’s way. I don’t think there’s any appetite to make the New Zealand public wait that long. I think that will backfire on all three parties if they hang out for that,” Coughlan says.
“So really the big date is November 3, and then after that I’d expect the new Government to head to Government House and to read their oaths and be sworn in.”
Coughlan said the big question for the next few weeks for National is if they want NZ First to be in coalition with them to serve as a buffer, in case of MPs going rogue during the next three years, or if they need NZ First to keep them and Act above the 61-seat majority threshold.
What is clear though is that Labour will need time to take stock of their losses and work out where to next. Coughlan said that their defeat on Saturday is historic for a governing party.
“In the MMP era, no major party has ever fallen out of government with a result quite like that. The worst result for a major party before last weekend’s election was Jenny Shipley, who fell out of government with 30.5 percent of the vote.
“No one has ever managed to fall out of government in the 20s.”
Click here for our interactive graphic to see how your electorate voted or scroll down for full Waikato electorate details.
Waikato electorates: How many votes did candidates and parties get in your electorate?
