Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Election 2020: East Coast electorate could be the one to watch in 2023, says Zizi Sparks

Zizi Sparks
By Zizi Sparks
Multimedia journalist·Rotorua Daily Post·
18 Oct, 2020 07:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Kiri Allan at her election wrap party in Gisborne. Photo / Gisborne Herald

Kiri Allan at her election wrap party in Gisborne. Photo / Gisborne Herald

OPINION

In the lead up to the election, the East Coast electorate was labelled as one to watch.

But as the results rolled in on Saturday night, it was clear the race was not as close as National had hoped and many had imagined.

Labour's Kiri Allan pulled to an early lead over National's Tania Tapsell and it stayed that way all night.

As other National strongholds like the Ilam and Hamilton East electorate were taken, and the race for the Waiariki was neck and neck, the East Coast electorate flew largely under the radar all night.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Preliminary counts have Allan with a 4646-vote lead over Tapsell and the race is won.

Much like Ilam has been taken from Gerry Brownlee and Hamilton East from David Bennett, the electorate has flipped the script for what it means to be a safe seat.

The nationwide shift towards Labour has played out in the East Coast - a blue seat since 2005.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

There was disappointment in the air at Tapsell's election wrap party and while no candidate takes their election for granted, I wondered if the National Party thought their seat was safe.

It was a fleeting thought, however. You need only look at the campaign Tapsell ran to see she put her all in to win the seat.

Discover more

New Zealand

'Elated': Māori Party on cusp of return - Waititi on his lead against Coffey

17 Oct 08:25 PM

'Really excited': Rotorua marae welcome millions in funding for upgrades

09 Oct 08:00 PM

East Coast electorate: Tania Tapsell says she did all she could

17 Oct 06:00 AM
New Zealand|politics

Labour rejects National's claim of 'dodgy' polling in East Coast

30 Sep 02:30 AM

As the East Coast is the largest electorate in the North Island, Tapsell travelled 17,000km on the campaign trail, she says.

And for Allan, the campaign has been more than four years long.

Their hard work showed - both were strides ahead of any other candidate.

They are not dissimilar - they are both young, Māori women achieving highly on the political stage.

Allan has been a list MP for one term and she put in the work in the East Coast electorate.

At 28, Tapsell has already been a district councillor for three terms. Her parents tell me she gives everything she tries 100 per cent - my experiences have me inclined to agree.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

They have put in the hard yards. For Allan, it paid off. For Tapsell, her time has not yet come.

The East Coast seat has swung. But if Tapsell keeps campaigning and Allan keeps delivering, in three years time we may find ourselves once again saying "the East Coast electorate is the one to watch".

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

Mixed verdicts delivered for Tribesmen accused of murdering one of their own

11 Jul 05:00 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

Pair deny charges over death of Paige Johnson in alleged hit-and-run

11 Jul 12:26 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

Home-schooled students ride 755km to Parliament for equal sports access

10 Jul 11:07 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Mixed verdicts delivered for Tribesmen accused of murdering one of their own

Mixed verdicts delivered for Tribesmen accused of murdering one of their own

11 Jul 05:00 AM

Mark 'Shark' Hohua died in June 2022 after a violent assault over money.

Pair deny charges over death of Paige Johnson in alleged hit-and-run

Pair deny charges over death of Paige Johnson in alleged hit-and-run

11 Jul 12:26 AM
Home-schooled students ride 755km to Parliament for equal sports access

Home-schooled students ride 755km to Parliament for equal sports access

10 Jul 11:07 PM
Heavy rain warning issued for Bay of Plenty, up to 140mm expected

Heavy rain warning issued for Bay of Plenty, up to 140mm expected

10 Jul 10:57 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP