2010 Mana by-election

2010 Mana by-election

20 November 2010 (2010-11-20)
Turnout	23,314 (54.72%)
Candidate Kris Faafoi Hekia Parata Jan Logie Party Labour National Green Popular vote 10,980 9,574 1,543 Percentage 47.17% 41.13% 6.62%
MP before election Luamanuvao Winnie Laban Labour Elected MP Kris Faafoi Labour

Luamanuvao Winnie Laban, whose resignation from Parliament triggered the by-election

A by-election was held in the New Zealand electorate of Mana on 20 November 2010.^[1][2] The seat was vacated by former Labour Pacific Island Affairs Minister Luamanuvao Winnie Laban, who announced her resignation from the New Zealand Parliament on 10 August 2010 following her appointment as Assistant Vice Chancellor Pasifika at Victoria University.^[3] According to provisional results, the by-election was won by Kris Faafoi, also of the Labour Party.^[4]

Demographics and election history

The Mana electorate has large Pasifika and Māori populations,^[5] with 21% and 18% for each ethnicity, respectively.^[6] It includes the suburbs of Cannons Creek and Porirua East, which are some of the poorest in New Zealand.^[7] The median personal income for residents of Mana is $NZ26,000.^[8]

The New Zealand Labour Party has held the electorate since its creation for the 1999 general election. Chris Finlayson and Hekia Parata, who contested Mana for the New Zealand National Party in 2005 and 2008, are current list MPs.

Candidates

Eight candidates contested the by-election:^[9]

Party		Name	Notes
	Alliance	Kelly Buchanan[9]	Attempted unsuccessfully to have her name removed from the ballot papers following Matt McCarten's announcement of his candidacy.
	Legalise Cannabis	Julian Crawford[9]
	ACT	Colin Du Plessis[9]
	Labour Party	Kris Faafoi[10]	Former press secretary to the Parliamentary Leader of the Labour Party
	Libertarianz	Sean Fitzpatrick[11]	Deputy leader of party
	Green Party	Jan Logie[12]	Former YWCA Director
	Independent	Matt McCarten[13]	Former president of Alliance and current Unite Union general secretary
	National Party	Hekia Parata[14]	Current List MP/ deputy chair of social services Select Committee

Kris Faafoi (Labour)

Labour leader Phil Goff said that "Labour will be looking to find a strong candidate and will campaign on both local issues and issues that matter to all Kiwis".^[15]

President of the Labour Party, Andrew Little indicated he would not put himself forward for his party's nomination, preferring a Pasifika or Māori candidate.^[16] Porirua Deputy Mayor, Litea Ah Hoi, chief press secretary to Phil Goff and former Television New Zealand reporter, Kris Faafoi,^[17] Porirua City Councillor, Taima Fagaloa, and former Progressive Party candidate for Ōtaki, Josie Pagani, were possible Labour Party contestants for the by-election.^[16][18] Kris Faafoi was chosen on 18 September.^[10]

Matt McCarten (Independent)

On 27 October Matt McCarten announced that he would stand as an independent candidate for Parliament in the Mana by-election^[19] The trade-union leader has received considerable media attention for his surprise nomination. Political analysts^[20] quote him as being able to "strike a chord in Mana" in the by-election given his political and popular appeal with the high number of poor and unemployed in the electorate.^[20]

McCarten suggested that "voters are more likely to take a risk on an outside chance in by-elections than general elections".^[21]

Hekia Parata (National)

The National Party confirmed that they would contest the by-election^[5] and selected Hekia Parata, the National candidate for Mana in 2008, as the party's candidate.^[14]

Other parties

United Future opted not to contest the by-election, citing strain on the party's resources.^[22] The Alliance Party attempted to withdraw their candidate Kelly Buchanan, after the announcement of candidacy by Matt McCarten, an ex-party leader and founding president. They were unsuccessful and announced instead that electors should not vote for Ms Buchanan and instead vote for McCarten.

Results

2010 Mana by-election
Notes: Blue background denotes the winner of the by-election. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list prior to the by-election. Yellow background denotes the winner of the by-election, who was a list MP prior to the by-election. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kris Faafoi	10,980	47.17	-5.89
	National	Hekia Parata	9,574	41.13	+6.14
	Green	Jan Logie	1,543	6.62	−0.09
	Independent	Matt McCarten	849	3.65	−
	ACT	Colin du Plessis	136	0.58	−1.26
	Legalise Cannabis	Julian Crawford	112	0.48	−
	Libertarianz	Sean Fitzpatrick	46	0.20	+0.01
	Alliance	Kelly Buchanan	37	0.16	−
Informal votes			37
Total Valid votes			23,277
	Labour hold	Majority	1,406	6.04	-12.03

^[23]

Reaction

This by-election was considered a good result by the National Party^[24] as Labour's majority had been cut down to 1080 from just over 6,000 at the last election.

Kris Faafoi was "happy with the result; we won ... at the beginning we always said it was going to be a tough race."^[25]

John Key said "I never thought coming second in politics would feel so good....Sometimes losing is winning and this is one of them where we have had a tremendous result here. In all probability, the swing should have gone against National because that's what happens when you are the Government campaigning in a very safe Labour seat and he has been thrashed. When this campaign began, Phil Goff said this by-election would be referendum on the Government's policies. Well he was right!"^[26]

Phil Goff said that the result reflects well on Faafoi's hard work and is "one step on the way to getting back to a Labour government".^[27]

Many other Labour MPs did not think that they had lost the by election. William Sio said that "The truth is that it is always difficult for most low income families to get involved in a by-election like this and to think about improving the future when they are more concerned about the everyday reality of with putting food on the table and worrying about their kids doing well at school."^[28]

Audrey Young, a New Zealand Herald writer, criticised what she called Labour's "spin tactics" "Some in Labour who should know better are creatively suggesting that Labour actually did better in the by-election than the last general election, despite having its majority slashed from 6155 to 1080. From three senior figures has come the suggestions that Kris Faafoi winning 47 per cent of the candidate vote on Saturday was a better result than the 43.9 per cent party vote that the party got in 2008, when Winnie Laban stood. That is like comparing raisins and sheep droppings."^[29]

However, Grant Robertson, a Labour MP, praised Parata by saying "I also think Hekia deserves some credit. She is an articulate person who campaigned hard. Most importantly in terms of the result she has been campaigning/working in the electorate non-stop for about four years, compared to Kris' few months. That makes a difference. She had a profile and that worked to her advantage. She did not win, but no doubt she feels she put in a good result."^[30]

References

1. Phil Goff (10 August 2010). "Luamanuvao Winnie Laban to stand down" (Press release). New Zealand Labour Party. Archived from the original on 26 November 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
2. Andrea Vance (4 October 2010). "Mana byelection set for Nov 20". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
3. Watkins, Tracy (10 August 2010). "By-election as Labour's Winnie Laban leaves Parliament". Stuff.co.nz. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
4. "Electoral Commission results page". Electionresults.govt.nz. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
5. Small, Vernon (11 August 2010). "By-election buildup as Laban walks". The Dominion Post. Fairfax New Zealand. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
6. "Mana: People". New Zealand Parliament. 26 August 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
7. Armstrong, John (11 August 2010). "Byelection creates a nuisance and an opportunity for Labour". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
8. "Mana: Work". New Zealand Parliament. 26 August 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
9. "Eight candidates stand in Mana by-election". Elections New Zealand. 27 October 2010. Archived from the original on 25 December 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
10. "Candidate is Kris Faafoi". Newstalkzb.co.nz. 18 September 2010. Archived from the original on 17 June 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
11. "Libertarianz deputy leader to stand in Mana". Television New Zealand. 18 October 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
12. "McCarten to run in Mana by-election". Dominion Post. 9 October 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
13. "The battle for Mana". Dominion Post. 27 October 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
14. Andrea Vance (8 September 2010). "Hekia Parata to contest Mana byelection". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
15. "Labour MP Winnie Laban steps down". The New Zealand Herald. 10 August 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
16. Small, Vernon; Trevett, Claire (12 August 2010). "Two hopefuls already in line for Mana by-election". Stuff.co.nz. Archived from the original on 19 August 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
17. New Zealand Press Association (25 August 2010). "Labour press secretary to stand in Mana". Television New Zealand. Archived from the original on 29 August 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2010.
18. Cheng, Derek (12 August 2010). "Former TVNZ reporter hints at Labour byelection bid". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
19. "Matt McCarten to stand in Mana". The New Zealand Herald. 27 October 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
20. "Q+A: Panel discusses Mana By-Election debate". Television New Zealand. 31 October 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
21. Trevett, Claire (28 October 2010). "McCarten throws hat in ring for Mana". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
22. "United Future opts out of Mana by-election". Radio New Zealand. 19 October 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
23. "Official Count Results -- Mana". New Zealand Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
24. "The Mana result | Kiwiblog". 20 November 2010.
25. Tracy Watkins (20 November 2010). "Kris Faafoi wins Mana by-election - national". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
26. Young, Audrey (21 November 2010). "Mana throws up jubilant losers and defiant winners". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
27. "Faafoi wins Mana by-election". One News. 20 November 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
28. "NZ's TV watching community | TV Blogs". Throng. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
29. Young, Audrey (22 November 2010). "Little glory for Goff in tight win". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
30. "Reflections on Mana « Red Alert". Blog.labour.org.nz. 22 November 2010. Archived from the original on 26 November 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2011.