Distribution
Originally, electorates were drawn up based on political and social links, with little consideration for differences in population. Each electorate was allocated a different number of MPs (up to three) in order to balance population differences, but this was only partly successful. Eventually, a new system was introduced — each electorate would elect one MP, and boundaries would be drawn based on population. However, a special country quota meant that rural seats were allowed to contain fewer people than urban seats, preserving an inequality (and over-representing farmers). The quota persisted until 1945.
Today, electorate boundaries are determined by the Representation Commission. The Commission consists of:
- Four government officials — the Government Statistician, the Surveyor-General, the Chief Electoral Officer, and the Chairperson of the Local Government Commission.
- A representative of the governing party or coalition, and a representative of the opposition block.
- A chairperson (often a judge) nominated by the other members, with the exception of Chairperson of the Local Government Commission.
Boundaries are reviewed after each New Zealand Census, which occurs every five years. The South Island is guaranteed to have 16 general seats, with the remainder of voters (North Island and Māori) being divided into electorates of the same population as the South Island ones. Electorates may vary by 5% of the average population size. This has caused the number of list seats in Parliament to decline as the population is experiencing 'northern drift' (i.e. the population of the North Island, especially around Auckland, is growing faster than that of the South Island).
In a continuation of 'northern drift', the North Island got an extra electoral seat for the 2008 general election. The need for an extra seat was determined from the results of the 2006 Census. The extra seat brought the total number of electoral seats to 70, and reduced the number of list seats to 50.
The Parliaments elected in 2005 and 2008 had more than 120 members – 121 in 2005 and 122 in 2008 – an overhang caused by the Māori Party winning more electorate seats than its proportion of the party vote would give it.
Read more about this topic: New Zealand Electorates
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