NZ Election 2026

Kaikōura electorate

Kaikōura covers the Northeast section of the South Island, including the towns of Blenheim, Hanmer Springs, and Goose Bay. The electorate is currently held by National’s Stuart Smith, who first won the seat in 2014 and was re-elected with a margin of 20,741 votes. National also won the party vote with 41%, while Labour was in second with 21%. This electorate has only ever been won by National.

Kaikōura candidates

Explore the candidates in your area

Tom Spooner

ACT Party

Jamie Arbuckle

NZ First

Matthew Flight

Labour Party

Oliver Hill Hughes

Independent

Stuart Smith

National Party

Tom Spooner

ACT Party

Why I'm standing

I am asking you to give your party vote to ACT. I want more ACT MPs who will fight to cut waste and grow the country, balance the books with no new taxes, defend equal rights, deliver better public services, cut red tape, and restore real consequences for crime. In our electorate, I'm asking you to choose whichever electorate candidate you believe will best represent the Kaikōura electorate and give your party vote to ACT.

About me

I'm putting NZ ahead of personal ambition. I'm not asking you to elect me as your local MP. I'm asking you to give your party vote to ACT to Lock Labour Out and Unlock New Zealand's potential. It means keeping the coalition Government in power, but ensuring that it can go further and faster on the issues that matter most to you. A party vote for ACT will re-elect the Government and make it stronger.

My priorities

  1. Let farmers farm, cut red tape, protect property rights, crack down on rural crime, no new taxes.
  2. Deliver better services for taxpayers: education, police, and match Australia on medicines funding.
  3. Make decisions based on need, not race, and with one law for all and one future together.

Get across the policies, candidates and parties

Don’t know who to vote for? Policy.nz is the complete guide to the 2026 general election. Compare the parties, candidates and policies to see where you stand.

Policies

Compare the parties’ positions on the key issues this election

Candidates

See the electorate candidates running in your local area

Parties

Learn about each political party, its leaders and candidate list

Things to know...

Your two votes shape New Zealand’s next parliament. You need to be enrolled to vote.

Read explainer

  • Enrol to vote by Sunday 25 October

    You need to be enrolled before you can vote. You can enrol online at vote.nz.

  • Voting day is Saturday 7 November

    Head to your nearest voting place on the day, or vote early from 26 October.

  • You get two votes

    One for a party (the party vote) and one for a person in your area (the electorate vote).

  • Your party vote is the most powerful

    It decides how many seats each party gets in Parliament. That’s what Policy helps you figure out.