NZ Election 2026

Southland electorate

Southland covers much of the area between Otago and Southland, including the twins of Queenstown, Gore, and Alexandra. The electorate is held by National’s Joseph Mooney, who has held the electorate since its creation in 2020. He was re-elected in 2023 with a margin of 23,231 votes. National won the party vote with 48% of the vote, followed by Labour with 16%. The electorate is the most employed electorate in the country, with the most people in full time work of anywhere in the country.

Southland candidates

Explore the candidates in your area

Jason Herrick

NZ First

Todd Stephenson

ACT Party

Peter McDonald

Labour Party

Bianca Beebe

Opportunity Party

Joseph Mooney

National Party

Naomi MACLEAN

Vision NZ

Peter McDonald

Labour Party

Why I'm standing

My motivation is to leave NZ society in a better way in which I found it, I have concerns about the rise of the "imported" far right themes in New Zealand and their use through established parties. Themes of division, Immigration, race and general the favouring of certain groups over others. My focus is to stand against this as I don't believe this is a society i wish to pass on to the next generations.

About me

I have experience, in the "doing" right across farming and conservation and environment. Mine is not a planned political career in politics. At 59 I understand good governance comes down to simple themes of "right and wrong" " honest and dishonest" the freedom of age and experience and not having to "curate" a future career gives me the latitude to be true to who I am.

My priorities

  1. Ensure fairness is returned to kiwis in terms of supermarkets and electricity retailers
  2. Leverage our economic power into better returned services by government back to Southland
  3. Fix Fast Track consenting, return a higher bar in terms of environment and community consultation

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.