NZ Election 2026

West Coast-Tasman electorate

West Coast-Tasman stretches down almost the entirety of the South Island’s West Coast, starting from the Tasman region at Motueka, going past Westport, Greymouth, and Hokitika, before finishing at Haast. The seat is held by National’s Maureen Pugh, a list MP who became an electorate MP in the 2023 election, but is retiring in 2026. Pugh was elected with 13,317 votes in 2023. National won the party vote in 2023 with 33% of the vote, followed by Labour with 24%. Geographically, it is the largest general electorate in the country.

West Coast-Tasman candidates

Explore the candidates in your area

Rory Paterson

Labour Party

Cindie Uddstrom

Opportunity Party

Sara Dyatlova–Murphy

Alliance Party

Richard Francis Osmaston

Money Free Party

Jamie Cleine

NZ First

Kevin Rooke

Progressive Aotearoa New Zealand

Andrew Beaumont

Green Party

Janelle Hocking

ACT Party

Alexander Hislop

New Zealand Loyal

Sue Grey

NZ Outdoors & Freedom Party

Katie Milne

National Party

Rory Paterson

Labour Party

Why I'm standing

I'm doing this because I want to help people. West Coast- Tasman deserves better advocacy from the local MP than they've had of late. The MP role is about advocating for local individuals, families and communities. If elected, I will work hard to listen to local voices, and advocate for them in Wellington. This means being present as much as possible in each of the regions of our electorate.

About me

I am a West Coaster by birth, and have strong West Coast roots. I've worked in the health sector, as a funeral director and in education. I became a teacher and deputy principal and have held numerous governance roles on school boards. I have always wanted to help ordinary people in my various work roles. I am a good listener and I think the role of MP needs this skill.

My priorities

  1. Setting up an effective electorate office team. We need offices in each region of the electorate.
  2. Advocating for ordinary people and communities who need help in the electorate.
  3. Working with locals and central government to create jobs of the future in each of our regions.

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.