Election 2023: New faces make play for Christchurch East (Christchurch East electorate profile)

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

In the lead-up to the 2023 general election, The Press is profiling Canterbury’s electoral races. Here’s what you need to know about the candidates running to be Christchurch East’s MP. (By reporter Liz McDonald).

This coastal electorate runs from the mouth of the Waimakariri River in the north, through the Brighton suburbs to the Southshore spit in the south, and stretches inland as far as Prestons, Shirley and north Linwood.

It takes in most of the riverside red zone, most of Christchurch’s beach suburbs, and many of the city’s cheapest housing areas.

At the time of the 2018 census, the electorate had the biggest proportion in the country of technicians, trade workers and construction workers.

Almost half the electorate had personal incomes under $30,000. A total of 15.5% listed themselves as Māori, and 18.5% were born overseas.

East Christchurch has a long history of backing Labour candidates, and sitting member Poto Williams has the biggest majority in the South Island after taking 63% of the vote in 2020.

Williams, a minister outside Cabinet, has held the seat for Labour since winning a by-election in 2013 when former member Lianne Dalziel stepped down to contest the Christchurch mayoralty.

But in 2014, in the aftermath of the quakes and with an expanded boundary after red zoning, the Labour dominance in Christchurch East was overturned. While Labour took the seat that year, National comfortably won the electorate’s party vote, with Labour more than 4000 votes behind.

This year Williams is not seeking re-election and Reuben Davidson will feature on the Labour ticket after unsuccessfully standing for the party in Selwyn three years ago.

Davidson has just left his job as a producer for Whitebait Media, and has stepped down as chair of the Banks Peninsula Community Board, although he remains a sitting board member. He now lives in North New Brighton Brighton after moving from Lyttelton.

With Christchurch East one of the safest seats in New Zealand, the other candidates will realistically be fighting for a share of the party vote.

Standing for National in Christchurch East for the first time will be Matt Stock, who has lived in the electorate for 20 years. Stock works as a teacher and is head of science and a senior dean at Hornby High School. He sits at number 50 on his party’s list.

Sahra Ahmed is the Green Party candidate. Ahmed is a nurse who works as refugee health clinical lead at Pegasus Health. She came to New Zealand from Somalia as an asylum seeker in 1990.

Representing ACT will be Toni Severin, the only current MP standing in the East Christchurch electorate. Originally a laboratory technician, Severin co-owns a business and entered Parliament on the ACT list in 2020. This time she is at 14 on the list, down from 9th in 2020.

Shane Wiremu is a small business owner who is standing for NZ First and is at 22 on the party list.

The remaining candidates for Christchurch East are Helen Houghton (New Conservatives), Paula Lambert (Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party), Sam Park (Independent), and Danette Wereta (Animal Justice Party).