Stuart Smith (politician)

Stuart Tayler Smith (born 1963)[1] is a New Zealand National Party politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives for the Kaikōura electorate since the 2014 general election. Before entering parliament he was a Marlborough grape grower and chairman of the New Zealand Winegrowers Association.

Stuart Smith
MP
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Kaikōura
Assumed office
20 September 2014
Preceded byColin King
Majority12,570
Personal details
Born
Stuart Tayler Smith

1963 (age 59–60)
Political partyNational
SpouseJulie Smith
Websitestuartsmith.co.nz

Political career
New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2014–2017 51st Kaikōura 62 National
2017–2020 52nd Kaikōura 47 National
2020–2023 53rd Kaikōura 32 National
2023–present 54th Kaikōura 56 National

Fifth National Government (2014–2017)

In 2013 Smith contested the National Party selection for the Kaikōura seat, defeating incumbent Colin King.[2] He was elected at the 2014 election with a majority of 12,570 votes.[3] During the 2014–17 Parliamentary term, Smith served as Deputy Chair of the Primary Production Committee and the Social Services Committee.[4]

Sixth Labour Government (2017–present)

During the 2017 New Zealand general election, Smith retained Kaikōura for the National Party, defeating Labour candidate Janette Walker by slightly reduced majority of 10,553 votes.[5] Following the formation of the Labour-NZ First-Greens coalition minority government after the election, the National party returned to Opposition, with outgoing Prime Minister Bill English becoming Leader of the Opposition. English ranked Smith at 46th in his new shadow cabinet, the lowest ranked of any MP elected prior to the 2017 election. He was also appointed as National's spokesperson for Civil Defense and the Earthquake Commission.[6]

Following English's resignation in early 2018, Simon Bridges was elected party leader, and Smith was given a significant promotion. Moving up in the National rankings and taking on the Viticulture portfolio while retaining his previous Civil Defense and Earthquake Commission spokesperson roles.[7] In 2019 Bridges promoted Smith to 27th in caucus and appointed him to the Immigration portfolio.[8] After Todd Muller was elected National leader in May 2020, Smith was demoted one place in the National rankings to 28th and dropping his Civil Defense and Earthquake portfolios while retaining his Viticulture and Immigration spokespersonships.[9]

During the 2020 New Zealand general election, Smith retained Kaikōura, defeating Labour candidate Matt Flight by a significantly reduced majority of 2,295 votes, reflecting the nationwide landslide towards the Labour party.[10] Under the leadership of Christopher Luxon, Smith was National's spokesperson for energy and resources, the Earthquake Commission, and viticulture.

He was re-elected for a fourth term as Kaikōura MP at the 2023 general election.[11]

References
  1. "Roll of members of the New Zealand House of Representatives, 1854 onwards" (PDF). New Zealand Parliament. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  2. Bell, Cathie (18 December 2013). "Smith picked over King". Stuff. Archived from the original on 7 September 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  3. "Kaikōura: electoral profile". New Zealand Parliament. 18 April 2016. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  4. "Smith, Stuart – New Zealand Parliament". Parliament.nz. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  5. "Kaikōura – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 17 January 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  6. "National unveils strong Opposition team | Scoop News". 2 November 2017. Archived from the original on 2 November 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  7. "Collins up, Brownlee down in Nats reshuffle". Nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  8. "National Party's Simon Bridges announces caucus reshuffle". Rnz.co.nz. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  9. "Kaikōura MP Stuart Smith keeps 'huge' Immigration portfolio in reshuffle". Stuff.co.nz. 26 May 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  10. "Kaikōura – Official Result". Electoral Commission. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  11. Hart, Maia (14 October 2023). "Stuart Smith to represent Kaikōura electorate for a fourth term". Stuff. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
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