Candidates await selection

Rodney MP Lockwood Smith’s replacement for the general election is still unknown, while the National Party undergoes the selection process.

Dr Smith, who has represented Rodney in parliament since 1996, is standing in this year’s election as a National Party list candidate.

Nominations for his replacement, announced last week, are Local Board member John Kirikiri, Mark Mitchell, Christopher Penk, Brent Robinson and Scott Simpson.

The successful candidate for the Rodney seat will be selected on March 2.

Council boundaries and parliamentary ones do not coincide, and thus the electoral boundaries are unaffected by the changes in governance in Auckland. This has led to the situation where Albany Ward will be represented by no less than four MPs.

The Hibiscus Coast will be represented by the MP for Rodney. The south-eastern tip of Albany Ward will be represented by the MP for the North Shore (currently National’s Wayne Mapp). The East Coast Bays electorate (currently represented by National’s Murray McCully) covers Albany Ward from Okura to Murray’s Bay and the western part is in Helensville electorate (Prime Minister John Key).

The Labour party announced last December that their candidate for Rodney is ex-Auckland Regional Councillor Christine Rose.

The general election will be held on November 26.

The successful National Party candidate for the Rodney seat will be at www.localmatters.co.nz on March 3.