Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a List MP sitting and waiting on the cusp of your party’s vote result in a fluid post-election configuration? It can be touch and go.
Among the MPs elected to Parliament after October’s general election, there are a few list MPs who first endured a period of waiting and uncertainty due to the vagaries of the MMP system.
Labour MP Dr Tracey McLellan sitting on Parliament's Health Select Committee Photo: Phil Smith
On election night, Labour MP Tracey McLellan lost her Banks Peninsula electorate seat in a tight race. Initially it seemed she would get in anyway, via the Labour party list; however other results changed as the special votes came in, so she was out. She then teetered on the edge of Parliament for almost three months, until Rino Tirakatene retired and she moved up the list and back into Parliament to replace him.
“I knew I was in a position that was touch and go, and also I had to go through that waiting for specials which took another three weeks. Initially I was elected on the list, so post-election night I was in, and then other results flipped so then I wasn't. So it was quite a roller coaster of in-out-in,” McLellan said.
“But that’s okay, it's part of democracy, that's what happens and you've got to be prepared to roll with it. We don’t have that security, because we’re putting ourselves out there. It’s a precarious position to be in at the best of times.”
Despite mixed emotions after the election, McLellan said it was a chance to take some time to figure out how to feel about things. After the intensity of an election campaign, a few weeks away from politics can be therapeutic, whether resting by the sea or getting back into a rhythm with something else.
“I did go back to work for a bit, but only because there was some tasks that needed to be done and I thought well rather than hang around and wait I can go back and do that," she said.
"The New Zealand Nurses Organisation, which is where I worked beforehand, just so happened, over Christmas period, there were some things that they needed an extra pair of hands, and I said 'well, I've got that'. So it was good to get back into a routine.”
Green MP Celia Wade-Brown in select committee. Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
Celia Wade-Brown of the Green Party knows well about hanging around while waiting for special votes to come. After all, that’s how she became Mayor of Wellington in 2010, although she had a more decisive win in 2013.
“But I didn't really think that I would get in [to parliament] on the specials on the 2023 election, because I was just hoping that Kahurangi [Carter] would get in, and so she did. We didn't have a high enough polling to get two MPs in on specials,” she said, adding that there was plenty to keep her occupied in the meantime.
“I live on a very large block of land next to the Tararua Forest Park, so there is always a huge amount of work to do whether it's gathering seeds, killing stoats or just looking after the land; so there's a plan B sort of staring me in the face every time I go home, but I didn't have any external plans.”
Wade-Brown recently became a Member of Parliament when Green MP Golriz Ghahraman resigned amid controversy in January.
“I was actually mountain-biking on Makara Peak when I got the call, so I was quite glad to pause and have a little breather. I was really sad about the circumstances but was very pleased and excited to be in.”
As the next cab off the rank for their party, the list MP just outside Parliament should always be ready to go, any time. It’s fairly common that experienced MPs retire, especially soon after an election, and as we’ve come to see, even outside of elections, MPs sometimes leave Parliament at a time not of their choosing.
“I think if you’re in the top part of the list, it's assumed that you've got the political nous to know that you need to be ready,” Wade-Brown said.
“I was not waiting for any particular event. I wasn't expecting anything imminent at all, but you've committed to go on the list so you're committed to being ready.”
