Island Bay is a former New Zealand electorate

New Zealand electorates

An electorate is a voting district for elections to the Parliament of New Zealand. In informal discussion, electorates are often called seats. The most formal description, electoral district, is rarely seen outside of electoral legislation. Before 1996, all Members of Parliament were directly...

, centred on Island Bay in the southern suburbs of Wellington

Wellington

Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

.

History

The seat was held by five MPs from the Labour Party

New Zealand Labour Party

The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....

 for the whole of its existence from 1946 to 1996.

Robert McKeen

Robert McKeen

Robert McKeen, CMG was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party He was the twelfth Speaker of the House of Representatives, from 1947 to 1950....

 was the Speaker of the House of Representatives

Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives

In New Zealand the Speaker of the House of Representatives is the individual who chairs the country's legislative body, the New Zealand House of Representatives...

 from 1947 to 1950.

Arnold Nordmeyer

Arnold Nordmeyer

Sir Arnold Henry Nordmeyer, ONZ, KCMG , born Heinrich Arnold Nordmeyer, was a New Zealand politician. He was leader of the Labour Party for three years while it was in Opposition.-Early life:...

 was Minister of Finance

Minister of Finance (New Zealand)

The Minister of Finance is a senior figure within the government of New Zealand. The position is often considered to be the most important Cabinet role after that of the Prime Minister....

 in the Second Labour Government

Second Labour Government of New Zealand

The Second Labour Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 1957 to 1960. It was most notable for raising taxes on alcohol, cigarettes and petrol, a move which was probably responsible for the government lasting for only one term....

 from 1957 to 1960, and is remembered for the black budget

Black Budget (New Zealand)

In New Zealand, the term Black Budget refers to the government budget of 26 June 1958 in which Finance Minister Arnold Nordmeyer increased taxes on beer, tobacco, cars and petrol.The second Labour government took office in 1957, the 32nd Parliament...

 which contributed to Labour's defeat in 1960

New Zealand general election, 1960

The 1960 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 33rd term. It saw the governing Labour Party defeated by the National Party, putting an end to the short second Labour government.-Background:...

. In 1954 Nordmeyer had moved to the Island Bay seat when the Brooklyn

Brooklyn (New Zealand electorate)

Brooklyn was a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate in Wellington city from 1946 to 1954.-Population centres:The electorate was based on the southern suburbs of Wellington city, around the hill suburb of Brooklyn.-History:...

 seat was abolished.

Gerald O'Brien

Gerald O'Brien

John Gerald O’Brien was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.He was born in Wellington and was in the RNZAF from 1943 to 1946....

 was deselected by Labour for the seat in 1978

New Zealand general election, 1978

The 1978 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to elect the 39th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the governing National Party, led by Robert Muldoon, retain office, although the opposition Labour Party managed to win the largest share of the vote...

, and ran against the new Labour candidate Frank O'Flynn

Frank O'Flynn

Francis Duncan O'Flynn QC. was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.He represented the seat of Kapiti from 1972 to 1975, when he was defeated, and then Island Bay from 1978 to 1990, when he retired. He was the Minister of Defence from 1984 to 1987.He was a Queen's Counsel...

. O'Flynn was Minister of Defence

Minister of Defence (New Zealand)

The Minister of Defence is a minister in the government of New Zealand with responsibility for the New Zealand armed forces and the Ministry of Defence.The present Minister is Dr...

 in the Fourth Labour Government

Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand

The Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 26 July 1984 to 2 November 1990. It enacted major social and economic reforms, including reformation of the tax system. The economic reforms were known as Rogernomics after Finance Minister Roger Douglas...

 from 1984 to 1987.

Election results

Election	Winner
1946 election New Zealand general election, 1946 The 1946 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 28th term. It saw the governing Labour Party re-elected, but by a substantially narrower margin than in the three previous elections...		Robert McKeen Robert McKeen Robert McKeen, CMG was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party He was the twelfth Speaker of the House of Representatives, from 1947 to 1950.... (Labour)
1949 election New Zealand general election, 1949 The 1949 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 29th term. It saw the governing Labour Party defeated by the opposition National Party...
1951 election New Zealand general election, 1951 The 1951 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 30th term. It saw the governing National Party remain in office, increasing its lead over the opposition Labour Party.-Background:...
1954 election New Zealand general election, 1954 The 1954 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 31st term. It saw the governing National Party remain in office, but with a slightly reduced majority...		Arnold Nordmeyer Arnold Nordmeyer Sir Arnold Henry Nordmeyer, ONZ, KCMG , born Heinrich Arnold Nordmeyer, was a New Zealand politician. He was leader of the Labour Party for three years while it was in Opposition.-Early life:... (Labour)
1957 election New Zealand general election, 1957 The 1957 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 32nd term. It saw the governing National Party narrowly defeated by the Labour Party...
1960 election New Zealand general election, 1960 The 1960 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 33rd term. It saw the governing Labour Party defeated by the National Party, putting an end to the short second Labour government.-Background:...
1963 election New Zealand general election, 1963 The 1963 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 34th term. The results were almost identical to those for the previous election, and the governing National Party remained in office....
1966 election New Zealand general election, 1966 The 1966 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 35th term. It saw the governing National Party win a third consecutive term in office...
1969 election New Zealand general election, 1969 The 1969 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 36th term. It saw the governing National Party win a fourth consecutive term, under Prime Minister Keith Holyoake.-The Election:...		Gerald O'Brien Gerald O'Brien John Gerald O’Brien was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.He was born in Wellington and was in the RNZAF from 1943 to 1946.... (Labour)
1972 election New Zealand general election, 1972 The New Zealand general election of 1972 was held to elect MPs to the 37th session of the New Zealand Parliament. The Labour Party, led by Norman Kirk, defeated the governing National Party.-Background:...
1975 election New Zealand general election, 1975 The 1975 New Zealand general election was held to elect MPs to the 38th session of the New Zealand Parliament. It was the first election in New Zealand where 18-20 year olds and all permanent residents of New Zealand were eligible to vote, although only citizens were able to be...
1978 election New Zealand general election, 1978 The 1978 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to elect the 39th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the governing National Party, led by Robert Muldoon, retain office, although the opposition Labour Party managed to win the largest share of the vote...		Frank O'Flynn Frank O'Flynn Francis Duncan O'Flynn QC. was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.He represented the seat of Kapiti from 1972 to 1975, when he was defeated, and then Island Bay from 1978 to 1990, when he retired. He was the Minister of Defence from 1984 to 1987.He was a Queen's Counsel... (Labour)
1981 election New Zealand general election, 1981 The 1981 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 40th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the governing National Party, led by Robert Muldoon, win a third term in office, although the opposition Labour Party, led by Bill Rowling, actually won the largest share of...
1984 election New Zealand general election, 1984 The 1984 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 41st New Zealand Parliament. It marked the beginning of the Fourth Labour Government, with David Lange's Labour Party defeating long-serving Prime Minister Robert Muldoon of the National Party. It was also the...
1987 election New Zealand general election, 1987 The 1987 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 43rd sitting of the New Zealand Parliament. The governing New Zealand Labour Party, led by Prime Minister David Lange, was re-elected for a second term, although the Opposition National Party made gains...
1990 election New Zealand general election, 1990 The 1990 New Zealand general election was held on 27 October to determine the composition of the 43rd New Zealand parliament. The governing Labour Party was defeated, ending its controversial two terms in office...		Elizabeth Tennet Elizabeth Tennet Elizabeth Patricia Tennet is a former New Zealand politician. She was an MP from 1987 to 1996, representing the Labour Party. She was first elected to Parliament in the 1987 elections as MP for the Wellington electorate of Island Bay, and retained this seat until her departure from Parliament at... (Labour)
1993 election New Zealand general election, 1993 The 1993 New Zealand general election was held on 6 November 1993 to determine the composition of the 44th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the governing National Party, led by Jim Bolger, win a second term in office, despite a major swing back towards the Labour Party. The new Alliance and New...