Northland by-election, 2015

Northland by-election, 2015

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Turnout	29,590 (64.39%)
Candidate Winston Peters Mark Osborne Willow-Jean Prime Party NZ First National Labour Popular vote 16,089 11,648 1,380 Percentage 54.5% 39.4% 4.7%
Northland electorate boundaries used for the by-election
MP before election Mike Sabin National Elected MP Winston Peters New Zealand First

Mike Sabin
National

Winston Peters
New Zealand First

A by-election was held in the Northland electorate on 28 March 2015. The seat had been vacated following the resignation of Mike Sabin of the National Party from the House of Representatives on 30 January 2015. Northland was generally regarded as a safe National seat; the party has held the seat since its creation for the 1996 election. The election was won by Winston Peters of New Zealand First. As Peters was already a list MP for his party, this allowed New Zealand First an additional list member, Ria Bond, to join parliament.

In December 2014 New Zealand media reported that Northland MP Mike Sabin was under investigation by police over an assault complaint. The reports were not confirmed by the New Zealand Police, the Prime Minister or Sabin himself.

Sabin resigned from parliament on 30 January 2015 with immediate effect "due to personal issues that were best dealt with outside Parliament."

The boundaries of the Northland electorate are largely determined by the Northland coastline. The electorate extends from a line between Leigh on the east coast and the Kaipara Harbour on the west coast (including Wellsford) to Cape Reinga, but excludes Whangarei and environs. The major communities include Kaitaia, Russell, Kerikeri, Kaikohe, Dargaville and Mangawhai Heads.