A prominent political figure has headed south from the electorate he’s synonymous with.
Uncertain whether he’ll have another tilt for its seat this election; his advocacy for it still stands.
Labour List MP and long-serving former West Coast-Tasman MP Damien O’Connor moved to Dunedin mid-last year for personal reasons.
“Tasman, Mahana, a great place to live, and I miss many aspects of it,” he says.
“I’m still a buddy MP for West Coast-Tasman, and I’m there on a regular basis.
“I still have a staff person in the electorate, and we’re still answering queries and assisting people who have issues across the board, at a smaller rate of resource and participation… advocating for people when they need it.”
Damien was dethroned in 2023 by the National Party’s Maureen Pugh by a margin of 1,017 votes.
He previously held the West Coast-Tasman seat between 1996 and 2008 and again from 2011 to 2023.
Before the two electorates merged, he was the West Coast MP from 1993 to 1996.
Damien says a campaign to reclaim the seat for Labour in the 2026 General Election was a decision to be made by himself and party members at electorate and national level.
“Those selection processes will be underway over the next few months, as there always is prior to an election; it’s a very thorough and robust process,” he says.
“There have been other people showing interest in standing for Labour… there’s close to half a dozen who have shown some interest, and I think that means it should be a healthy contes,” he says.
“If it’s not me, someone who can hopefully have a good chance of winning [the seat] back for Labour.”
Asked how living in the opposite end of the South Island would affect his chances if he chooses to restand, Damien acknowledges that would have “a major impact”, and it was currently a theoretical question whether he’ll return to West Coast-Tasman for a potential campaign.
“I’ve clearly still got interest in West Coast-Tasman, many family members, and a heritage that goes back to the 1860s,” he says.
“But [living outside the electorate] is one of the things that I’m very mindful of that most people expect that constituent MPs live in the electorate, and that’s something both myself and the party will all take into account.”
Damien says if this year didn’t involve another political contest, his future will be decided in due course.
