The Selwyn by-election, a by-election in the New Zealand electorate of Selwyn – a predominantly rural district in the Canterbury Plains in New Zealand's South Island – took place on 13 August 1994. The previous sitting MP, Ruth Richardson, precipitated the poll by resigning from parliament. Richardson planned to retire from politics, having been removed as Minister of Finance the previous year.

Background

The by-election was significant, as National held on to the majority of the House of Representatives by only one seat (50 to 49). This meant the party would have lost its majority in the House if it failed to retain the seat, and it would have required the formation of a coalition or a confidence-and-supply agreement with another parliamentary party – probably New Zealand First or the Alliance – to maintain governance.

All "major" New Zealand political parties of the day contested the by-election. David Carter, the National Party candidate, won the seat, and therefore the distribution of seats in Parliament did not change. In second place, and only around four hundred votes behind Carter, came the Alliance's John Wright, with National's traditional opponent, the Labour Party, placed a distant third. The fourth "major" candidate represented the New Zealand First party: Tim Shadbolt, then Mayor of Invercargill.

Candidates

;Alliance

There were four nominations for the Alliance:

;Labour

Labour's candidate from the 1993 election who cut Richardson's majority from 5,441 votes to 888, Ron Mark declined to stand again. Mark was a supporter of ousted Labour leader Mike Moore, which media speculated was the reason he did not stand. Mark stated that he would not stand for personal and political reasons, while both Labour leader, Helen Clark, and her deputy, David Caygill, had also made it clear they would have welcomed Mark as a candidate. Two candidates were nominated to represent Labour in the by-election:

  • Marian Hobbs, principal of Avonside Girls' High School
  • Geoff Stone, an Ashburton District Councillor and former Christchurch City Councillor

A third nominee, Greg Coyle, who was Labour's candidate in 1993 for Sydenham withdrew saying Hobbs' selection was a foregone conclusion.

At a selection meeting held in Belfast, Hobbs was selected as Labour's candidate. At the meeting, attended by about 100 party members, Hobbs said voters had the chance to choose between "fiscal purity" and "a system of social justice." User-pays meant that only those who could pay could use. "If you can't pay, you can't use, and that is not good enough" in her acceptance speech. She also acknowledged Mark, who had attended the selection meeting, but had left before the announcement was made.

;National

The 11 nominees were narrowed to a shortlist of five candidates which went to a selection meeting ballot. The candidates were:

  • Russell Bain, an executive assistant to Cabinet Minister John Luxton and former Waimakairi District Councillor
  • Stuart Boag, a former Amuri County Councillor and Young Nationals chairman
  • David Carter, a farm manager who was National's candidate for Lyttelton in 1993
  • Christine Kelland, a banker and Canterbury Regional Councillor
  • Margaret Murray, a Christchurch City Councillor who was National's candidate for Yaldhurst in 1981

At the selection meeting held at West Melton Hall delegates voted in an exhaustive ballot for the candidate. Kelland was eliminated on the first ballot, Murray on the second and Bain on the third. Carter beat Boag on the last ballot, which party sources indicated was a very close result.

;New Zealand First

The New Zealand First candidate for Lyttelton in 1993, Ross Gluer, ruled himself out of standing but was named the party's campaign manager. Gluer said three people had put their names forward as potential candidates, two of them being previous candidates. Two names were made public, that of Jenny Bloxham who was the party's health spokesperson and candidate for Timaru in 1993, and Tim Shadbolt, the Mayor of Invercargill. The party selected Shadbolt. Ron Woods, the former Canterbury regional chairman for the party, who had recently been replaced by Gluer, claimed members had been kept "completely in the dark" about the selection process and said he could not think of anyone less suited to Selwyn voters than Shadbolt.