Twelve people have so far been confirmed as candidates to represent the Invercargill, Southland or Taieri electorates in the September election.

In Invercargill, Labour list MP Liz Craig and National’s Penny Simmonds are vying to replace the incumbent, National MP Sarah Dowie. The Green party intends to put up a candidate for the Invercargill seat. The candidate will be announced after a selection meeting on July 19.

Ms Dowie won the electorate seat in 2014 and again in 2017 and is retiring.

Southland (formerly Clutha-Southland) presently has four candidates. 

The incumbent National MP Hamish Walker, who won the seat in 2017, is facing a contest with Labour’ Jon Mitchell, ACT’s Basil Walker, the Outdoors party candidate Victoria Hoskins-Bonham and Opportunities party candidate Joel Rowland. 

New Zealand First list MP Mark Patterson lives in part of the Clutha-Southland electorate that now becomes part of the Taieri electorate. He has been selected to represent the party in the newly formed Taieri electorate at the upcoming election. He will be contesting that seat with a group of first time candidates: Labour’s Ingrid Leary, National’s Liam Kernaghan, Green candidate Scott Willis and ACT party representative Robert Andrew.

Labour’s Clare Curran has held Dunedin South since 2008 and is retiring. 

The Taieri electorate stretches from South Dunedin to Balclutha and contains areas around the Clutha River that had previously been included in the Clutha-Southland electorate.