Tom Rutherford

Tom Rutherford (born 1996 or 1997)^[1] is a New Zealand politician and communications executive. A member of the National Party, he has served as the Member of Parliament for the Bay of Plenty since October 2023.

Tom Rutherford MP
Rutherford in 2023
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Bay of Plenty
Incumbent
Assumed office 14 October 2023
Preceded by	Todd Muller
Personal details
Born	1996 or 1997 (age 27–28) Tauranga, New Zealand
Political party	National
Residence	Bay of Plenty

Early life

Rutherford was brought up in the Bay of Plenty.^[2] Rutherford's mother Sharon Nightingale is the National Party event manager in the Bay of Plenty.^[3] Before entering politics, Rutherford was a communications executive, and had worked for mayor and former National Party candidate Tania Tapsell at Rotorua Lakes Council.^[3] In 2013, he was selected as a Youth MP by Brendan Horan.^[4] Rutherford is also a Hockey New Zealand umpire, having officiated in 14 nationally tracked tournaments since 2017.^[5][3] Rutherford is also a volunteer firefighter, a rugby referee and captained the Greerton Cricket Club.^[6]

Political career

New Zealand Parliament

Years	Term	Electorate	List	Party
2023–present	54th	Bay of Plenty	70		National

Rutherford was shortlisted for the National Party candidacy in the 2022 Tauranga by-election, held after the resignation of Simon Bridges, but lost out to Sam Uffindell.^[7][8]

Rutherford was selected by the National Party to contest the Bay of Plenty electorate at the 2023 election. He was 70th on the party list.^[1] Rutherford was the youngest National Party candidate in 2023, but said he was mentored by Tony Ryall, who was also 26 when he was elected to represent Bay of Plenty.^[3] On election night, Rutherford received 23,303 votes, comfortably beating the Labour Party's Pare Taikato on 7,898.^[9]

Views and positions

Rutherford has said the biggest issues to be dealt with by government are "cost of living, transport and crime".^[10] He is keen to help improve transport and infrastructure to reduce congestion in Bay of Plenty.^[11] Rutherford also says that police should be given more powers.^[11] Rutherford also said he is keen to see democracy returned to Tauranga City Council (the council has been run by four commissioners since early 2021), and would work with the MP for Tauranga, Sam Uffindell, to ensure that happened.^[11]