Michael John Davidson (born 29 January 1976) is a New Zealand politician. He has represented the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand as a Member of Parliament since 6 October 2025,when he replaced Benjamin Doyle.
Davidson was born in Kaikōura on 29 January 1976,the son of Gaye and Rob Davidson,[1] and is of Ngāi Tahu descent.[2][3] His father was a locomotive driver and later a lawyer,who died in 2020 at the age of 69. The elder Davidson had been married to Lianne Dalziel,the mayor of Christchurch from 2013 to 2022,for 25 years until his death.[4] Davidson's father and grandfather had both previously unsuccessfully run for Christchurch City Council.[5] Davidson was previously an environmental scientist. He worked for the Earthquake Commission for seven years.[5][6] Davidson also worked as an operational manager at Whitiora,a skills and employment centre.[7]
Local government
Davidson first entered local politics in 2013,when he was elected to the Shirley-Papanui Community Board.[5] From 2016 to 2022 Davidson was a councillor for Christchurch City Council,representing the Papanui ward.[6][8] He was elected at the age of 40.[5] Davidson was chairperson of the urban development and transport committee,and is an advocate for cycleways and better urban transport.[8][6][9] He has supported the re-opening of Edgeware pool,which was closed in 2006.[10] Davidson lost the Papanui ward in 2022 to Victoria Henstock.[11]
In the 2025 Christchurch City Council elections,Davidson is a candidate for the Innes ward on the Waipapa Papanui-Innes-Central community board,standing for The People's Choice.[7][12][13] Davidson was elected to Parliament during the local election and has said that if he is also elected to the community board intends to donate that salary to the mayor's welfare fund.[14]
Davidson contested the Ilam electorate in the 2023 election as a Green Party candidate.[8] He was 19th on the party list.[2] He was unsuccessful in winning the seat, placing fourth, and was not initially high enough on the party list to be allocated a seat.[15]
Davidson was elected to parliament on 6 October 2025 to fill the list vacancy arising from the resignation of Benjamin Doyle.[16][17]
Footnotes
↑ Normally, list MPs do not have individual predecessors or successors, but Doyle resigned during a sitting parliament and therefore was succeeded by Davidson.
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