 The electorate covers Invercargill city and the surrounding rural area, including Stewart Island / Rakiura.In 1996 a boundary redistribution resulted in the abolition of the Awarua electorate and merged with Invercargill following re-drawing of boundaries due to the introduction of mixed-member proportional voting (MMP).Minor but steady population decline in the Southland region has generally resulted in Invercargill expanding northwards.