Voters in the Wakatipu were not surprised by the "tsunami change" in government on Saturday and Labour's resounding defeat.
Everyone, from community leaders to a first-time voter, said Helen Clark might have done a good job, but change was inevitable.
For Glenorchy high-country farmer Iris Scott, the National victory was a huge relief, while Queenstown Chamber of Commerce chairman Alistair Porter welcomed the tsunami change, the potential boost for tourism with John Key as Minister of Tourism and a strong team to face the economic challenges ahead.
First-time voter and Clark supporter, 18-year old Wakatipu High School pupil Emily Stevens, found the MMP election confusing and was unsure about Mr Key.
Arrowtown resident Gweneth Marshall, who although not surprised at the result, was sad to see long-time senior citizen-supporter Winston Peters go.
Queenstown Lakes District Council Mayor Clive Geddes congratulated Mr Key and his National Party.
However, he warned they have tough economic times to face.
Queenstown Times asked the five voters to expand on their comments on the election result.
Alistair Porter, businessman and developer.
This was a tsunami change - a new Government, a new prime minister, the end of Helen Clark and the end of Winston Peters.
It wasn't a surprise. It was time for a change and they had absolutely the right strategy.
It was right for a whole bunch of reasons - the Obama [style], and Labour had been in for nine years.
John Key kept it positive and his acceptance speech was outstanding . He was utterly delighted. It wasn't just delight, it was relief.
He talked with vigour and vim. He got better throughout the campaign, but if he had showed that passion throughout the campaign, I believe New Zealanders would have supported him even more.
The campaign was critical for New Zealand going forward. The defining pointers are that Key and English are young enough to govern New Zealand for a decade.
Next time, he will be three years better.
The good news is that we are at the southern end of the country and Bill English is a very able deputy leader and there is no-one better to deal with financial crisis [the country is facing].
Key is a money man and, people forget, Bill English came from Treasury. They are an incredibly strong team to deal with the [financial] situation.
These two understand we absolutely need that now - we need a strong team at the top.
Tourism employs 10% of the population, it's the country's single biggest foreign exchange earner and it's long overdue for attention. It needs a lot of attention and faces big challenges.
It's going to be tough and we are going to have to work hard to attract people here.
We need to keep the beds full and the cash-flow going.
I was in Australia recently and people there are talking about 10% unemployment and that is going to have a big effect on New Zealand tourism.
The big news is now we have a Prime Minister who is the Minister of Tourism. We have a direct line right to the top. And absolutely, justifiably so.
As for Labour, it's the end of an era. She [Clark] has been an amazingly successful and strong leader and they should take heart how well they did [in the election]. I have no doubt she will feature in a prominent role in the future. She's an incredibly capable woman and very competent and has been a very good role model for women.
Iris Scott, owner of Rees Valley Station, Glenorchy.
It was more of a relief than a surprise.
I was very pleased to hear the news this morning when I woke up.
For us [as farmers], I think it will mean recognition that every nation needs farmers to grow food.
I think they've [farmers] been actively targeted as a wealthy group of landowners that can be clobbered, the rich people stomping on the poor. But that's what Kiwi farmers came to get away from [in England].
Sure, the dirty dairying needed cleaning up.
I'm disappointed in the Greens for distancing themselves from National. They're not quite educated people in the reality of the primary sector. They just want to tax the hell out the fats and they won't even look at the kinds of things that can actually be done.
There's been a lack of common sense, all this writing things in triplicate.
In practical terms, we still have a National member of Parliament with practical experience on the land.
Under Labour, small businesses were being pressured to the limit.
People I had spoken to said if Labour got in again they would be moving offshore.
Bill English was the only one [candidate] who bothered to come to Glenorchy.
Emily Stevens (18), off to University of Otago next year to do a double major in theatre and performing arts.
I feel sad for Helen Clark.
I was more on Labour's side.
A lot of people I talked to - teenagers - we thought it would be a lot closer.
I don't like John Key, I'm just not sure about him. I don't know a lot about him.
Voting for the first time was so confusing. It's incredibly confusing with the coalition.
Talking about it with my parents, all the things you have to consider, like the Maori Party and if they would go into coalition with National.
I was listening to her [Clark] on the radio and I think she's a really nice person and knows her stuff and I think she's done some good things, like Kiwibank and KiwiSaver, and she was trying to be so confident, [in the election] saying we're going to win, there's no plan B. Her speech was good. She handled [the loss] so well.
I think her resignation was a huge shock.
[As a role model] she has kind of shot out there as a nice kind of person and I think she has done some good things, such as when she was in the Wearable Arts in Nelson.
Gweneth Marshall (68).
I wasn't surprised.
I think the people of New Zealand wanted a change.
I'm a bit disappointed Helen Clark is stepping down. It was quite a shock.
She did her job very well.
Winston Peters is now over. He was a good advocate for senior people in New Zealand. He stood up for senior people. He got us the gold card and discounts.
I don't know how things are going to go. It's going to be hard [with the economic situation]. People are going to have to help each other a lot more. I've always looked out for other people.
I was surprised by the amount of change. But people I've spoken to said it was time for a change.
It's like when you're on a committee, a new broom sweeps clean.
We've got to give him [John Key] a chance. The only thing is he doesn't have a lot of experience.
Clive Geddes
That result very much reflects the trends shown in the polls.
There seemed to be a sense that change in New Zealand was needed.
I think it is inevitable that people want change after nine years, the function of governance determines that.
[Helen Clark's resignation] was a surprise but I think it's understandable. She had an energetic last nine years leading the party and the country and I understand that she would want to retire.
There are enormous challenges ahead and I congratulate John Key and his team on the victory and look forward to establishing a relationship with his team.
We're facing a series of ongoing issues in the Wakatipu - education, health and roading - that need attention.
I'm quite sure that any change is always of great interest.
The big overlay in this election are what appear to be the challenging times ahead of us economically and the need for every one to be focused on how we are going to get through them.
To maintain the economy, we are going to have to work with regional and central government.
