It was contested for the first time at the 2008 general election, and won by Pansy Wong for the National Party.

Following Wong's resignation in late 2010, a by-election returned Jami-Lee Ross, who was confirmed by the voters in the 2011 general election.

The Representation Commission established the electoral district of Botany after the 2006 New Zealand census due to high population growth in and around Auckland.

[citation needed] A 2005 academic survey assessing the voting behaviour of Asian New Zealanders[1] showed a strong preference for the Labour Party, with a sizeable proportion prepared to vote for the National Party (47 to 40); it also showed that among Asian New Zealanders, the most important issues were the economy and law and order.

This was demonstrated by a large anti-crime march (a crowd of 15,000 was estimated, with a significant number of these being Asian New Zealanders) was held in Auckland (on the streets of Botany) in July 2008 amidst claims of increasing violent crime in New Zealand targeted against its Asian population.

[3] Botany was first created for the 2008 general election, and won by Pansy Wong for the National Party.

[citation needed] Both National and the ACT party stood Chinese New Zealanders as their candidates in 2008; Pansy Wong and Kenneth Wang, respectively.

Raymond Huo, a Chinese-speaking lawyer, was initially mooted for the Labour nomination, but eventually chose to stand as a list-only candidate.

[4][5] On 14 December 2010 it was announced that a by-election was to be held on 5 March 2011 due to the resignation of incumbent MP Pansy Wong.

Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list prior to the by-election.