in the 2010 local elections, but did not win a seat in either group; for the council he came second in the one-member Banks Peninsula ward and for the health board he came seventeenth in a contest for seven positions. Switching parties O'Rourke was a member of the Labour Party for 19 years. In 2003, he resigned over dissatisfaction with the direction of Helen Clark's government. He joined New Zealand First in early 2010. Member of Parliament In the , O'Rourke stood for parliament for New Zealand First. He was placed seventh on NZ First's party lists. O’Rourke contested and lost the Port Hills electorate, coming fourth, but his party received 6.6% of the party vote, meaning that O’Rourke along with seven other NZ First candidates won seats in parliament. O’Rourke retained his list seat in the 2014 general election. He again contested Port Hills, coming fourth. He was re-elected to Parliament on the New Zealand First Party list. In the 2017 general election, New Zealand first lowered O’Rourke's position on its party list from 7th to 13th. With this lower ranking, and again coming fourth in Port Hills, he did not win a seat in Parliament. In the 2020 general election, he unsuccessfully contested the new Banks Peninsula electorate. He was placed 10th on NZ First's party list, but the party only received 2.6% of the party vote, below the five percent threshold needed to enter Parliament, and so all NZ First MPs lost their seats at that election. Political positions and style In 2013, O'Rourke voted against the Marriage Amendment Bill, which introduced same sex marriage in New Zealand, with all of his fellow New Zealand First MPs. From his local government days, O'Rourke had a reputation of a "no half-measures" politician. He was known to undertake exhaustive research on his portfolios and claimed to have "read every word in every council report" ever put to him. O'Rourke described his political style as "forceful", whilst some others described it as "abrasive". One of his fellow councillors once publicly accused him of being a bully. O'Rourke describes debating as "recreational". Business interests Since 2000, O'Rourke was one of the Christchurch City Council representatives on the Central Plains Water Enhancement Steering Committee under Doug Marsh as chairman. The steering committee, which formed a trust, was set up by Christchurch City Council and Selwyn District Council. O'Rourke remained a trustee when