41st New Zealand Parliament
The 41st New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. Its composition was determined by the 1984 elections, and it sat until the 1987 elections.
| 41st Parliament of New Zealand | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | New Zealand Parliament | ||||
| Term | 15 August 1984 – 29 July 1987 | ||||
| Election | 1984 New Zealand general election | ||||
| Government | Fourth Labour Government | ||||
| House of Representatives | |||||
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| Members | 95 | ||||
| Speaker of the House | Gerard Wall from 28 May 1985 — Basil Arthur until 1 May 1985 † | ||||
| Leader of the House | Geoffrey Palmer | ||||
| Prime Minister | David Lange | ||||
| Leader of the Opposition | Jim Bolger — Jim McLay until 26 March 1986 — Robert Muldoon until 29 November 1984 | ||||
| Sovereign | |||||
| Monarch | Elizabeth II | ||||
| Governor-General | Paul Reeves — David Beattie until 22 November 1985 | ||||
| Sessions | |||||
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The 41st Parliament was the first term of the fourth Labour Party government. It marked the end of three terms of National Party administration under Robert Muldoon. David Lange become Prime Minister and Roger Douglas became Minister of Finance — the economic reforms undertaken by Douglas, nicknamed Rogernomics, would prove to be a defining feature of the fourth Labour government, and were deeply unpopular with Labour's traditional support base. The National Party, now in opposition, experienced a number of leadership disputes, replacing Muldoon first with Jim McLay and then with Jim Bolger.
The 41st Parliament consisted of ninety-five representatives, the highest number since the 10th Parliament (elected in 1887). All of these representatives were chosen by single-member geographical electorates, including four Māori electorates.
Electoral boundaries for the 41st Parliament
Overview of seats
The table below shows the number of MPs in each party following the 1984 election and at dissolution:
| Affiliation | Members | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| At 1984 election | At dissolution | ||
| Labour | 56 | 55 | |
| Government total | |||
| National | 37 | 38 | |
| Social Credit | 2 | 2 | |
| Opposition total | 39 | 40 | |
| Total |
95 | 95 | |
| Working Government majority | 17 | 15 | |
Notes
- The Working Government majority is calculated as all Government MPs less all other parties.
Initial composition of the 41st Parliament
The tables below shows the results of the 1984 general election:
Key
| National | Labour | NZ Party |
| Social Credit | Mana Motuhake | Independent |
Table footnotes:
- The candidate Doug Graham who contested the Lyttelton electorate for National is a different person from Doug Graham, who contested and won the Remuera seat.
- Bob Jones came third for the New Zealand Party in Ohariu
- In July 1983 Kirk said he would not stand in 1984: when Anderton was selected for Sydenham, Kirk (a Lange supporter) withdrew from the Labour caucus and was suspended by Labour, becoming an independent
By-elections during 41st Parliament
There were a number of changes during the term of the 41st Parliament.
| Electorate and by-election | Date | Incumbent | Cause | Winner | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Timaru | 1985 | 15 June | Sir Basil Arthur | Death | Maurice McTigue | ||
Summary of changes during term
- Basil Arthur, the long-serving Labour MP for Timaru, died in 1985. The by-election in Timaru was won by Maurice McTigue of the National Party.
Notes
- Norton 1988, pp. ?.
- Gustafson 1986, p. 372.
References
- Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN 0-474-00177-6.
- Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946-1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. ISBN 0-475-11200-8.