In New Zealand, the term Black Budget refers to the government budget of 26 June 1958 in which Finance Minister Arnold Nordmeyer increased taxes on beer, tobacco, cars and petrol. A government budget is a legal document that is often passed by the legislature, and approved by the chief executive. ... June 26 is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 188 days remaining. ... Year 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Minister of Finance is a senior figure within the government of New Zealand. ... The Honourable Sir Heinrich Arnold Nordmeyer, ONZ, KCMG, (1901 - 1989), often later known as Arnold Henry Nordmeyer, was a New Zealand politician. ... A selection of bottled beers A selection of cask beers Beer is the worlds oldest[1] and most popular[2] alcoholic beverage, selling more than 133 billion litres (35 billion gallons) per year - producing total global revenues of $331. ... Species Nicotiana acuminata Nicotiana alata Nicotiana attenuata Nicotiana benthamiana Nicotiana clevelandii Nicotiana excelsior Nicotiana forgetiana Nicotiana glauca Nicotiana glutinosa Nicotiana langsdorffii Nicotiana longiflora Nicotiana obtusifolia Nicotiana paniculata Nicotiana plumbagifolia Nicotiana quadrivalvis Nicotiana repanda Nicotiana rustica Nicotianasuaveolens Nicotiana sylvestris Nicotiana tabacum Nicotiana tomentosa Ref: ITIS 30562 as of August 26, 2005... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Gasoline, as it is known in North America, or petrol, in many Commonwealth countries (sometimes also called motor spirit) is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting primarily of hydrocarbons, used as fuel in internal combustion engines. ...

The second Labour government took office in 1957, and within a year were confronted with a balance of payments crisis caused by the collapse of the price of butter in Britain (New Zealand's main export market). Nordmeyer's colleagues were reluctant to cut government spending or break expensive election promises, so Nordmeyer was left with little option but to raise taxes. The Second Labour Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 1957 to 1960. ... The balance of payments is a measure of the payments that flow from one exports and imports of goods, services, and financial capital, as well financial transfers. ...

The budget was massively unpopular, not least with Labour's traditional working-class supporters. The term 'black budget' is believed to have been coined by union leader Fintan Patrick Walsh, but was taken up by the National Party opposition, and became the commonly used term for the budget. The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ... Working class is a term used both in academic sociology as well as in ordinary conversation. ... The New Zealand National Party (National or the Nats) currently forms the second-largest (in terms of seats) political party represented in the New Zealand Parliament, and thus functions as the core of the parliamentary Opposition. ...

The government's popularity never recovered from the budget, which is generally believed to have cost it the 1960 election. Nordmeyer was forever tainted by the 'black budget', which gave him a reputation as a puritanical 'wowser' who was opposed to simple working class pleasures such as beer and cigarettes (at this point the dangers of smoking were not widely known). Despite this, he became the leader of the Labour Party in 1963, but was replaced by Norman Kirk less than three years later. The 1960 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliaments 33rd term. ... A Puritan of 16th and 17th century England was any person seeking purity of worship and doctrine, especially the parties that rejected the Laudian reform of the Church of England. ... Norman Eric Kirk served as Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1972 until his sudden death in 1974 and led the New Zealand Labour Party from 1965 to 1972. ...

External links

• Arnold Nordmeyer in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography: http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=5N12