The 1984 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament. It marked the beginning of the Fourth Labour Government, with David Lange's Labour Party defeating long-serving Prime Minister Robert Muldoon of the National Party. It was also the last election in which the Social Credit Party won seats as an independent entity. The election was also the only one in which the New Zealand Party, a protest party, played any substantial role. The New Zealand Parliament is the legislative body of the New Zealand government. ... The Right Honourable David Russell Lange (pron. ... Current Labour Party logo The New Zealand Labour Party formed as a political party in 1916, bringing together socialist groups advocating proportional representation and the Recall of Members of Parliament, as well as the nationalisation of production and of exchange. ... The Prime Minister of New Zealand is most senior officer in the Government of New Zealand. ... Sir Robert David (Rob) Muldoon KCMG CH (25 September 1921–5 August 1992) served as Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1975 to 1984. ... Current National Party logo The New Zealand National Party is the second largest political party in the New Zealand Parliament, and forms the core of the Opposition. ... One of the several logos used during the history of the Social Credit Party The New Zealand Social Credit Party (sometimes called Socred) was a political party which served as the countrys third party from the 1950s through into the 1980s. ... Party logo The New Zealand Party was, as its name suggests, a political party operating in New Zealand. ...

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Background

Before the election, the National Party governed with 47 seats, a small majority. The opposition Labour Party held 43 seats, and the Social Credit Party held two. Although National theoretically commanded a two-seat lead over the other parties, dissent within the National caucus (particularly by Marilyn Waring and Mike Minogue) resulted in serious problems for National leader Robert Muldoon. A caucus is most generally defined as being a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement. ... Marilyn Waring (born 1952) is a renowned New Zealand feminist and activist for female human rights author and academic. ...

The 1984 election was called when Marilyn Waring told Muldoon that she would not support his government in the vote over an opposition-sponsored anti-nuclear bill. Muldoon, visibly drunk, announced a snap election on national television. There is debate over whether the election was necessary - Waring had not threatened to block confidence and supply, meaning that the government could still have continued on even if it had lost the anti-nuclear vote. Nevertheless, Muldoon appears to have wanted an election to reinforce his mandate (just as Sidney Holland sought and won a mandate to oppose striking dock-workers with the 1951 snap election). In the Westminster parliamentary system a snap election is an early election called when the Prime Minister (or Premier) dissolves the legislature mid-way in a governments mandate. ... Sidney George Holland (1893-1961) was Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1949 to 1957. ... The 1951 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliaments 30th term. ...

Muldoon's government, which had been growing increasingly unpopular in its third term, was seen as rigid, inflexible, and increasingly unresponsive to public concerns. The Labour Party had actually gained a majority of the vote in the previous two elections, but had narrowly missed out on getting a majority of the seats. Labour's primary campaign message was one of change - Muldoon's government, which employed wage and price controls in an attempt to "guide" the economy, was widely blamed for poor economic performance. Labour also campaigned to reduce government borrowing.

The New Zealand Party, founded by property tycoon Bob Jones, was launched primarily to oppose the Muldoon government (although it did not support Labour). A right-wing liberal party, it promoted free market economic policies that contrasted sharply with the paternalist and somewhat authoritarian policies of National, the other significant right-wing party. Sir Robert Jones is a property tycoon and former politician in New Zealand. ... A free market is an idealized market, where all economic decisions and actions by individuals regarding transfer of money, goods, and services are voluntary, and are therefore devoid of coercion and theft (some definitions of coercion are inclusive of theft). Colloquially and loosely, a free market economy is an economy... Traditional cultural paternalism: Father Junipero Serra in a modern portrayal at Mission San Juan Capistrano, California Paternalism often refers to the hierarchic pattern of the family applied as a paradigm to state policy; it also can refer to paternalistic attitudes and actions by individuals and non-state institutions. ... The term authoritarian is used to describe an organization or a state which enforces strong and sometimes oppressive measures against the population, generally without attempts at gaining the consent of the population. ...

The election

The election was held on 14 July. 2,111,651 people were registered to vote. Turnout was 93.7%, the highest turnout ever recorded in a New Zealand election. Most political scientists attribute the high turnout to a desire by voters for change.

Summary of results

The 1984 election saw the Labour Party win 56 of the 95 seats in parliament, a gain of 13. This was enough for it to hold an outright majority. The National Party won only 37 seats, a loss of ten. The New Zealand Party, despite winning 12.2% of the vote, failed to gain any seats at all. Social Credit managed to win two seats, the same number as it had held previously. The Values Party, an environmentalist group, gained fifth place, but no seats. A logo used by the Values Party The Values Party, sometimes considered the worlds first national-level environmentalist party, was established in 1972 at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. ... Environmentalism is the support or involvement with the environmental movement by environmentalists. ...

Detailed results

There were 95 seats being contested in the 1984 election, three more than were in the previous parliament. All but two of these seats were won by one of the two major parties.

The Labour Party, previously in opposition, won 56 seats, an outright majority. Most of the seats won by Labour were in urban areas, following the party's typical pattern. Exceptions to this general trend include the eastern tip of the North Island and the western coast of the South Island. Labour's strongest regions were the Wellington area (where the party won every seat), as well as Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin (cities in which it won most seats). Smaller cities such as Hamilton, Nelson, Napier, Hastings and Palmerston North were also won by Labour. As expected, Labour also won all four Maori seats, maintaining its traditional strength there. The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, the other being the South Island. ... South Island The South Island forms one of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the North Island. ... Alternative meanings at Wellington (disambiguation) A view of Wellington from the top of Mount Victoria. ... Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest urban area in New Zealand. ... For other uses, see Christchurch (disambiguation). ... Alternative meanings at Dunedin (disambiguation) Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, located in coastal Otago. ... Waikato River passing through Hamilton Hamilton is New Zealands 4th largest metropolitan area. ... The city of Nelson stands on the eastern side of Tasman Bay at the northern end of the South Island of New Zealand. ... Napier is an important port city in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. ... Hastings is a large urban area in Hawkes Bay, close to the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. ... Palmerston North is a city in the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. ... Te Puni, Māori Chief Māori is the name of the indigenous people of New Zealand, and their language. ...

The National Party, the incumbent government, was (as expected) strongest in rural areas. Most of the rural North Island was won by National, as were a most of the rural areas on the South Island's eastern coast. In the larger cities, the party fared poorly, with Auckland and Christchurch being the only places that the party won seats. It was more successful in smaller cities, however, winning Rotorua, Tauranga, Invercargill, New Plymouth and Whangarei. It was placed second in two Maori electorates, and third in the other two. Rotorua is a city located on the southern shore of the south Island Lake Rotorua in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. ... Tauranga (population 90,906 — 2001 census) is the major city of the western Bay of Plenty on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. ... Invercargill is the southernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the most southern settlements in the world. ... New Plymouth is the port and main city in the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. ... Whangarei is the largest urban area in the Northland region of the North Island of New Zealand. ...

The only minor party to win electorates was the Social Credit Party, which won East Coast Bays and Pakuranga (both in Auckland). It had held East Coast Bays before the election, but won Pakuranga for the first time. It did not manage to retain Rangitikei, which it had also held before the election. Social Credit candidates was placed second in six electorates, including Rangitikei.

The New Zealand Party, despite gaining more votes than Social Credit, did not win any seats. Some commentators have suggested that the party was not seeking to do so, and instead was merely acting as a spoiler for National. This impression has been backed up by comments by Bob Jones himself. The party was, however, placed second in the electorates of Remuera (an affluent part of Auckland), Kaimai (a region in the Bay of Plenty), and Tauranga. The spoiler effect is a term to describe the effect a candidate can have on a close election, in which their candidacy results in the election being won by a candidate dissimilar to them, rather than a candidate similar to them. ... The Bay of Plenty, often abbreviated to BoP is a region of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name. ... Tauranga (population 90,906 — 2001 census) is the major city of the western Bay of Plenty on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. ...

The Values Party, an environmentalist group, managed to win 0.2% of the vote, substantially below previous efforts. The party, which was in slow decline, would eventually vanish, but its ideals and goals would be reborn in the Green Party. Current Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand logo The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is a political party in the New Zealand parliament. ...

In two of the Maori electorates, the Mana Motuhake party gained second place, but the party did not gain a substantial number of votes elsewhere. Mana Maori Motuhake is a Maori political party in New Zealand. ...

No independent candidates won seats, but one independent candidate was placed second in the electorate of Nelson.