New Zealand general election 1984

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.

Preceded by: 1981 election

New Zealand elections

Followed by: 1987 election

Background

Before the election, the National Party governed with forty-seven seats, a small majority. The opposition Labour Party held forty-three 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.

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 had sought and won a mandate to oppose striking dock-workers with the 1954 snap election).

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.

The election

The election was held on the 14th of July. 2,111,651 people were registered to vote in the elections. Turnout was 93.7%, the highest turnout for some time. 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 fifty-six of the ninty-five seats in parliament, a gain of thirteen. This was enough for it to hold an outright majority. The National Party won only thirty-seven 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.

Detailed results

The table below displays data on the performance of all registered parties which submitted a party list. Parties are listed in order of the number of party votes they received.

Displayed on the table are:

• The number of candidates the party put forward.
• The total number of votes received by all the party's candidates.
• The percentage of the whole that these votes make up.
• The number of seats that the party won.

Party	Candidates	Total votes	Percentage	Seats won
Labour Party	95	829,154	43.0%	56
National Party	95	692,494	35.9%	37
New Zealand Party	95	236,385	12.2%	-
Social Credit Party	95	147,162	7.6%	2
Values Party	29	3,826	0.2%	-
Others	57	20,180	1.1%	-

There were ninety-five seats being contested in the 1984 elections, 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 fifty-six 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 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 placed second in two Maori electorates, and third in the other two.

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 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 did, however, place second in the electorates of Remuera (an affluent part of Auckland), Kaimai (a region in the Bay of Plenty), and Tauranga.

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.

In two of the Maori electorates, the Mana Maori Movement gained second place, but the party did not gain a substantial number of votes elsewhere.

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

MPs Elected in 1987
Key:	Labour Party	National Party	New Zealand Party
	Social Credit Party	Mana Maori Movement	Independent
Electorate	Incumbent	Winner	Second Place
Ashburton	Rob Talbert		G Stone
Auckland Central	Richard Prebble		M Eardley-Wilmot
Avon	Mary Batchelor		A P Cowie
Awarua	Rex Austin		B G Raitt
Bay of Islands	Neil Austin		L W Hunter
Birkenhead	Jim McLay		J E T Course
Christchurch Central	Geoffrey Palmer		A A P Willy
Christchurch North	New Electorate	Mike Moore	D J L Dumergue
Clutha	Robin Gray		M J Sheppard
Dunedin North	Stan Rodger		B Henderson
Dunedin West	New Electorate	Clive Matthewson	D G P Russell
East Cape	Duncan MacIntyre	Anne Fraser	R J Leeming
East Coast Bays	Gary Knapp		Murray McCully
Eastern Hutt	T J Young		M J McLauchlan
Eden	A G Malcom	Richard Northey	A G Malcom
Fendalton	Philip Burdon		M J Dobson
Franklin	New Electorate	Bill Birch	R Haywood
Gisborne	R L Bell	Allan Wallbank	R L Bell
Glenfield	New Electorate	Judy Keall	D L Schnauer
Hamilton West	Ian Shearer	B Dillon	Ian Shearer
Hamilton West	Mike Minogue	Trevor Mallard	Mike Minogue
Hastings	D J Butcher		P D Brown
Hauraki	Graeme Lee		A D T Thompson
Hawkes Bay	Richard Harrison	Bill Sutton	Richard Harrison
Heretaunga	Bill Jeffries		A J MacFarlane
Horowhenua	Geoff Thompson	Annette King	Geoff Thompson
Invercargill	Norman Jones		D E H Soper
Island Bay	Frank O'Flynn		J Kananghinis
Kaimai	Bruce Townshend		L J B Dickson
Kaipara	P I Wilkinson	Lockwood Smith	W J Campbell
Kapiti	Margaret Shields		I J Oakley
King Country	Jim Bolger		J E Simons
Lyttelton	Ann Hercus		D G Graham
Manawatu	Michael Cox		D C Alton
Mangere	David Lange		P L Saunders
Manurewa	Roger Douglas		S Leenstra
Marlborough	Doug Kidd		G MacDonald
Matamata	John Luxton		R I Clow
Miramar	Peter Nielson		D Crosbie
Mount Albert	Helen Clark		R O Cavanagh
Napier	Geoff Braybrooke		M P Liddell
Avon	Philip Woollaston		Mel Courtney
Avon	Jonathan Hunt		R A Hanson
New Plymouth	Tony Friedlander		Ida Gaskin
North Shore	George Gair		P J Harris
Ohariu	Hugh Templeton	Peter Dunne	Hugh Templeton
Onehunga	Fred Gerbic		C A Freeman
Otago	Warren Cooper		J D Polson
Otara	New Electorate	Colin Moyle	M M M Tahia
Pahiatua	John Falloon		M Brazendale
Pakuranga	Pat Hunt	Neil Morrison	Pat Hunt
Palmerston North	Trevor De Cleene		C G Singleton
Panmure	New Electorate	Bob Tizard	C Tedesco
Papakura	Merv Wellington		D L John
Papatoetoe	Eddie Isbey		P F O'Brien
Avon	F M Colman		K J B Cranston
Porirua	Gerard Wall		A L Gadsby
Raglan	New Electorate	Simon Upton	L Holmes
Rangiora	Derek Quigley	Jim Gerard	B C Tomlinson
Rangitikei	Bruce Beetham	Dennis Marshall	Bruce Beetham
Remuera	Doug Graham		K L Sandford
Rodney	New Electorate	Don McKinnon	B R Dent
Roskill	Phil Goff		C N Knowles
Rotorua	Paul East		B D Arps
St Albans	David Caygill		I G B Wilson
St Kilda	Michael Cullen		J S Clark
Selwyn	Ruth Richardson		C E Manning
Sydenham	John Kirk	Jim Anderton	E L Bonisch
Tamaki	Robert Muldoon		R Tulloch
Taranaki	D S Thomson	Roger Maxwell	G N Waters
Tarawera	Ian McLean		M R Moore
Tasman	Bill Rowling	Ken Shirley	G H Hunt
Tauranga	K R Allen	Winston Peters	D J Parlour
Te Atatu	Michael Bassett		F W G Diment
Timaru	Basil Arthur		Maurice McTigue
Tongariro	New Electorate	Noel Scott	N F Rangi
Waikaremoana	New Electorate	Roger McClay	J N Hare
Waikato	Simon Upton	Rob Storey	P J Cleave
Waipa	Marilyn Waring	Katherine O'Regan	A H Allen
Wairarapa	Ben Couch	Reg Boorman	Ben Couch
Waitakere	Ralph Maxwell		J C McIntosh
Waitaki	Jonathan Elworthy	Jim Sutton	Jonathan Elworthy
Waitotara	Venn Young		S C Perry
Wallace	Derek Angus		C J Fisher
Wanganui	Russell Marshall		Terry Heffernan
Wellington Central	Fran Wilde		R A Young Rouse
West Auckland	New Electorate	Jack Elder	D M J Jones
West Coast	Thomas Burke		J W Bateman
Western Hutt	John Terris		J W Tanner
Whangarei	John Banks		B C Magner
Yaldhurst	M A Connelly	Margaret Austin	H Joseph
Eastern Maori	Peter Tapsell		B R Kiwara
Northern Maori	Bruce Gregory		Matiu Rata
Southern Maori	Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan		N A Reedy
Western Maori	Koro Wetere		W S Katene