1972 New Zealand general election

1972 New Zealand general election

←  1969 25 November 1972 (1972-11-25) 1975  →
elected members  →
87 seats in the Parliament 44 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	1,340,168 (88.94%)
First party Second party   Leader Norman Kirk Jack Marshall Party Labour National Leader since 9 December 1965 7 February 1972 Leader's seat Sydenham Karori Last election 39 seats, 44.2% 45 seats, 45.2% Seats won 55 32 Seat change 16 13 Popular vote 677,669 581,422 Percentage 48.4% 41.5% Swing 4.2% 3.7%
Results of the election.
Prime Minister before election Jack Marshall National Subsequent Prime Minister Norman Kirk Labour

The 1972 New Zealand general election was held on 25 November to elect MPs to the 37th session of the New Zealand Parliament. The Labour Party, led by Norman Kirk, defeated the governing National Party.

Background

The National Party had been in office since the 1960 election, when it had defeated the ruling Labour Party, led by Walter Nash. The Second Labour Government was the shortest-lasting of all New Zealand governments to that day; in contrast, the Second National Government, led for the majority of its tenure by Keith Holyoake, would be re-elected three times. National's policies were focused around stability and a "steady as she goes" approach, but Holyoake's Government was increasingly perceived as tired and worn-out. In February 1972, Holyoake stood aside and was replaced by his deputy, Jack Marshall, who took steps to reinvigorate the party.

Meanwhile, Norman Kirk had been at the helm of Labour since 1965. In this time, he had been modernising and updating the Labour Party, but narrowly lost the 1969 election. Kirk slimmed and dressed to improve his image, and visited several overseas Labour parties to broaden his knowledge. He activated a "spokesman" or shadow cabinet system to spread the responsibility, but it was difficult to avoid one composed largely of Auckland and Christchurch members. Despite the improvements, commentators speculated whether National would pull off another cliffhanger victory. Economic recession and voter fatigue had hurt National at the polls. Labour's slogan was "It's Time – Time for a change, time for Labour", which expertly captured the national mood.

A deciding election issue was the proposed raising of the levels of lakes Manapouri and Te Anau as part of the construction of the Manapouri Power Station to supply the aluminium smelter in Bluff with electricity. National wanted to proceed with the work but Labour pledged to keep the lake levels as they are. It became a deciding issue, with four National incumbents from Otago and Southland losing their electorates (Awarua, Invercargill, Otago Central, and Oamaru). ^{[1] [2]}

MPs retiring in 1972

Nine National MPs and one Labour MP intended to retire at the end of the 36th Parliament.

Party		Name	Electorate
	National	John Rae	Eden
		Alfred E. Allen	Franklin
		Leslie Munro	Hamilton West
		Don McKay	Marsden
		Norman Shelton	Rangitīkei
		Rona Stevenson	Taupo
		George Walsh	Tauranga
		David Seath	Waitomo
		Dan Riddiford	Wellington Central
	Labour	John Mathison	Avon

1972 electoral redistribution

Since the 1969 election, the number of electorates in the South Island was fixed at 25, with continued faster population growth in the North Island leading to an increase in the number of general electorates. Including the four Māori electorates, there had been 80 electorates since the 1902 election. ^[3] This increased to 84 electorates through the 1969 election. ^[4] The 1972 electoral redistribution saw three additional general seats created for the North Island, bringing the total number of electorates to 87. ^[5]

Together with increased urbanisation in Christchurch and Nelson, the changes proved very disruptive to existing electorates. Only two South Island electorates were not altered by the redistribution (Clutha and Lyttelton). ^[6] Only eight of the North Island electorates were not altered (Franklin, Gisborne, Hobson, Island Bay, Miramar, North Shore, Tamaki, and Wairarapa). ^[5]

In the South Island, three electorates were abolished (Buller, Westland, and Selwyn), and three electorates were newly created (Rakaia, Tasman, and West Coast). ^[7] In the North Island, five electorates were abolished (Hauraki, Marsden, Otaki, Waimarino, and Waitomo), two electorates were recreated (Coromandel and Otahuhu), and six electorates were newly created (East Coast Bays, Hamilton East, Kapiti, King Country, Ruahine, and Whangarei). ^[8]

Election day

Kirk campaigning in Levin

The date for the 1972 elections was 25 November, a Saturday. 1,583,256 people were registered to vote. There was a turnout of 89.1%, slightly higher than the previous election and considerably higher than the following one. The number of electorates being contested was 87. ^[5]

Results

The 1972 election saw the Labour Party defeat the governing National Party, winning 55 seats to National's 32. Labour was therefore able to form its first government since 1960, with Norman Kirk becoming Prime Minister. The second National government thus gave way to the third Labour government. No minor parties managed to gain seats, and no independents were elected. There were 1,583,256 electors on the roll, with 1,401,152 (88.50%) voting.

Map of electorates.

Party		Candidates	Total votes	Percentage	Seats won	Change
	Labour	87	677,669	48.37	55	+16
	National	87	581,422	41.50	32	-13
	Social Credit	87	93,231	6.65	-	±0
	Values	42	27,467	1.96	-	±0
	New Democratic	86	8,783	0.63	-	±0
	Liberal Reform	24	4,077	0.29	-	±0
	Socialist Unity	5	444	0.03	-	±0
	National Socialist	1	35	0.00	-	±0
	Independent	43	8,503	0.61	-	±0
	Total	456	1,401,152		87	+3

Votes summary

Popular Vote Labour   48.37% National   41.50% Social Credit   6.65% Values   1.96% New Democratic   0.63% Liberal Reform   0.29% Independents   0.61%

Parliament seats Labour   63.22% National   36.78%

The table below shows the results of the 1972 general election:

Key

  National   Labour   Social Credit   Independent

Electorate results for the 1972 New Zealand general election

Electorate	Incumbent		Winner		Majority	Runner up
General electorates
Auckland Central		Norman Douglas			2,009		Clive Edwards
Avon		John Mathison		Mary Batchelor	6,055		Gordon Thomas
Awarua		Hugh Templeton		Aubrey Begg	723		Hugh Templeton
Bay of Plenty		Percy Allen			2,189		G B Mead
Birkenhead		Norman King			1,533		Don McKinnon
Christchurch Central		Bruce Barclay			5,103		Barbara Beaven
Clutha		Peter Gordon			2,131		Les McKay [9]
Coromandel	New electorate			Leo Schultz	2,181		Alyson Murphy
Dunedin Central		Brian MacDonell			3,771		Fred O'Neill [10]
Dunedin North		Ethel McMillan			4,020		John Wallis [11]
East Coast Bays	New electorate			Frank Gill	979		Brian Pauling
Eden		John Rae		Mike Moore	788		Mary Kidd [12]
Egmont		Venn Young			2,928		Robert Logan Peck
Franklin		Alfred E. Allen		Bill Birch	4,188		Geoff Braybrooke
Gisborne		Esme Tombleson		Trevor Davey	488		Esme Tombleson [13]
Grey Lynn		Eddie Isbey			5,487		Jens Meder
Hamilton East	New electorate			Rufus Rogers	397		Ross Jansen
Hamilton West		Leslie Munro		Dorothy Jelicich	544		Derek Heather
Hastings		Duncan MacIntyre		Richard Mayson	1,148		Duncan MacIntyre
Hawkes Bay		Richard Harrison			600		David Butcher [14]
Henderson		Martyn Finlay			4,221		Ross C. MacFarlane [15]
Heretaunga		Ron Bailey			2,964		John Schnellenberg [16]
Hobson		Logan Sloane			1,148		Howard Manning
Hutt		Trevor Young			3,397		Michael Fowler
Invercargill		John Chewings		J. B. Munro	765		John Chewings
Island Bay		Gerald O'Brien			3,495		Bruce Farland
Kapiti	New electorate			Frank O'Flynn	706		Barry Brill
Karori		Jack Marshall			4,408		Adam Floyd
King Country	New electorate			Jim Bolger	1,240		Brent Clifton Sakey
Lyttelton		Tom McGuigan			3,235		John Blumsky
Manawatu		Les Gandar		Allan McCready	427		Mervyn Hancock
Mangere		Colin Moyle			3,939		Stanley Lawson
Manukau		Roger Douglas			2,844		R O Price
Manurewa		Phil Amos			2,397		Pat Baker [17]
Marlborough		Ian Brooks			1,290		Bruno Dalliessi
Miramar		Bill Young			434		Brian Edwards
Mt Albert		Warren Freer			3,980		John Malcolm
Napier		Gordon Christie			3,725		Merle Bell
Nelson		Stan Whitehead			1,933		Ian McWhannell
New Lynn		Jonathan Hunt			4,312		Gordon McDermott
New Plymouth		Ron Barclay			1,296		Terry Boon
North Shore		George Gair			2,821		Colin Chiles
Oamaru		Allan Dick		Bill Laney	390		Allan Dick
Onehunga		Hugh Watt			4,835		Peter Blakeborough
Otago Central		Murray Rose		Ian Quigley	1,483		Murray Rose
Otahuhu	New electorate			Bob Tizard	6,403		D C Brooker
Pahiatua		Keith Holyoake			4,359		L J Cairns
Pakuranga		Bob Tizard		Gavin Downie	1,802		J B Irwin
Palmerston North		Joe Walding			1,766		Paul William Mitchell
Papanui		Bert Walker			1,734		Mollie Clark
Petone		Fraser Colman			5,340		Nick Ursin
Piako		Jack Luxton			4,472		I L Howell
Porirua		Gerry Wall			4,399		Ross Doughty
Raglan		Douglas Carter			1,350		Allan John Smith
Rakaia	New electorate			Colin McLachlan	2,133		Alex Clark
Rangiora		Lorrie Pickering		Kerry Burke	866		Adrian Hiatt
Rangitikei		Norman Shelton		Roy Jack	3,037		N R Pearce [nb 1]
Remuera		Allan Highet			6,118		Rex Stanton
Riccarton		Eric Holland			2,164		David Jackson
Rodney		Peter Wilkinson			4,507		Peter Trim
Roskill		Arthur Faulkner			4,439		John Priestley [18]
Rotorua		Harry Lapwood			786		N F Pachoud
Ruahine	New electorate			Les Gandar	552		Sam Mihaere
St Albans		Roger Drayton			3,066		Ron Doak
St Kilda		Bill Fraser			5,615		Charles Kirby
South Canterbury		Rob Talbot			2,035		David Braithwaite
Stratford		David Thomson			3,068		D G Turney
Sydenham		Norman Kirk			6,986		John Burn
Tamaki		Robert Muldoon			4,590		Alan Hedger
Tasman	New electorate			Bill Rowling	1,834		Gerald Hunt
Taupo		Rona Stevenson		Jack Ridley	783		James Frederick Higgins
Tauranga		George Walsh		Keith Allen	2,215		Henry Uttinger [19]
Timaru		Sir Basil Arthur			3,954		Dave Walker
Waikato		Lance Adams-Schneider			4,208		Bob Reese
Wairarapa		Jack Williams			1,086		Ben Couch
Waitemata		Frank Gill		Michael Bassett	2,544		Ray La Varis
Wallace		Brian Talboys			2,904		Ian Lamont
Wanganui		Bill Tolhurst		Russell Marshall	2,879		Bill Tolhurst
Wellington Central		Dan Riddiford		Ken Comber	27		David Shand [nb 2]
West Coast	New electorate			Paddy Blanchfield	4,242		Barry Dallas
Western Hutt		Henry May			2,392		Julian Watts [nb 3] [20]
Whangarei	New electorate			Murray Smith	1,180		Lawrence Carr
Wigram		Mick Connelly			5,255		David Cox
Māori electorates
Eastern Maori		Paraone Reweti			6,190		Koro Dewes
Northern Maori		Matiu Rata			5,260		Graham Latimer
Southern Maori		Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan			8,251		Kate Parahi
Western Maori		Koro Wētere			8,686		R Te A H Rawiri

Table footnotes:

1. Bruce Beetham came third for Social Credit in Rangitikei
2. Shand was first on election night, but lost when special votes were included
3. Julian Watts was a son of Jack Watts

Notes

1. Nathan, Simon (2 March 2009). "8. Environmental activism, 1966–1987 - Conservation – a history". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
2. White, Mike (30 June 2019). "Saving Manapōuri: The campaign that changed a nation". North & South . Archived from the original on 27 May 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
3. McRobie 1989, p. 67.
4. McRobie 1989, p. 111.
5. McRobie 1989, p. 115.
6. McRobie 1989, p. 116.
7. McRobie 1989, pp. 112, 116.
8. McRobie 1989, pp. 111, 115.
9. Norton 1988, p. 210.
10. Norton 1988, p. 213.
11. Norton 1988, p. 215.
12. Gustafson 1986, p. 371.
13. Norton 1988, p. 229.
14. Norton 1988, p. 241.
15. Norton 1988, p. 243.
16. "From war refugee to liberal thinker, businessman and books man". Stuff.co.nz . 4 March 2017. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
17. Gustafson 1986, p. 354.
18. Gustafson 1986, p. 382.
19. Norton 1988, p. 360.
20. Gustafson 1986, p. 388.

References

• Chapman, George (1980). The Years of Lightning. Wellington: AH & AW Reed. ISBN   0-589-01346-7.
• Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN   0-474-00177-6.
• Templeton, Ian; Eunson, Keith (1972). In the Balance: Election '72. Dunedin: John McIndoe.
• Edwards, Brian, ed. (1973). Right Out: Labour Victory '72. Reed. ISBN   0-589-00801-3.
• McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN   0-477-01384-8.
• 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.
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC   154283103.