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87 seats in the Parliament 44 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 1,340,168 (88.94%) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results by electorate, shaded by winning margin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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.
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]
Nine National MPs and one Labour MP intended to retire at the end of the 36th Parliament.
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]
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]
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.
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| 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 | ||
The table below shows the results of the 1972 general election:
Key
National Labour Social Credit Independent
Table footnotes:
The 1984 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the composition of the 41st New Zealand Parliament. It marked the beginning of the Fourth Labour Government, with David Lange's Labour Party defeating the 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 1978 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to elect the 39th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the governing National Party, led by Robert Muldoon, retain office, but the opposition Labour Party won the largest share of the vote. Reorganisation of the enrolment system caused major problems with the electoral rolls, which left a legacy of unreliable information about voting levels in this election.
The 1969 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of Parliament's 36th term. It saw the Second National Government headed by Prime Minister Keith Holyoake of the National Party win a fourth consecutive term. This is the most recent election where an incumbent government won a fourth term in office.
The 1946 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 28th term. It saw the governing Labour Party re-elected, but by a substantially narrower margin than in the three previous elections. The National Party continued its gradual rise.
Wairarapa is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It was first created in 1858 and existed until 1881. It was recreated in 1887 and has since existed continuously. The current Wairarapa electorate MP is Mike Butterick.
Mount Victoria is a former New Zealand electorate, centred on the inner-city suburb of Mount Victoria in the southern suburbs of Wellington. It existed from 1946 to 1954, and was represented by one Member of Parliament, Jack Marshall.
Hamilton is a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate that existed from 1922 to 1969. The electorate covered the urban area of the city of Hamilton. In 1969, the city was part of two rural electorates, Hamilton East and Waikato. For the 1972 election, the nature of Hamilton East changed to urban, and the Hamilton West electorate complements it to form a second urban electorate.
Grey Lynn is a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate, in the city of Auckland. It existed from 1902 to 1978, and was represented by nine Members of Parliament.
Pahiatua is a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate in the Wairarapa region. It existed from 1896 to 1996, and was represented by nine Members of Parliament, including Prime Minister Keith Holyoake for 34 years.
Ruahine is a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate, from 1972 to 1978.
Remuera is a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate, in the city of Auckland. It existed from 1938, when it replaced the Parnell electorate, until 1996. It was consistently held by members of the National Party.
Marsden was a former parliamentary electorate, in the Whangarei District and in the Northland Region of New Zealand, which existed from 1858 to 1972. Upon its abolition, Marsden was replaced with the Whangarei electorate.
The 31st New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1954 general election on 13 November of that year.
The 32nd New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1957 general election on 30 November of that year.
The 33rd New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1960 general election on 26 November of that year.
The 34th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1963 general election on 30 November of that year.
The 35th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1966 general election on 26 November of that year.
The 36th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1969 general election on 29 November of that year.
The 38th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1975 general election on 29 November of that year.
The 37th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1972 general election on 25 November of that year.
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