1975 New Zealand general election

1975 New Zealand general election

←  1972 29 November 1975 (1975-11-29) 1978  →
elected members  →
87 seats in the Parliament 44 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	1,603,733 (82.11%)
First party Second party   Leader Robert Muldoon Bill Rowling Party National Labour Leader since 9 July 1974 6 September 1974 Leader's seat Tamaki Tasman Last election 32 seats, 41.5% 55 seats, 48.4% Seats won 55 32 Seat change 23 23 Popular vote 763,136 634,453 Percentage 47.6% 39.6% Swing 6.1% 8.8%
Results by electorate, shaded by winning margin
Prime Minister before election Bill Rowling Labour Subsequent Prime Minister Robert Muldoon National

The 1975 New Zealand general election was held on 29 November to elect MPs to the 38th session of the New Zealand Parliament. It was the first general election in New Zealand where 18- to 20-year-olds ^[1] and all permanent residents of New Zealand were eligible to vote, although only citizens were able to be elected.

The National Party, led by Rob Muldoon, won 55 of the 87 seats over the Labour Party, led by Bill Rowling, in a landslide. The election saw the defeat of the Third Labour Government after only three years in office and the formation of the Third National Government. As of 2023, this is the most recent election where a government was voted out after one term.

Background

The incumbent Labour Party's decline in popularity during the previous term had as factors the death of its leader, Norman Kirk, economic decline triggered by the United Kingdom's accession to the European Communities—most importantly the European Economic Community (EEC)—and the 1973 oil crisis. ^[2]

Following the sudden death of Labour leader Kirk, the party was led by Bill Rowling, a leader who was characterised as being weak and ineffectual by some political commentators. Labour's central campaign was the so-called "Citizens for Rowling" petition which attacked National leader Robert Muldoon's forthright leadership style. This campaign was largely seen as having backfired on Labour.

The National Party responded with the formation of "Rob's Mob". As former Minister of Finance in the previous National government, Muldoon focused on the economic impact of Labour's policies; National's campaign advertising suggested that Labour's recently introduced compulsory personal superannuation scheme would result in the government owning the New Zealand economy by using the worker's money, akin to a communist state. Muldoon argued that his New Zealand superannuation scheme could be funded from future taxes rather than an additional tax on current wages.

In July 1974, Muldoon as opposition leader had promised to cut immigration and to "get tough" on law and order issues. He criticised the Labour government's immigration policies for contributing to the economic recession and a housing shortage which undermined the New Zealand "way of life".

During the 1975 general elections, the National Party had also played an electoral advertisement that was later criticized for stoking negative racial sentiments about Polynesian migrants. ^[3]

The campaign also achieved notoriety due to an infamous television commercial featuring "Dancing Cossacks", which was produced by Hanna Barbera on behalf of National's ad agency Colenso. ^[4]

A consummate orator and a skilled television performer, Muldoon's powerful presence on screen increased his popularity with voters. ^[5]

MPs retiring in 1975

Four National MPs and Three Labour MPs intended to retire at the end of the 37th Parliament:

Party		Name	Electorate	Term of office	Date announced
	National	Percy Allen	Bay of Plenty	1957–75	before 20 August 1974 [6]
		Logan Sloane	Hobson	1960–66 1969–75	22 April 1974 [7]
		Sir Jack Marshall	Karori	1946–75	20 December 1974 [8]
		Douglas Carter	Raglan	1957–75	5 August 1974 [9]
	Labour	Norman Douglas	Auckland Central	1960–75	16 October 1974 [10]
		Ethel McMillan	Dunedin North	1953–75	17 October 1974 [11]
		Hugh Watt	Onehunga	1953–75	20 June 1975 [12]

Opinion polling

^{[13] [14] [15]}

Poll	Date [nb 1]	National	Labour	Socred	Values	Lead
1975 election result	29 Nov 1975	47.59	39.56	7.43	5.19	8.03
NRB	Nov 1975	46	44	6	4	2
TVNZ Heylen	Nov 1975	44	43	7	5	1
NRB	Sep 1975	52	39	5	4	13
TVNZ Heylen	Sep 1975	51	42	5	3	9
TVNZ Heylen	Jul 1975	50	42	5	3	8
NRB	Jul 1975	51	40	5	4	11
TVNZ Heylen	May 1975	49	42	5	4	7
NRB	Mar 1975	46	42	6	6	4
TVNZ Heylen	Feb 1975	48	46	5	2	2
NRB	Nov 1974	44	44	7	4	Tie
TVNZ Heylen	Sep 1974	45	47	5	3	2
NRB	Sep 1974	40	50	5	4	10
N/A	31 August 1974	Death of Prime Minister Norman Kirk, Bill Rowling Becomes Prime Minister
NRB	May 1974	44	44	5	5	Tie
NRB	Nov 1973	44	47	6	1	3
NRB	May 1973	39	51	5	1	12
1972 election result	25 Nov 1972	41.50	48.37	6.65	1.96	6.87

Results

Celebrating on election night

The final results saw National win 55 seats, and Labour 32 seats. The party seat numbers were an exact opposite of the 1972 election, when Labour won 55 seats to National's 32. This election also represented the biggest swing against a sitting government since 1935, outdoing the previous record set in 1972.

Robert Muldoon replaced Bill Rowling as Prime Minister, ending the term of the Third Labour government, and beginning the term of the Third National government. No minor parties won seats, though the election saw the best ever result for New Zealand's first green political party, Values. There were 1,953,050 electors on the roll, with 1,603,733 (82.11%) voting.

While Muldoon would be re-elected twice, this would be the only time between 1969 and 1990 that National polled more votes than Labour.

Notable electorate results included the election of two Māori MPs to general seats; the first time that any Māori had been elected to a non-Māori electorate since James Carroll in 1893. The MPs in question were Ben Couch in Wairarapa and Rex Austin in Awarua.

In Palmerston North and Western Hutt, Labour was first on election night but lost when special votes were counted.

Party		Candidates	Total votes	Percentage	Seats won	Change
	National	87	763,136	47.59	55	+23
	Labour	87	634,453	39.56	32	-23
	Social Credit	87	119,147	7.43	0	±0
	Values	87	83,241	5.19	0	±0
	Socialist Unity	15	408	0.03	0	±0
	National Socialist	1	19	0.00	-	±0
	Independent	67	3,756	0.23	0	±0
	Total	415	1,603,733		87

Votes summary

Popular Vote National   47.59% Labour   39.56% Social Credit   7.43% Values   5.19% Independents   0.23%

Parliament seats National   63.22% Labour   36.78%

The table below shows the results of the 1975 general election:

Key

  National   Labour   Social Credit

Electorate results for the 1975 New Zealand general election ^[16]

Electorate	Incumbent		Winner		Majority	Runner up
General electorates
Auckland Central		Norman Douglas		Richard Prebble	289		Murray McCully
Avon		Mary Batchelor			5,503		Tom George
Awarua		Aubrey Begg		Rex Austin	2,150		Aubrey Begg
Bay of Plenty		Percy Allen		Duncan MacIntyre	3,960		Robert Frederick McKee
Birkenhead		Norman King		Jim McLay	2,816		Norman King
Christchurch Central		Bruce Barclay			2,973		Tim Armitage
Clutha		Peter Gordon			4,735		F A O'Connell
Coromandel		Leo Schultz			4,724		Raymond C. Bradley
Dunedin Central		Brian MacDonell			1,428		Ian Bright
Dunedin North		Ethel McMillan		Richard Walls	958		Brian Arnold
East Coast Bays		Frank Gill			5,594		Rex Stanton
Eden		Mike Moore		Aussie Malcolm	1,331		Mike Moore
Egmont		Venn Young			4,120		Dennis Duggan
Franklin		Bill Birch			7,605		Ron Ng-Waishing
Gisborne		Trevor Davey		Bob Bell	1,321		Trevor Davey
Grey Lynn		Eddie Isbey			2,839		Jens Meder
Hamilton East		Rufus Rogers		Ian Shearer	2,246		Rufus Rogers
Hamilton West		Dorothy Jelicich		Mike Minogue	2,069		Dorothy Jelicich
Hastings		Richard Mayson		Bob Fenton	491		Richard Mayson
Hawkes Bay		Richard Harrison			3,805		David Butcher
Henderson		Martyn Finlay			401		Warren Adams
Heretaunga		Ron Bailey			336		Julie Cameron [17]
Hobson		Logan Sloane		Neill Austin	4,101		Howard Manning [nb 2]
Hutt		Trevor Young			1,019		Brett Newell
Invercargill		J. B. Munro		Norman Jones	2,533		J. B. Munro
Island Bay		Gerald O'Brien			1,274		Bill Nathan
Kapiti		Frank O'Flynn		Barry Brill	2,222		Frank O'Flynn
Karori		Jack Marshall		Hugh Templeton	4,830		Margaret Shields
King Country		Jim Bolger			4,316		Thomas Varnam
Lyttelton		Tom McGuigan		Colleen Dewe	999		Tom McGuigan
Manawatu		Allan McCready			2,918		Alan Charles Eyles
Mangere		Colin Moyle			1,604		Stanley Lawson
Manukau		Roger Douglas			678		Brian Leaming
Manurewa		Phil Amos		Merv Wellington	1,358		Phil Amos
Marlborough		Ian Brooks		Ed Latter	3,010		Ian Brooks
Miramar		Bill Young			1,749		John Wybrow
Mt Albert		Warren Freer			247		Frank Ryan
Napier		Gordon Christie			931		John Isles
Nelson		Stan Whitehead			1,093		Ian McWhannel
New Lynn		Jonathan Hunt			890		Barry O'Connor
New Plymouth		Ron Barclay		Tony Friedlander	1,935		Ron Barclay
North Shore		George Gair			5,247		Wyn Hoadley
Oamaru		Bill Laney		Jonathan Elworthy	2,196		Bill Laney
Onehunga		Hugh Watt		Frank Rogers	1,044		Kevin O'Brien
Otago Central		Ian Quigley		Warren Cooper	2,371		Ian Quigley
Otahuhu		Bob Tizard			3,785		Lois Morris
Pahiatua		Keith Holyoake			6,769		Paul Thornicroft
Pakuranga		Gavin Downie			7,016		Geoff Braybrooke
Palmerston North		Joe Walding		John Lithgow	142		Joe Walding
Papanui		Bert Walker			2,985		Rod Garden
Petone		Fraser Colman			2,834		Brel Gluyas
Piako		Jack Luxton			6,174		Helen Clark
Porirua		Gerry Wall			2,265		Ross Doughty
Raglan		Douglas Carter		Marilyn Waring	3,756		Bill Pickering
Rakaia		Colin McLachlan			5,237		Graeme Lowrie
Rangiora		Kerry Burke		Derek Quigley	1,386		Kerry Burke
Rangitikei		Roy Jack			1,756		Bruce Beetham
Remuera		Allan Highet			8,656		G B Mead
Riccarton		Eric Holland			4,766		Don Johnson
Rodney		Peter Wilkinson			7,817		John Prebble
Roskill		Arthur Faulkner			530		John Maurice Priestley [18]
Rotorua		Harry Lapwood			3,605		Peter Tapsell
Ruahine		Les Gandar			2,763		Rex Willing
St Albans		Roger Drayton			1,570		Prudence Rotherberg
St Kilda		Bill Fraser			1,890		Gordon Heslop
South Canterbury		Rob Talbot			4,301		Neville Lambert
Stratford		David Thomson			5,667		P P Hopkins
Sydenham		John Kirk			3,817		Paul Matheson
Tamaki		Robert Muldoon			6,735		Tim Kaye
Tasman		Bill Rowling			529		Peter Malone
Taupo		Jack Ridley		Ray La Varis	1,614		Jack Ridley
Tauranga		Keith Allen			4,843		Richard Hendry
Timaru		Sir Basil Arthur			1,011		Dave Walker
Waikato		Lance Adams-Schneider			7,073		Brian West
Wairarapa		Jack Williams		Ben Couch	1,468		Jack Williams
Waitemata		Michael Bassett		Dail Jones	1,385		Michael Bassett
Wallace		Brian Talboys			6,978		Ian Lamont
Wanganui		Russell Marshall			1,244		John Rowan
Wellington Central		Ken Comber			1,076		David Shand
West Coast		Paddy Blanchfield			2,401		Barry Dallas
Western Hutt		Henry May		Bill Lambert	109		Henry May [nb 3]
Whangarei		Murray Smith		John Elliott	2,710		Murray Smith
Wigram		Mick Connelly			1,967		Neil Russell
Māori electorates
Eastern Maori		Paraone Reweti			6,261		Monty Searancke
Northern Maori		Matiu Rata			4,151		Winston Peters
Southern Maori		Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan			6,452		Willard Amaru
Western Maori		Koro Wētere			8,925		Emerson Studholme Rangi

Table footnotes:

1. These are the survey dates of the poll, or if the survey dates are not stated, the date the poll was released.
2. David Lange came third for Labour in Hobson
3. Henry May was first on election night, but lost when special votes were included

Post-election events

A number of local by-elections were required due to the resignations of incumbent local body politicians following the general election:

• A by-election occurred for the Invercargill City Council after councillor Norman Jones resigned after being elected to parliament, prompting a by-election. Jones was replaced on the council by J. B. Munro, whom he defeated at the parliamentary election. ^[19]
• There was a by-election for Mayor of Hamilton. Mayor Mike Minogue resigned after he was elected as MP for Hamilton West. The by-election was win by leader of the Social Credit Party, Bruce Beetham, who had contested Rangitikei in 1975. ^[20]

Notes

1. Levine & Lodge 1976, p. ?.
2. Coughlan, Thomas (21 October 2023). "Thomas Coughlan: Labour's soul searching begins as drums beat for David Parker challenge". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 23 October 2023.
3. National Party advertisement (documentary). TVNZ Television New Zealand, Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. 1975.
4. "Dancing Cossacks political TV ad". Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 23 August 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
5. Atkinson 2003, pp. 188f.
6. "Mr MacIntyre nominated". The Press . Vol. CXIV, no. 33618. 21 August 1974. p. 2.
7. "Retirement of M.P." The Press . Vol. CXIV, no. 33516. 23 April 1974. p. 3.
8. "Sir John Marshall to end political career next year". The Press . Vol. CXIV, no. 33723. 21 December 1974. p. 2.
9. "Raglan M.P. to retire". The Press . Vol. CXIV, no. 33606. 7 August 1974. p. 14.
10. "Last Term for Mr Douglas". The New Zealand Herald . 18 October 1974. p. 1.
11. "Labour candidates". The Press . Vol. CXIV, no. 33668. 18 October 1974. p. 1.
12. "Mr Watt not to stand". The Press . Vol. CXV, no. 33875. 21 June 1975. p. 3.
13. "Historical Pollling Data 1974–2021". Patrick Leyland. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
14. Calderwood, David (2010). Not a Fair Go: A History and Analysis of Social Credit's Struggle for Success in New Zealand's Electoral System (PDF) (MA). University of Waikato. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
15. "Poll shows National lead". The Press . Vol. CXV, no. 33979. 21 October 1975. p. 20.
16. Norton 1988, pp. ?.
17. Gustafson 1986, p. 358.
18. Gustafson 1986, p. 382.
19. "Mr Munro gets seat in council". The Press . 17 April 1976. p. 16.
20. "Beetham stretches majority". The Times . 5 May 1976. p. 1.

References

• Atkinson, Neill (2003). Adventures in Democracy: A History of the Vote in New Zealand. Dunedin: University of Otago Press.
• 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.
• Levine, Stephen; Lodge, Juliet (1976). The New Zealand General Election of 1975. Wellington: Price Milburn for New Zealand University Press. ISBN   0-7055-0624-X.
• 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.

External links

• Mr Nathan the National candidate for Island Bay below a defaced poster (photo)