1990 New Zealand general election

1990 New Zealand general election

←  1987 27 October 1990 1993  →
←  outgoing members members  →
All 97 seats in the House of Representatives 49 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Jim Bolger Mike Moore Jim Anderton Party National Labour NewLabour Leader since 26 March 1986 4 September 1990 1 April 1989 Leader's seat King Country Christchurch North Sydenham Last election 40 seats, 44.02% 57 seats, 47.96% New party Seats won 67 29 1 Seat change 27 28 1 Popular vote 872,358 640,915 94,171 Percentage 47.82% 35.14% 5.16% Swing 3.80% 12.82% 5.16%
Results by electorate, shaded by winning margin
Prime Minister before election Mike Moore Labour Subsequent Prime Minister Jim Bolger National

The 1990 New Zealand general election was held on 27 October to determine the composition of the 43rd New Zealand parliament. The governing Labour Party was defeated, ending its two terms in office. The National Party, led by Jim Bolger, won a landslide victory and formed the new government.

This election was the first time since 1975 that National had won the popular vote. ^{[1] [2]}

Background

The Labour Party had taken office after defeating the National Party under Robert Muldoon in the 1984 election. David Lange became prime minister and Roger Douglas became Minister of Finance. The economic program outlined by Douglas was deeply unpopular with Labour's traditional supporters, however – deregulation, privatisation, and free trade, all opposed by the party's more left-wing members, were a key part of the Rogernomics platform. This internal dissent was off-set somewhat by new social legislation and a strong stance against nuclear weapons.

Labour was re-elected in the 1987 election with its parliamentary majority untouched, but the internal disputes continued. Eventually Lange forced Douglas to resign in December 1988, but continued destabilisation of his leadership by Douglas had weakened Lange's position such that he resigned eight months later. He was replaced as prime minister by Geoffrey Palmer, but Palmer failed to revive Labour's falling popularity. Several months before the election, Palmer was replaced by Mike Moore. The National Party was performing strongly – its leader, Jim Bolger, spoke repeatedly of "the Decent Society", saying that the reforms were doing significant damage to the social fabric of the country. The government was also being challenged by the NewLabour Party, founded by renegade MP Jim Anderton.

MPs retiring in 1990

Five National MPs and eleven Labour MPs intended to retire at the end of the 42nd Parliament.

Party		Name	Electorate
	National	George Gair	North Shore
		Merv Wellington	Papakura
		Ian McLean	Tarawera
		Venn Young	Waitotara
		Derek Angus	Wallace
	Labour	Geoffrey Palmer	Christchurch Central
		Stan Rodger	Dunedin North
		Anne Collins	East Cape
		Trevor Young	Eastern Hutt
		Roger Douglas	Manurewa
		Philip Woollaston	Nelson
		Colin Moyle	Otara
		Trevor de Cleene	Palmerston North
		Bob Tizard	Panmure
		Michael Bassett	Te Atatu
		Russell Marshall	Wanganui

The election

The date for the 1990 election was 27 October. 2,202,157 people were registered to vote, and 85.2% of these people turned out. The number of seats being contested was 97 – this was the same as in the previous election, which had the largest number of seats for any Parliament until that point.

Summary of results

The 1990 election eventually saw a victory for the National Party, then in opposition. National won nearly half (48%) of the vote and 67 (69%) of the seats, becoming the fourth National government. This was the highest number of seats the party had ever won, either in absolute terms or as a percentage. Four new (and young) National MPs: (Bill English, Tony Ryall, Roger Sowry and Nick Smith) were called the "brat pack" by Sir Robert Muldoon (himself one of the "Young Turks" of 1960). ^[3]

The new Green Party gained the third-highest number of votes, but won no seats. The NewLabour Party won a single seat, due to Jim Anderton retaining the Sydenham seat he originally won as a Labour candidate.

The governing Labour Party, by contrast, suffered its worst-ever electoral defeat since it first won power in the 1935 election, winning only 29 (30%) of the seats and 35% of the vote (its lowest percentage since 1931), and losing 27 seats. Initially it appeared that twelve ministers and the Speaker had lost their seats, but Fran Wilde scraped in on special votes. Many of Labour's talented "class of 84" were sent away, though five of them, Annette King, Jim Sutton, Trevor Mallard, Richard Northey and Judy Keall, returned in 1993. ^[4]

The result was primarily due to intense anger at Labour and its policies (shown by it losing 12% of the vote) rather than love of National (which only increased its vote by 4%).

Detailed results

Party totals

Election results [5]
Party		Candidates	Total votes	Percentage	Seats won
	National	97	872,358	47.82	67
	Labour	97	640,915	35.14	29
	Greens	71	124,915	6.85	-
	NewLabour	93	94,171	5.16	1
	Democrats	91	30,455	1.67	-
	Social Credit	68	17,897	0.98	-
	Mana Motuhake	4	10,869	0.60	-
	McGillicuddy Serious	59	10,058	0.55	-
	Christian Heritage	18	9,591	0.53	-
Minor parties and Independents		76	12,863	0.71	-
Total		674	1,824,092		97

Votes summary

Popular Vote National   47.82% Labour   35.14% Greens   6.85% NewLabour   5.16% Democrats   2.02% Others   3.37%

Parliament seats National   69.07% Labour   29.90% NewLabour   1.03%

Electorate results

The tables below shows the results of the 1990 general election:

Key

  National   Labour   Democrats   NewLabour   Mana Motuhake

Electorate results for the 1990 New Zealand general election

Electorate	Incumbent		Winner		Majority	Runner up
General electorates
Albany		Don McKinnon			7,455		June Allen
Ashburton		Jenny Shipley			7,922		Basil Moskovis
Auckland Central		Richard Prebble			3,277		Kathryn Hill
Avon		Larry Sutherland			4,250		Wendy Rush
Awarua		Jeff Grant			4,964		Heather Russell
Bay of Islands		John Carter			5,285		Bruce Raitt
Birkenhead		Jenny Kirk		Ian Revell	2,813		Jenny Kirk
Christchurch Central		Geoffrey Palmer		Lianne Dalziel	3,769		Ross Gluer
Christchurch North		Mike Moore			2,148		Peter Yarrell
Clevedon		Warren Kyd			4,732		Ann Batten
Clutha		Robin Gray			6,527		Jeff Buchanan
Coromandel		Graeme Lee			6,342		Margaret Hawkeswood
Dunedin North		Stan Rodger		Pete Hodgson	2,336		Gael Donoghue
Dunedin West		Clive Matthewson			1,779		Ian McMeeking
East Cape		Anne Collins		Tony Ryall	1,968		Dianne Collins
East Coast Bays		Murray McCully			5,216		Gary Knapp
Eastern Hutt		Trevor Young		Paul Swain	801		Rosemary Thomas
Eden		Richard Northey		Christine Fletcher	1,524		Richard Northey
Fendalton		Philip Burdon			4,993		Tony Day
Gisborne		Allan Wallbank		Wayne Kimber	449		Allan Wallbank
Glenfield		Judy Keall		Peter Hilt	2,958		Judy Keall
Hamilton East		Bill Dillon		Tony Steel	2,121		Bill Dillon
Hamilton West		Trevor Mallard		Grant Thomas	1,563		Trevor Mallard
Hastings		David Butcher		Jeff Whittaker	728		David Butcher
Hawkes Bay		Bill Sutton		Michael Laws	2,895		Bill Sutton
Heretaunga		Bill Jeffries		Peter McCardle	1,122		Bill Jeffries
Hobson		Ross Meurant			6,641		Howard Henry
Horowhenua		Annette King		Hamish Hancock	624		Annette King
Invercargill		Rob Munro			4,137		Barry Rait
Island Bay		Elizabeth Tennet			3,635		Ann Nolan
Kaimai		Robert Anderson			8,147		Gordon Dickson
Kaipara		Lockwood Smith			8,610		Wayne Sellwood
Kapiti		Margaret Shields		Roger Sowry	1,599		Margaret Shields
King Country		Jim Bolger			7,274		Cameron Gordon
Lyttelton		Peter Simpson		Gail McIntosh	68		Peter Simpson
Manawatu		David Robinson		Hamish MacIntyre	3,089		David Robinson
Mangere		David Lange			4,039		Bryan Archer
Manurewa		Roger Douglas		George Hawkins	1,143		Pat Baker
Maramarua		Bill Birch			7,670		Charles Chauvel
Marlborough		Doug Kidd			7,187		Barbara Hutchinson
Matamata		John Luxton			8,501		Bill Pepperell
Miramar		Peter Neilson		Graeme Reeves	552		Peter Neilson
Mt Albert		Helen Clark			1,230		Larry Bellshaw
Napier		Geoff Braybrooke			1,265		Colleen Pritchard
Nelson		Philip Woollaston		John Blincoe	636		L Baigent
New Lynn		Jonathan Hunt			1,099		Martyn Athol Bishop
New Plymouth		Harry Duynhoven		John Armstrong	1,701		Harry Duynhoven
North Shore		George Gair		Bruce Cliffe	6,183		Graeme Ransom
Ohariu		Peter Dunne			783		George Mathew
Onehunga		Fred Gerbic		Grahame Thorne	612		Fred Gerbic
Otago		Warren Cooper			3,927		Tony Cooke
Otara		Colin Moyle		Trevor Rogers	1,226		Taito Phillip Field
Pahiatua		John Falloon			7,689		Margo Martindale
Pakuranga		Maurice Williamson			9,086		Paul Charles Grant
Palmerston North		Trevor de Cleene		Steve Maharey	349		Paul Sherriff
Panmure		Bob Tizard		Judith Tizard	1,098		Gray Bartlett
Papakura		Merv Wellington		John Robertson	5,665		James Stubbs
Papatoetoe		Ross Robertson			510		Allan Brewster
Pencarrow		Sonja Davies			384		Ray Wallace
Porirua		Graham Kelly			3,453		P Faulkner
Raglan		Simon Upton			5,442		Olivia Scaletti-Longley
Rangiora		Jim Gerard			5,273		Judith Alison McLachlan
Rangitikei		Denis Marshall			6,127		Patricia Barton
Remuera		Doug Graham			7,368		Carl Harding
Roskill		Phil Goff		Gilbert Myles	644		Phil Goff
Rotorua		Paul East			5,270		Bruce Raitt
St Albans		David Caygill			1,560		David Dumergue
St Kilda		Michael Cullen			1,886		Bruce Alexander
Selwyn		Ruth Richardson			5,441		Val Elley
Sydenham		Jim Anderton			1,443		Linda Constable
Tamaki		Robert Muldoon			7,592		Malcolm Johnston
Taranaki		Roger Maxwell			7,867		Scott Dalziel
Tarawera		Ian McLean		Max Bradford	5,152		Malcolm Moore
Tasman		Ken Shirley		Nick Smith	2,246		Ken Shirley
Tauranga		Winston Peters			9,314		Bill Delaney
Te Atatu		Michael Bassett		Brian Neeson	1,370		Dan McCaffrey
Timaru		Maurice McTigue			3,192		Gary Clarke
Titirangi		Ralph Maxwell		Marie Hasler	64		Ralph Maxwell
Tongariro		Noel Scott		Ian Peters	886		Noel Scott
Waikaremoana		Roger McClay			5,865		David Davies
Waikato		Rob Storey			6,172		George Middleton
Waipa		Katherine O'Regan			8,477		Mark Apiata-Wade
Wairarapa		Wyatt Creech			4,141		Pauline Moran
Waitaki		Jim Sutton		Alec Neill	2,905		Jim Sutton
Waitotara		Venn Young		Peter Gresham	7,192		Dominic O'Sullivan
Wallace		Derek Angus		Bill English	8,886		David Soper
Wanganui		Russell Marshall		Cam Campion	409		Jill Pettis
Wellington Central		Fran Wilde			246		Pauline Gardiner [nb 1]
West Auckland		Jack Elder			252		Laurie Wicks
West Coast		Kerry Burke		Margaret Moir	2,611		Kerry Burke
Western Hutt		John Terris		Joy Quigley	700		John Terris
Whangarei		John Banks			6,839		Edna Tait
Yaldhurst		Margaret Austin			42		John Connelly
Māori electorates
Eastern Maori		Peter Tapsell			6,844		Wi Kuki Kaa
Northern Maori		Bruce Gregory			956		Matiu Rata
Southern Maori		Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan			7,614		Tikirau Stevens
Western Maori		Koro Wētere			5,466		Eva Rickard

Table footnotes:

1. Gardiner was first on election night for Wellington Central, but lost when special votes were included ^[4]

Summary of seat changes

• Electoral redistributions:
  • There was no redistribution of electoral boundaries between the 1987 and 1990 elections.
• Seats captured:
  • By National: Birkenhead, East Cape, Eden, Gisborne, Glenfield, Hamilton East, Hamilton West, Hastings, Hawkes Bay, Heretaunga, Horowhenua, Kapiti, Lyttelton, Manawatu, Miramar, New Plymouth, Onehunga, Otara, Roskill, Tasman, Te Atatu, Titirangi, Tongariro, Waitaki, Wanganui, West Coast and Western Hutt (27 seats) were captured from Labour. Seventeen of these (Gisborne, Hamilton East, Hamilton West, Hastings, Horowhenua, Lyttelton, Manawatu, Miramar, New Plymouth, Onehunga, Otara, Roskill, Te Atatu, Titirangi, Tongariro, Wanganui & the West Coast) were one-term gains, recaptured by Labour in 1993.
• Seats transferred from departing MPs to new MPs:
  • The seats of North Shore, Papakura, Tarawera, Waitotara and Wallace, all held by departing National MPs, were won by new National candidates.
  • The seats of Christchurch Central, Dunedin North, Eastern Hutt, Manurewa, Nelson, Palmerston North and Panmure, all held by departing Labour MPs, were won by new Labour candidates.

Post-election events

A number of local by-elections were required due to the resignation of incumbent local body politicians following their election to Parliament:

• A by-election to the Auckland City Council was caused after Maungakiekie Ward councillor Grahame Thorne resigned his seat after he was elected MP for Onehunga, necessitating a by-election to fill the council vacancy. The by-election was won by Ken Graham with two candidates from the general election, Richard Northey (Labour candidate for Eden) and Laurie Ross (Green candidate for Onehunga), also contesting. ^[6]
• A by-election to the Auckland Regional Council was caused after Panmure Ward councillor Judith Tizard resigned her seat after she was elected MP for Panmure, necessitating a by-election to fill the council vacancy. The by-election was won by Bruce Jesson with a retiring candidate at the general election, Bob Tizard (previously Labour MP for Panmure) also contesting. ^{[7] [8]}
• A by-election to the Wellington City Council was caused after Southern Ward councillor John Blincoe resigned his seat after he was elected MP for Nelson, necessitating a by-election to fill the council vacancy. The by-election was won by Margaret Bonner with two candidates from the general election, Ann Nolan (National candidate for Island Bay) and Jeff Montgomery (NewLabour candidate for Wellington Central), also contesting. ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Notes

1. "The Royal Commission". nzhistory.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
2. "1890–1993 general elections". Elections. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
3. • "The Brat Pack loses a member". Stuff/Fairfax. 25 May 2014.
4. Bassett 2008, p. 538.
5. "New Zealand Elections 1972–1993". New Zealand Election Study. Retrieved 17 December 2011.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
6. Bassett, Michael (2013). City of sails: the history of Auckland City Council, 1989–2010. p. 382. ISBN   1927262003.
7. "Declaration of Result of Election". The New Zealand Herald . 5 December 1991. p. 14; 3.
8. "Voters go for new parties". The New Zealand Herald . 28 November 1991. p. 1.
9. Evans, Gavin (15 December 1990). "Blincoe Stalls Resignation". The Evening Post .
10. Bly, Ross (29 April 1991). Southern Ward By-Election (Report). Wellington City Council.
11. "Declaration of Result of Election". The Evening Post . 1 May 1991.

References

• Bassett, Michael (2008). Working with David: Inside the Lange Cabinet. Auckland: Hodder Moa. ISBN   978-1-86971-094-1.
• McLeay, E. M., ed. (1991). The 1990 General Election, Perspectives on Political Change in New Zealand: Occasional Publications No 3, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. ISBN   0-475-11202-4.
• Stringer, John (1990). 1990 Parliamentary Candidates for the New Zealand National Party. Wellington: New Zealand National Party.
• Vowles, Jack; Aimer, Peter (1993). Voters' Vengeance: The 1990 Election in New Zealand and the fate of the Fourth Labour Government. Auckland: University Press. ISBN   1-86940-078-X.