 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2021) |
| National Development Act | |
|---|---|
 | |
| New Zealand Parliament | |
| Legislative history | |
| Introduced by | Third National Government of New Zealand |
| Passed | 1979 |
| Related legislation | |
| National Development Act Repeal Act 1986 Resource Management Act 1991 | |
| Status: Repealed | |
The National Development Act 1979 was an Act of Parliament in New Zealand. It was a controversial Act and was repealed by the National Development Act Repeal Act 1986.
To help speed up the Think Big initiative, the Third National Government of New Zealand passed the National Development Act in December 1979. The act, according to supporters, allowed the government to plan and act decisively and 'cut through red tape' to enable development. However, there was significance resistance to the act with concerns around the speed, secrecy and lack of public consultation. More particularly there was opposition to the lack of environmental safeguards for the utilisation of natural resources. The opposition to the act was led by the Coalition for Open Government which had been formed by Sir Guy Powles, the former Chief Ombudsman of New Zealand. There were 341 public submissions on the act and only 5 endorsed the act with all others being opposed. The Minister for National Development, Bill Birch, largely ignored the counterarguments but Prime Minister Robert Muldoon did make some minor amendments based on the submissions, notably a clause that allowed the Court of Appeal to consider government decisions made under the act. Critics were still unimpressed and three National MPS (Mike Minogue, Ian Shearer and Marilyn Waring) voted with the opposition against the bill, though it passed anyway. The act, and its part in enabling the controversial Think Big policy, reduced Muldoon and his governments popularity with its 'dogmatic arrogance of executive power'. [1]
Sir Keith Jacka Holyoake, was a New Zealand politician who served as the 26th prime minister of New Zealand, serving for a brief period in 1957 and then from 1960 to 1972, and also as the 13th governor-general of New Zealand, serving from 1977 to 1980. He is the only New Zealand politician to have held both positions.
Sir Robert David Muldoon was a New Zealand politician who served as the 31st prime minister of New Zealand, from 1975 to 1984, while leader of the National Party.
The New Zealand National Party, shortened to National or the Nats, is a centre-right political party in New Zealand. It is one of two major parties that dominate contemporary New Zealand politics, alongside its traditional rival, the Labour Party.
James Brendan Bolger is a New Zealand retired politician of the National Party who was the 35th prime minister of New Zealand, serving from 1990 to 1997.
Sir John Ross Marshall was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He entered Parliament in 1946 and was first promoted to Cabinet in 1951. After spending twelve years as the deputy prime minister of New Zealand, he served as the 28th prime minister from February until December 1972.
Think Big was an interventionist state economic strategy of the Third National Government of New Zealand, promoted by the Prime Minister Robert Muldoon (1975–1984) and his National government in the early 1980s. The Think Big schemes saw the government borrow heavily overseas, running up a large external deficit, and using the funds for large-scale industrial projects. Petrochemical and energy related projects figured prominently, designed to utilise New Zealand's abundant natural gas to produce ammonia, urea fertiliser, methanol and petrol.
Sir William Francis Birch, usually known as Bill Birch, is a New Zealand retired politician. He served as Minister of Finance from 1993 to 1999 in the fourth National Government.
Sir James Kenneth McLay is a New Zealand diplomat and former politician. He served as the ninth deputy prime minister of New Zealand from 15 March to 26 July 1984. McLay was also Leader of the National Party and Leader of the Opposition from 29 November 1984 to 26 March 1986. Following his ousting as party leader, he retired from parliamentary politics in 1987. In June 2009, he became New Zealand's Permanent Representative to the United Nations. In May 2015, McLay became New Zealand's Representative to the Palestinian Authority. From May 2016 to January 2017, he was New Zealand's Consul General in Honolulu.
George Frederick Gair was a New Zealand politician. He was once deputy leader of the National Party in the New Zealand Parliament, and was considered by many to be a possible contender for the leadership itself. He was known for his polite and diplomatic style, which often contrasted with the political situation around him – Michael Laws described him as "a refugee from the age of manners."
Derek Francis Quigley is a New Zealand former politician. He was a prominent member of the National Party during the late 1970s and early 1980s, and was known for his support of free-market economics and trade liberalisation. Quigley left the National Party after clashing with its leadership, and later co-founded the ACT New Zealand party.
Sir Brian Edward Talboys was a New Zealand politician who served as the seventh deputy prime minister of New Zealand for the first two terms of Robert Muldoon's premiership. If the abortive "Colonels' Coup" against Muldoon had been successful, Talboys would have become Prime Minister himself.
The 1981 New Zealand general election, held on 28 November 1981, was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 40th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the governing National Party, led by Robert Muldoon, win a third term in office, but the opposition Labour Party, led by Bill Rowling, won the largest share of the votes cast. Social Credit also won over 20% of the vote – their best result ever – but received no new seats.
William Lambert Young was a New Zealand politician representing the National Party.
The Third National Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 1975 to 1984. It was an economically conservative government that aimed to preserve the Keynesian economic system established by the First Labour government and was also socially conservative. Throughout its three terms it was led by Robert Muldoon, a populist but antagonistic politician who was sometimes described as the National Party's best asset and worst liability.
The Coalition for Open Government was a political pressure group formed in the late 1970s to promote open government in New Zealand. The Coalition disbanded in the-mid 1980s but re-formed in April 2007, in response to Government plans to rewrite the election finance laws.
New Zealand political leader Jim McLay assembled a "shadow cabinet" system amongst the National caucus following his election to the position of Leader of the Opposition in 1984. He composed this of individuals who acted for the party as spokespeople in assigned roles while he was Leader of the Opposition (1984–86). McLay was plagued by interference from previous leader Robert Muldoon, who was denied a place on National's frontbench which he desired, unlike McLay who wished him to retire to the backbenches as an 'elder statesmen'.
The 1974 New Zealand National Party leadership election was held to determine the future leadership of the New Zealand National Party. The election was won by Tamaki MP Robert Muldoon.
The 1984 New Zealand National Party leadership election was held to determine the future leadership of the New Zealand National Party. The election was won by former Deputy Prime Minister Jim McLay.
New Zealand political leader Jim Bolger assembled a "shadow cabinet" within the National Party caucus after his election to the position of Leader of the Opposition in 1986. He composed this of individuals who acted for the party as spokespeople in assigned roles while he was Leader of the Opposition (1986–90).
New Zealand political leader Robert Muldoon assembled a "shadow cabinet" within the National Party caucus after his election to the position of Leader of the Opposition in 1974. He composed this of individuals who acted for the party as spokespeople in assigned roles while he was Leader of the Opposition (1974–75).
https://www.rmla.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/sir_gp_speech_2013_conf.pdf