Party whip (New Zealand)

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In the New Zealand Parliament, political parties appoint party whips to ensure party discipline and attendance, help manage legislative business, and carry out a variety of other functions on behalf of the party leadership. Whips also have an administrative role to prepare lists of members from their party to speak in debates and ask oral questions of ministers in the chamber. [1]

Contents

History

In New Zealand, the concept of a whip was inherited from British parliamentary politics. [2] All political parties that have four or more members in Parliament have at least one party whip. Parties with 25 to 44 members are allowed two whips (one senior and one junior), and parties with 45 or more members are entitled to three whips (one senior and two junior). [3] Only four parties (Liberal, Reform, Labour and National) have ever had more than one whip. [4] A whip does not necessarily have to represent a single party and groups of MPs (of four of more) outside a party with a whip may appoint their own. This happened in 1983 when the Social Credit Party's two MPs (Bruce Beetham and Gary Knapp) combined with former Labour MPs turned independent (Brian MacDonell and John Kirk) to appoint their own whip (MacDonell) and boost their recognition in parliament. [5]

Whips act in an administrative role, making sure members of their party are in the debating chamber when required and organising members of their party to speak during debates. Since the introduction of proportional representation in 1996, divisions that require all members in the chamber to vote by taking sides (termed a personal vote) are rarely used, except for conscience votes. Instead, one of the party's whips votes on behalf of all the members of their party, by declaring how many members are in favour and/or how many members are opposed. They also cast proxy votes for single-member parties whose member is not in the chamber at the time of the vote, and also cast proxy votes during personal votes for absent members of their parties and for absent members of associated single-member parties. [3]

Some parties use an alternative title than whip, though the role is identical in all but name. The Alliance used the term 'parliamentary coordinator' rather than whip. [6] The Green Party uses the term 'musterer'. [7] Since 2020 Te Pāti Māori has referred to its whip as a 'mataura'. [8]

List of whips

Current parties

Labour

Senior whip
Junior whip

The Labour Party is one of the parties that has qualified for second whip, known as a junior whip. [9]

No.NameTerm of office
1 Ted Howard 10 March 192116 June 1926
2 James McCombs 16 June 19264 December 1928
(1) Ted Howard 4 December 19285 December 1935
3 Robert McKeen 5 December 193511 June 1936
4 Arthur Shapton Richards 11 June 193613 September 1937
5 James O'Brien 13 September 193711 May 1939
(4) Arthur Shapton Richards 11 May 19392 December 1942
6 David Coleman 2 December 194213 May 1947
7 Robert Macfarlane 13 May 194719 September 1947
8 Phil Connolly 19 September 194727 June 1951
9 Joe Cotterill 27 June 195110 July 1952
10 John Mathison 10 July 19529 January 1958
11 Ritchie Macdonald 9 January 19582 December 1966
12 Ron Bailey 2 December 196629 November 1972
13 Jonathan Hunt 29 November 19726 September 1974
14 Trevor Young 6 September 19745 May 1978
15 Richard Prebble 5 May 197813 February 1980
16 Stan Rodger 13 February 198019 July 1984
17 Fran Wilde 19 July 198418 August 1987
18 Trevor Mallard 18 August 19878 February 1990
19 Judy Keall 8 February 199031 October 1990
20 Elizabeth Tennet 31 October 199013 December 1993
21 Larry Sutherland 13 December 199320 December 1996
22 Rick Barker 20 December 199610 December 1999
23 Chris Carter 10 December 199927 July 2002
24 Jill Pettis 27 July 200226 February 2004
25 Darren Hughes 26 February 20045 November 2007
26 Sue Moroney 5 November 200711 November 2008
27 Steve Chadwick 11 November 200820 October 2011
28 Darien Fenton 20 December 201117 September 2013
29 Iain Lees-Galloway 23 September 201323 September 2014
30 Carmel Sepuloni 23 September 201427 September 2017
31 Poto Williams 27 September 201731 October 2017
32 Kieran McAnulty 7 November 20172 November 2020
33 Duncan Webb 2 November 202014 June 2022
34 Tangi Utikere 14 June 202231 January 2023
35 Shanan Halbert 31 January 202314 October 2023
36 Tracey McLellan 31 January 202314 October 2023
37 Camilla Belich 7 December 2023present

National

Senior whip
Junior whip

The National Party is one of the parties that has qualified for second whip, known as a junior whip. [10]

No.NameTerm of office
1 Walter Broadfoot 14 May 193612 March 1941
1941–1944: office not in use
2 Tom Macdonald 20 January 19444 March 1950
3 Geoff Gerard 4 March 195024 November 1954
4 Ernest Aderman 24 November 19548 February 1957
5 John Rae 8 February 195726 September 1957
6 Jim Barnes 26 September 195721 January 1958
7 Jack George 21 January 195810 June 1964
8 Alf Allen 10 June 196411 February 1967
9 Gordon Grieve 11 February 19675 February 1970
10 Richard Harrison 5 February 197025 February 1972
11 Venn Young 25 February 19727 December 1972
12 Colin McLachlan 7 December 197211 July 1974
13 Bill Birch 11 July 197422 January 1976
14 Jack Luxton 22 January 19761 February 1979
15 Dail Jones 1 February 197924 October 1980
16 Don McKinnon 24 October 19802 February 1982
17 Michael Cox 2 February 19828 August 1985
18 Robin Gray 8 August 198511 September 1987
19 Maurice McTigue 11 September 198711 February 1990
20 Roger McClay 11 February 199028 November 1990
21 John Carter 28 November 199030 November 1993
22 Roger Sowry 30 November 19933 April 1995
23 Eric Roy 6 April 199519 December 1996
24 David Carter 19 December 19968 September 1998
25 Gerry Brownlee 8 September 199831 January 2001
26 Alec Neill 31 January 200112 October 2001
27 Tony Steel 12 October 200115 August 2002
28 Lindsay Tisch 15 August 200217 September 2005
29 Anne Tolley 11 October 20055 December 2006
30 Nathan Guy 5 December 200613 February 2008
31 Chris Tremain 13 February 200815 June 2009
32 Jo Goodhew 16 June 200920 October 2011
33 Louise Upston 20 December 201128 January 2013
34 Tim Macindoe 29 January 201320 September 2014
35 Jami-Lee Ross 20 September 20142 May 2017
36 Barbara Kuriger 2 May 201720 March 2018
37 Matt Doocey 20 March 201810 November 2020
38 Maureen Pugh 10 November 20205 December 2023
39 Suze Redmayne 5 December 2023present

New Zealand First

No.NameTerm of office
1 Ron Mark 16 December 199628 August 2002
2 Peter Brown 28 August 20028 November 2008
2008–2011: office not in use
3 Barbara Stewart 16 December 201123 September 2017
4 Clayton Mitchell 31 October 201717 October 2020
2020–2023: office not in use
5 Jamie Arbuckle 12 December 2023present

ACT New Zealand

No.NameTerm of office
1 Ken Shirley 199619 February 2002
2 Muriel Newman 19 February 200214 June 2004
(1) Ken Shirley 14 June 200411 October 2005
3 Heather Roy 11 October 200524 November 2009
4 David Garrett 24 November 200921 September 2010
5 John Boscawen 21 September 20102 May 2011
6 Hilary Calvert 2 May 201126 November 2011
2011–2020: office not in use
7 Brooke van Velden 202024 November 2023
8 Todd Stephenson 24 November 2023present

Greens

No.NameTerm of office
1 Ian Ewen-Street 14 December 199922 August 2002
2 Rod Donald 22 August 20024 November 2005
3 Metiria Turei 4 November 200528 March 2009
4 Kennedy Graham 30 March 200920 October 2011
5 Gareth Hughes 14 December 20117 October 2014
6 David Clendon 7 October 20148 August 2017
7 Eugenie Sage 8 August 201724 October 2017
(5) Gareth Hughes 24 October 201718 November 2019
8 Chlöe Swarbrick 18 November 201923 November 2020
9 Jan Logie 23 November 202014 October 2023
10 Ricardo Menéndez March 19 November 2023present

Te Pāti Māori

No.NameTerm of office
1 Te Ururoa Flavell 7 November 200526 November 2011
2011–2020: office not in use
2 Debbie Ngarewa-Packer 16 November 202027 November 2023
3 Mariameno Kapa-Kingi 4 December 2023present

Defunct parties

Liberal

Senior whip
Junior whip

The Liberal Party is one of the parties that has qualified for second whip, known as a junior whip. [11]

No.NameTerm of office
1 Frederick Fitchett 19 June 189026 January 1891
2 William Cowper Smith 26 January 189115 June 1891
3 William Hall-Jones 15 June 189115 September 1891
4 Charles H. Mills 15 September 189129 October 1894
5 Benjamin Harris 29 October 18944 December 1896
6 James McGowan 8 October 189725 June 1900
7 Arthur Morrison 25 June 190023 October 1900
8 John Stevens 25 June 190020 October 1900
9 Walter Carncross 16 July 190130 June 1903
10 Frederick Flatman 30 June 19033 July 1904
12 Alexander Hogg 20 July 190424 June 1905
13 Alfred Kidd 24 June 19053 September 1906
14 James Colvin 3 September 190610 December 1909
15 William MacDonald 10 December 190930 June 1910
16 Harry Ell 30 June 191029 August 1912
17 Āpirana Ngata 29 August 19122 July 1915
18 William Dickie 2 July 191517 December 1919
1919–1923: office not in use
19 James Horn 7 February 192316 July 1924
20 Alfred Ransom 16 July 192416 June 1926
1926–1928: office not in use
21 George Black 11 December 192817 May 1930
22 Edward Healy 27 June 19301 November 1935

Reform

Senior whip
No.NameTerm of office
1 Charles Hardy 11 February 190915 February 1912
2 Heaton Rhodes 15 February 191210 July 1912
3 David Guthrie 10 July 191218 February 1918
4 William Nosworthy 27 February 19184 September 1919
5 Richard Bollard 10 September 191921 July 1923
6 James Dickson 21 July 192318 October 1928
7 John Bitchener 18 October 192822 September 1933
8 Jimmy Nash 22 September 193315 February 1935
9 Bert Kyle 15 February 193514 May 1936
Junior whip

The Reform Party is one of the parties that has qualified for second whip, known as a junior whip. [12]

No.NameTerm of office
1 Heaton Rhodes 7 October 190915 February 1912
2 David Guthrie 15 February 191210 July 1912
3 William Nosworthy 6 August 191227 February 1918
4 Richard Bollard 27 February 191810 September 1919
5 Robert Scott 27 November 191917 December 1919
6 James Dickson 24 June 192021 July 1923
7 Billy Glenn 21 July 192329 June 1927
8 John Bitchener 20 July 192718 October 1928
9 Jimmy Nash 18 October 192822 September 1931

Alliance

No.NameTerm of office
1 Grant Gillon 19962002

Mauri Pacific

No.NameTerm of office
1 Ann Batten 19981999

United Future

No.NameTerm of office
1 Gordon Copeland 20022007
2 Judy Turner 20072008

Citations

  1. "People of Parliament". New Zealand Parliament . Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  2. Wilson 1985, p. 278.
  3. 1 2 "What is a party whip and what do they do?". New Zealand Parliament . Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  4. Wilson 1985, pp. 279–81.
  5. "MacDonell whip". The Evening Post . 22 October 1983. p. 2.
  6. "Parliament to be run 'to tight timeframe'". The Dominion . 17 February 1998. p. 2.
  7. "'Mustering' whips". The Press . 15 December 1999. p. 11.
  8. "Te Pāti Māori Portfolios List" (PDF). Waatea News. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  9. Wilson 1985, pp. 280–81.
  10. Wilson 1985, p. 280.
  11. Wilson 1985, pp. 279–80.
  12. Wilson 1985, p. 279.

References