Summary
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.
| 38th Parliament of New Zealand | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
 | |||||
| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | New Zealand Parliament | ||||
| Term | 22 June 1976 – 6 October 1978 | ||||
| Election | 1975 New Zealand general election | ||||
| Government | Third National Government | ||||
| House of Representatives | |||||
 | |||||
| Members | 87 | ||||
| Speaker of the House | Richard Harrison from 10 May 1978 — Roy Jack until 24 December 1977 † | ||||
| Prime Minister | Robert Muldoon | ||||
| Leader of the Opposition | Bill Rowling | ||||
| Sovereign | |||||
| Monarch | Elizabeth II | ||||
| Governor-General | Keith Holyoake from 26 October 1977 — Denis Blundell until 5 October 1977 | ||||
1975 general election edit
The 1975 general election was held on Saturday, 29 November.[1] A total of 92 MPs were elected; 63 represented North Island electorates, 25 represented South Island electorates, and the remaining four represented Māori electorates; this was an increase in the number of MPs by five since the 1972 election, and the gain was all for the North Island.[2] 1,953,050 voters were enrolled and the official turnout at the election was 82.5%.[1]
Sessions edit
The 38th Parliament sat for four sessions (there were two sessions in 1977), and was prorogued on 7 October 1978.[3]
| Session | Opened | Adjourned |
|---|---|---|
| first | 22 June 1976 | 14 December 1976 |
| second | 28 February 1977 | 28 February 1977 |
| third | 19 May 1977 | 16 December 1977 |
| fourth | 10 May 1978 | 6 October 1978 |
Ministries edit
The Labour Party, which had come to power at the 1972 election, was defeated by the National Party at the 1975 election. Robert Muldoon formed the third National Government and led the Muldoon Ministry until National's defeat at the 1984 election.[4]
Overview of seats edit
The table below shows the number of MPs in each party following the 1975 election and at dissolution:
| Affiliation | Members | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| At 1975 election | At dissolution | ||
| National | 55 | 54 | |
| Government total | |||
| Labour | 32 | 32 | |
| Social Credit | 0 | 1 | |
| Government total | 32 | 33 | |
| Total |
87 | 87 | |
| Working Government majority | 23 | 21 | |
Notes
- The Working Government majority is calculated as all Government MPs less all other parties.
Initial composition of the 38th Parliament edit
The table below shows the results of the 1975 general election:
Key
Table footnotes:
- ^ David Lange came third for Labour in Hobson
- ^ Henry May was first on election night, but lost when special votes were included
By-elections during 38th Parliament edit
There were a number of changes during the term of the 38th Parliament.
| Electorate and by-election | Date | Incumbent | Cause | Winner | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nelson | 1976 | 28 February | Sir Stanley Whitehead | Death | Mel Courtney | ||
| Mangere | 1977 | 26 March | Colin Moyle | Resignation | David Lange | ||
| Pahiatua | 1977 | 30 April | Sir Keith Holyoake | Appointed as Governor-General | John Falloon | ||
| Rangitikei | 1978 | 18 February | Sir Roy Jack | Death | Bruce Beetham | ||
Notes edit
- ^ a b "General elections 1853–2005 - dates & turnout". Elections New Zealand. Archived from the original on 27 May 2010. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
- ^ Wilson 1985, p. 173.
- ^ Wilson 1985, p. 142.
- ^ Wilson 1985, pp. 89–94.
- ^ Norton 1988, pp. ?.
- ^ Gustafson 1986, p. 358.
- ^ Gustafson 1986, p. 382.
References edit
- Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN 0-474-00177-6.
- 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 ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.