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New Zealand - Politics

Maori membership of the House of Representatives has been increased on six occasions. A Ministry of Maori Development was established in 1992, replacing the Ministry of Maori Affairs. The purpose of the Ministry of Maori Development is to assist in developing an environment of opportunity and choice for Maori, consistent with the Treaty of Waitangi.

At the general election in November 1993, the National Party (advocating generally conservative policies) gained 50 seats, the Labour Party 45 seats. The National Party, not having an overall majority following defections and realignments, agreed in February 1996 on a coalition with the United New Ze aland Party, which had seven MPs.

The first general election under the mixed member proportional representation system was held in October 1996. It gave 53 seats to a grouping consisting of: the National Party (44 seats) and its allies the conservative Association of Consumers and Taxpayers (ACT) of New Ze aland (8) and United New Ze aland (1). The Labour Party won 37 seats, New Ze aland First 17 and the Alliance Party 13. Although 34 parties contested the elections, only five received more than 5% of the votes and so earned the right to party seats.

As no single party had an overall majority in the 120-member house, the centrist New Ze aland First held the b alance of power. Only when that party decided to support the National Party was party leader Jim Bolger able to form a government.

In November 1997 Bolger announced his resignation as prime minister, when it became clear that Transport Minister Jenny Shipley had enough support among National Party MPs to force his resignation from the job he had held continuously since 1990. He took on a foreign affairs role outside the cabinet until he became US ambassador in April 1998.

A growing rift on economic policy, culminating in August 1998 in a row over the decision to sell the remaining two-thirds of Wellington airport, led to the ending of the National–New Ze aland First coalition. National maintained a fragile narrow overall majority in the House (62 of the 120 seats), with the continuing support of eight of the 16 New Ze aland First MPs. Following the dismissal of the party leader, Winston Peters, as deputy prime minister and treasurer, only one of the New Ze aland First members remained in the cabinet, Minister for Maori Affairs Tau Henare.

The ruling coalition was further weakened in December 1998 when its majority fell to one. The Labour Party leader Helen Clark came to prominence by her strong criticism of the government’s increasing expenditure on defence and of its free market economic policies.

In the general election of November 1999, there was victory for the coalition led by Labour’s Helen Clark, who became prime minister. Labour won 49 seats and the Alliance Party 10. The defeated National Party took 39 seats and its right-wing ally, the ACT, nine. With the support of the Green Party (7 seats), Labour was able to command a majority in the 120-member House.

In the July 2002 general election, Labour (52 seats) and its coalition partner Progressive (2), were unable to command a parliamentary majority without the support of smaller parties. These now included United Future which had increased its presence in the House from one to nine seats, but not the Greens who had threatened to bring the government down if it were to lift the moratorium on genetic engineering. The National Party gained only 27 seats, while its former coalition partner, New Ze aland First, strengthened its position to 13.

The September 2005 general election was very close, but when all the votes were counted, the ruling Labour–Progressive coalition (Labour 50 seats, Progrssive 1) was returned for a third successive term and Helen Clark continued as prime minister, still able to command a majority in parliament only with support from New Zealand First (7) and United Future Party (3). The National Party won 48 seats on a platform of tax cuts, cuts in state aid to Maori communities and closer ties with the US.