New Zealand general election 1993
|
|
The 1993 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament. It saw the governing National Party, led by Jim Bolger, win a second term in office, despite a major swing back towards the Labour Party. The new Alliance and New Zealand First parties gained significant shares of the vote, but won few seats.
Template:New Zealand elections
| Contents |
Background
Before the election, the National Party governed with 64 seats, while the opposition Labour Party held only 29. The 1990 election had been a major victory for the National Party, with the unpopular Fourth Labour Government being decisively defeated. The Labour Party had become increasingly unpopular for its ongoing economic reforms, which were based around liberalisation, privatisation, and the removal of tariffs and subsidies. The National Party was somewhat divided as to the merits of the reforms, with conservatives generally opposed and neoliberals generally in favour. The party had fought the 1990 election saying that the Labour government's program was too radical, and was being carried out without any thought of the human consequences - Jim Bolger spoke about "the Decent Society", promising a return to a more moderate and balanced platform. Once in government, however, the key Minister of Finance role was taken not by a moderate but by Ruth Richardson, who wished to expand, not end, the economic reforms. Many of the voters who had felt betrayed by Labour's reforms now felt betrayed by the National Party as well, a fact which contributed to the rise of minor parties.
The Alliance, the largest "third party", was a broad coalition of five smaller groups - the NewLabour Party (a Labour splinter), the Democrats (a social credit party), the Greens (an environmentalist party), Mana Motuhake (a Maori party), and the Liberal Party (a National splinter). The Alliance held three seats in Parliament - one belonged to Jim Anderton, who had been re-elected under a NewLabour banner in the seat he had formerly held for Labour, while the other two belonged to the National MPs who formed the Liberal Party. In its first electoral test, the 1992 by-election in Tamaki, the Alliance had performed well, taking second place. Another smaller group was New Zealand First, a party established by former National MP Winston Peters. Peters had broken with his party after a number of policy disputes with its leadership, and resigned from parliament to contest his seat as an independent. After being overwhelmingly re-elected, Peters established the New Zealand First party to promote his views. Peters was the party's sole MP.
Another consequence of dissatisfaction with both major parties was the referendum conducted along-side the 1993 election. This referendum asked voters whether New Zealand's electoral system should be changed from the first-past-the-post system to the MMP system, which would implement proportional representation (and thus make it easier for smaller parties to win seats). The referendum was part of the larger New Zealand electoral reform process.
The election
The election was held on 6 November. 2,321,664 people were registered to vote, and 85.2% turned out. This turnout was almost exactly the same as for the previous election, although slightly less than what would be seen for the following one.
Summary of results
The 1993 election saw the National Party win 50 of the 99 seats in parliament, a drop of 14 from before the election (and a drop of 17 from 1990). The Labour Party won 45 seats, while the Alliance and New Zealand First won two seats each. This meant that National kept its majority by only a single seat. The 1993-1996 parliamentary term would see a number of defections from both major parties, meaning that National would eventually be forced to make alliances to retain power.
Detailed results
Party totals
| Party | Candidates | Total votes | Percentage | Seats won |
| National Party | 99 | 673,892 | 35.05% | 50 |
| Labour Party | 99 | 666,800 | 34.68% | 45 |
| Alliance | 99 | 350,063 | 18.21% | 2 |
| New Zealand First | 84 | 161,481 | 8.40% | 2 |
| Christian Heritage Party | 98 | 38,745 | 2.02% | - |
| McGillicuddy Serious Party | 62 | 11,714 | 0.61% | - |
| Natural Law Party | 74 | 6,056 | 0.31% | - |
| Mana Maori | 5 | 3,342 | 0.17% | - |
| Alternative Party | 1 | 822 | 0.04% | - |
| New Zealand Defence Movement | 11 | 650 | 0.03% | - |
| New Zealand Representative Party | 1 | 641 | 0.03% | - |
| Unemployed Workers' Rights Party | 8 | 514 | 0.03% | - |
| Hard to Find Bookshop Party | 2 | 171 | 0.01% | - |
| Gisborne First | 1 | 145 | 0.01% | - |
| Binding Referendum Party | 1 | 132 | 0.01% | - |
| Whangarei Whanau | 1 | 94 | 0.00% | - |
| Communist League | 2 | 84 | 0.00% | - |
| Blokes Liberation Front | 1 | 57 | 0.00% | - |
| Aotearoa Partnership Party | 2 | 52 | 0.00% | - |
| Etherial Vision | 1 | 40 | 0.00% | - |
| Private Enterprise Party | 1 | 35 | 0.00% | - |
| Pacific Party | 1 | 25 | 0.00% | - |
| Dominion Workers | 1 | 12 | 0.00% | - |
| Economic Euthenics | 1 | 10 | 0.00% | - |
| Independents | 27 | 7,177 | 0.37% | - |
Map of electorates
Missing image
NewZealandElectorates1993.png
image:NewZealandElectorates1993.png
Individual electorate results
| Albany | Don McKinnon (National) |
| Auckland Central | Sandra Lee (Alliance) |
| Avon | Larry Sutherland (Labour) |
| Awarua | Eric Roy (National) |
| Birkenhead | Ian Revell (National) |
| Christchurch Central | Lianne Dalziel (Labour) |
| Christchurch North | Mike Moore (Labour) |
| Clutha | Robin Gray (National) |
| Dunedin North | Pete Hodgson (Labour) |
| Dunedin West | Clive Matthewson (Labour) |
| East Coast Bays | Murray McCully (National) |
| Eastern Bay of Plenty | Tony Ryall (National) |
| Eastern Hutt | Paul Swain (Labour) |
| Epsom | Christine Fletcher (National) |
| Far North | John Carter (National) |
| Fendalton | Philip Burdon (National) |
| Franklin | Bill Birch (National) |
| Gisborne | Janet Mackey (Labour) |
| Glenfield | Peter Hilt (National) |
| Hamilton East | Dianne Yates (Labour) |
| Hamilton West | Martin Gallagher (Labour) |
| Hastings | Rick Barker (Labour) |
| Hauraki | Warren Kyd (National) |
| Hawkes Bay | Michael Laws (National) |
| Henderson | Jack Elder (Labour) |
| Heretaunga | Peter McCardle (National) |
| Hobson | Ross Meurant (National) |
| Horowhenua | Judy Keall (Labour) |
| Howick | Trevor Rogers (National) |
| Invercargill | Mark Peck (Labour) |
| Island Bay | Elizabeth Tennet (Labour) |
| Kaimai | Robert Anderson (Kaimai) |
| Kaipara | Lockwood Smith (National) |
| Kapiti | Roger Sowry (National) |
| King Country | Jim Bolger (National) |
| Lyttelton | Ruth Dyson (Labour) |
| Manawatu | Jill White (Labour) |
| Mangere | David Lange (Labour) |
| Manurewa | George Hawkins (Labour) |
| Marlborough | Doug Kidd (National) |
| Matakana | Graeme Lee (National) |
| Matamata | John Luxton (National) |
| Miramar | Annette King (Labour) |
| Mt. Albert | Helen Clark (Labour) |
| Napier | Geoff Braybrooke (Labour) |
| Nelson | John Blincoe (Labour) |
| New Lynn | Jonathan Hunt (Labour) |
| New Plymouth | Harry Duynhoven (Labour) |
| North Shore | Bruce Cliffe (National) |
| Onehunga | Richard Northey (Labour) |
| Onslow | Peter Dunne (Labour) |
| Otago | Warren Cooper (National) |
| Otara | Taito Phillip Field (Labour) |
| Pahiatua | John Falloon (National) |
| Pakuranga | Maurice Williamson (National) |
| Palmerston North | Steve Maharey (Labour) |
| Panmure | Judith Tizard (Labour) |
| Papakura | John Robertson (National) |
| Papatoetoe | Ross Robertson (Labour) |
| Pencarrow | Trevor Mallard (Labour) |
| Porirua | Graham Kelly (Labour) |
| Raglan | Simon Upton (National) |
| Rakaia | Jenny Shipley (National) |
| Rangiora | Jim Gerard (National) |
| Rangitikei | Denis Marshall (National) |
| Remuera | Doug Graham (National) |
| Roskill | Phil Goff (Labour) |
| Rotorua | Paul East (National) |
| Selwyn | Ruth Richardson (National) |
| St. Albans | David Caygill (Labour) |
| St. Kilda | Michael Cullen (Labour) |
| Sydenham | Jim Anderton (Alliance) |
| Tamaki | Clem Simich (National) |
| Taranaki | Roger Maxwell (National) |
| Tarawera | Max Bradford (National) |
| Tasman | Nick Smith (National) |
| Tauranga | Winston Peters (New Zealand First) |
| Te Atatu | Chris Carter (Labour) |
| Timaru | Jim Sutton (Labour) |
| Titirangi | Suzanne Sinclair (Labour) |
| Tongariro | Mark Burton (Labour) |
| Waikaremoana | Roger McClay (National) |
| Waikato | Rob Storey (National) |
| Waipa | Katherine O'Regan (National) |
| Wairarapa | Wyatt Creech (National) |
| Waitakere | Brian Neeson (National) |
| Waitaki | Alec Neill (National) |
| Waitotara | Peter Gresham (National) |
| Wallace | Bill English (National) |
| Wanganui | Jill Pettis (Labour) |
| Wellington-Karori | Pauline Gardiner (National) |
| West Coast | Damien O'Connor (Labour) |
| Western Hutt | Joy McLauchlan (National) |
| Whangarei | John Banks (National) |
| Yaldhurst | Margaret Austin (Labour) |
| Eastern Maori | Peter Tapsell (Labour) |
| Northern Maori | Tau Henare (New Zealand First) |
| Southern Maori | Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan (Labour) |
| Western Maori | Koro Wetere (Labour) |
Summary of changes
- An boundary redistribution resulted in the abolition of eight seats.
- Ashburton, held by Jenny Shipley (National).
- Bay of Islands, held by John Carter (National).
- Clevedon, held by Warren Kyd (National).
- Coromandel, held by Graeme Lee (National).
- East Cape, held by Tony Ryall (National).
- Maramarua, held by Bill Birch (National).
- Ohariu, held by Peter Dunne (Labour).
- Wellington Central, held by Chris Laidlaw (Labour).
- At the same time, ten new seats came into being.
- Eastern Bay of Plenty - most of the abolished East Cape seat, plus part of Tarawera. Won by former East Cape MP Tony Ryall.
- Far North - most of the abolished Bay of Islands seat. Won by former Bay of Islands MP John Carter.
- Franklin - part of the abolished Maramarua seat and part of Papakura. Won by former Maramarua MP Bill Birch.
- Hauraki - parts of the abolished Clevedon, Maramarua, and Coromandel seats. Won by former Clevedon MP Warren Kyd.
- Henderson - parts taken from the Waitakere, Te Atatu, and Titirangi electorates. Won by new MP Jack Elder (Labour).
- Howick - the eastern part of the Otara seat. Won by former Otara MP Trevor Rogers (National).
- Matakana - part of the abolished Coromandel seat. Won by former Coromandel MP Graeme Lee.
- Onslow - the core of the abolished Ohariu seat. Won by former Ohariu MP Peter Dunne (Labour).
- Rakaia - the abolished Ashburton seat, plus part of the Selwyn seat. Won by former Ashburton MP Jenny Shipley (National).
- Wellington-Karori - the abolished Wellington Central seat, plus part of the abolished Ohariu seat. Won by new National MP Pauline Gardiner.
- The seats of Gisborne, Hamilton East, Hamilton West, Hastings, Horowhenua, Invercargill, Lyttelton, Manawatu, Miramar, New Plymouth, Onehunga, Otara, Roskill, Te Atatu, Timaru, Titirangi, Tongariro, Wanganui and West Coast were won from the National Party by Labour challengers.
- The seat of Auckland Central was won from the Labour Party by an Alliance challenger. The challenger was Sandra Lee and the defeated incumbent was Richard Prebble.
- The seat of Northern Maori was won from the Labour Party by a New Zealand First challenger. The challenger was Tau Henare and the defeated incumbent was Bruce Gregory.
- The seat of Awarua passed from an incumbent National MP to a new National MP.
- The seat of Pencarrow passed from an incumbent Labour MP to a new Labour MP.