The 39th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
of New Zealand which began with the
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
held on 25 November 1978, and finished with the
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
held on 28 November 1981. The dates of the Muldoon Ministry were from 13 December 1978 to 11 December 1981.
The
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
,
Robert Muldoon
Sir Robert David Muldoon (; 25 September 19215 August 1992) 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.
Serving as a corporal and sergeant in th ...
of the
National Party, led the
Third National Government from 1975 to 1984.
Overview of seats
The table below shows the number of MPs in each party following the 1978 election and at dissolution:
Notes
*The Working Government majority is calculated as all Government MPs less all other parties.
Initial composition of the 39th Parliament
By-elections during 39th Parliament
There were a number of changes during the term of the 39th Parliament.
Summary of changes during term
*
Bruce Barclay
Bruce Gillespie Barclay (21 October 1922 – 28 June 1979) was a New Zealand politician, being the Member of Parliament for Christchurch Central in the South Island.
Biography Early life and career
Barclay was born in 1922 in Dargaville. He re ...
, the Labour MP for Christchurch Central, died in 1979. The
ensuing by-election was won by
Geoffrey Palmer Geoffrey Palmer may refer to:
Politicians
*Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 1st Baronet (1598–1670), English lawyer and politician
*Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 3rd Baronet (1655–1732), English politician, Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicestershire
*Geoffrey Pal ...
, also of the Labour Party.
*
Matiu Rata
Matiu Waitai Rata (26 March 1934 – 25 July 1997) was a Māori politician who was a member of the New Zealand Parliament for the Labour Party from 1963 to 1980, and a cabinet minister from 1972 to 1975. In 1979 he resigned from the Labour Par ...
, a Labour cabinet minister, resigned from his party in 1979 due to disagreements with its policy towards
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
. In 1980, Rata quit parliament and founded the
Mana Motuhake
Mana Māori Motuhake was a Māori people, Māori political party in New Zealand from 1980 to 2005. The name is difficult to translate accurately, but essentially refers to Māori self-rule and self-determination — , in this context, can ...
party. Rata then contested the
ensuing by-election, but came second. He was replaced by
Bruce Gregory
Bruce Craig Gregory (22 April 1937 – 29 October 2015) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.
Early life and career
Gregory was born in Kaingaroa in Northland to parents Vivian Lauder Gregory (Ngāi Tahu) and Tai Te Maru (Te Ra ...
of the Labour Party.
*
Frank Rogers, the Labour MP for Onehunga, died in 1980. The
ensuing by-election was won by
Fred Gerbic
Frederick Miroslav Gerbic (10 March 1932 – 29 October 1995) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.
Biography Early life and career
Gerbic was born in Kaitaia in 1932. He became an electrical lineman and later married Joy Constan ...
, also of the Labour Party.
*
Frank Gill, the National MP for East Coast Bays, resigned from parliament in 1980 in order to take up a position as New Zealand's
ambassador
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
in
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
. The
ensuing by-election was won, much to the National Party's surprise, by
Gary Knapp
Gary Thomas Knapp (born 1947) is a former New Zealand politician of the Social Credit Party (New Zealand), Social Credit Party.
Political career
He became Member of Parliament for in 1980 when he defeated National candidate Don Brash in ...
of the Social Credit Party.
Notes
References
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*{{cite book , last= Wilson , first= James Oakley , title= New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 , edition= 4th , orig-year=First published in 1913 , year= 1985 , publisher=V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer , location= Wellington , oclc= 154283103
New Zealand parliaments