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

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 ...

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. 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

* * * * *{{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