It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the

New Zealand Labour Party The New Zealand Labour Party ( mi, Rōpū Reipa o Aotearoa), or simply Labour (), is a centre-left political party in New Zealand. The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers descr ...

under

Norman Kirk Norman Eric Kirk (6 January 1923 – 31 August 1974) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 29th prime minister of New Zealand from 1972 until his sudden death in 1974. Born into poverty in Southern Canterbury, Kirk left school at ...

at the 1972 general election. The Labour Party promoted its initiatives with advertisements featuring the lines "It's time for a change, it's time for Labour." The campaign was ultimately successful, and marked the first time Labour had been in government since losing the 1960 election to the National Party.

History

The catchphrase "It's Time" was first conceived by campaign organiser Bob Harvey. With an accompanying song for television adverts, Kirk was relatively skeptical of the phrase initially. However, Kirk warmed to the idea upon recalling his lack of enthusiasm for Labour's

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

campaign advert "Make Things Happen", which performed better than expected. The "It's Time" campaign was used for television, radio, newspapers and billboards. It promoted on a growing need for political and economic change after 12 years of National Party government. In an economic recession and rising unemployment, National was lagging in polls. Labour's accompanying slogan was "Time For A Change, Time For Labour", expertly captured the nation's mood. Claire Robinson, a Professor of Communications Design at

Massey University Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...

, stated it was New Zealand's best election slogan "It had so many meanings – it's time for Labour, it's time for Norman Kirk, it's time for a change ... It was really good, and it was actually one of the best campaigns oo Mind you, we'd ew Zealandhad four terms of a National Government by then, so it was definitely time for a change." Later, the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

successfully ran a similar "It's Time" campaign in that year's

Australian federal election Elections in Australia take place periodically to elect the legislature of the Commonwealth of Australia, as well as for each Australian state and territory and for local government councils. Elections in all jurisdictions follow similar princip ...

Notes

References

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External links

It's Time for Labour
{{Norman Kirk 1972 New Zealand general election Political history of New Zealand New Zealand Labour Party 1972 works Election campaigns Political catchphrases Political terminology in New Zealand