1993 New Zealand general election

1993 New Zealand general election

6 November 1993 (1993-11-06)
All 99 seats in the House of Representatives 50 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Turnout	1,922,796 (82.82%)
First party Second party   Leader Jim Bolger Mike Moore Party National Labour Leader since 26 March 1986 4 September 1990 Leader's seat King Country Christchurch North Last election 67 seats, 47.82% 29 seats, 35.14% Seats before 63 29 Seats won 50 45 Seat change 13 16 Popular vote 673,892 666,759 Percentage 35.05% 34.68% Swing 12.77% 0.46%   Third party Fourth party   Leader Jim Anderton Winston Peters Party Alliance NZ First Leader since 1 December 1991 18 July 1993 Leader's seat Sydenham Tauranga Last election 1 seat, 14.28% New party Seats before 2 2 Seats won 2 2 Seat change Popular vote 350,063 161,481 Percentage 18.21% 8.40% Swing 3.93% 8.40%
Results by electorate, shaded by winning margin
Prime Minister before election Jim Bolger National Subsequent Prime Minister Jim Bolger National

The 1993 New Zealand general election was held on 6 November 1993 to determine the composition of the 44th New Zealand Parliament. Voters elected 99 members to the House of Representatives, up from 97 members at the 1990 election. The election was held concurrently with an electoral reform referendum to replace the first-past-the-post system, with all members elected from single-member electorates, with mixed-member proportional representation. It saw the governing National Party, led by Jim Bolger, win a second term in office, despite a major swing away from National in both seats and votes, and the carrying of the referendum by 53.9% to 46.1%.

Having broken electoral campaign promises and embarked on supply-side economics and wide-sweeping cuts during his first term, Bolger led the most unpopular government since the Great Depression. The neoliberal actions of Ruth Richardson, his Minister of Finance, were termed Ruthanasia by the media, and her Mother of all Budgets in 1991 caused huge protests. By September 1991, support for National had plummeted to a hitherto unprecedented polling low of 22%. Mike Moore, ousted by Bolger in a landslide just three years before, attacked National's caucus as dangerous right-wing extremists, and enjoyed considerable personal popularity. While the high unemployment Ruthanasia had caused had recovered somewhat by 1993, Bolger's approval ratings remained dire against Moore up until election day.

With a vote difference of just 7,133 between the two major parties, the election was one of the closest in New Zealand history. Bolger's 17-seat majority gained in 1990 was pared back to a bare majority of one seat. The Labour Party, led by former Prime Minister Mike Moore, enjoyed a 16-seat rise and almost won outright. The two smaller parties - Winston Peters' New Zealand First, which he formed after leaving National over conflict with their economic policy, and Jim Anderton's Alliance of parties to the left of Labour - both outperformed expectations and won significant shares of the vote. However, the first-past-the-post system kept them from gaining more than two seats each.

If MMP had been in use, the left-wing bloc of Labour and the Alliance – having secured a larger share of the vote than National or New Zealand First – would likely have formed a government. This was the last time prior to the 2020 election where a party won an absolute majority of seats.

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 unpopular for its ongoing economic reforms, nicknamed Rogernomics after Minister of Finance Roger Douglas, which were based around liberalisation, privatisation, and the removal of tariffs and subsidies. The National Party divided as to the merits of the reforms, with conservatives generally opposed and libertarians 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 social 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. Upon gaining power, Richardson intensified the deregulation, creating an portfolio of neoliberal policies popularly known as Ruthanasia. Richardson's "Mother of all Budgets", released in 1991, slashed available unemployment, sickness and welfare benefits. The families benefit by $25.00 to $27.00, unemployment benefit was cut by $14.00 a week, sickness benefit by $27.04. Universal payments for family benefits were completely abolished, and user pay schemes were introduced in a libertarian fashion. The Employment Contracts Act sought to weaken trade unions, by meaning employees had to have individual contracts or be on a single-employer collective agreement. Richardson also ended free tertiary education altogether, after the Fourth Labour Government had ended bursaries.

These policies, a steep departure even from Rogernomics, led to a major backlash in multiple aspects of society, both on the left and the right. Students and trade unionists led protests and marches in Wellington and Auckland against university cuts and the Employment Contracts Bill. Many of the voters who had felt betrayed by Labour's reforms now felt betrayed by the National Party as well. The Mother of all Budgets not only caused widespread public contempt for the National Party but also wreaked havoc internally. The budget was lamented by the conservative wing of the National Party; former Prime Minister Sir Robert Muldoon resigned from his Tamaki electorate in protest of Richardson's policies, triggering a by-election. Polling declined massively for National, and Mike Moore shot up in approval ratings while attacking National's caucus as right-wing extremists. According to an episode of Frontline on TVNZ 1 that aired less than two weeks before the election, Bolger led the most unpopular government since the Great Depression. By September 1991, support for National had plummeted to a hitherto unprecedented polling low of 22%.

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 Māori 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 New Zealand First to promote his views. Peters was the party's sole MP.

Another consequence of dissatisfaction with both major parties was the referendum conducted alongside the 1993 election. The culmination of the larger decade-long New Zealand electoral reform process, the referendum was held following the September 1992 indicative referendum, which saw 85% of voters voting for change from the existing First Past The Post (FPP) system, and 70% choosing the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) as its preferred replacement: a proportional system which would make it easier for smaller parties to win seats. It asked voters to choose whether to keep the existing FPP system or change to MMP, with 53.9% of voters opting to change to MMP.

While National and Labour usually stood candidates in every seat, National was one candidate short as their Southern Maori candidate apparently did not apply in time.

MPs retiring in 1993

Four MPs, including three National MPs and one Labour MP, intended to retire at the end of the 43rd Parliament.

Party		Name	Electorate
	National	Jeff Grant	Awarua
		Jeff Whittaker	Hastings
		Gail McIntosh	Lyttlelton
	Labour	Sonja Davies	Pencarrow

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

With a vote difference of just 7,133 between the two major parties, the election was one of the closest in New Zealand history. Preliminary results based on election night counts saw the country facing its first hung parliament since 1931, with no party gaining the 50 seats required for a majority. The National Party won 49 seats, a drop of 15 from before the election, and Labour had won 46 seats, with the balance of power held with the Alliance and New Zealand First, which won two seats each. This led to Jim Bolger saying on public television, "Bugger the pollsters", as polls had predicted a comfortable National victory. Bolger reacted to the election results by giving a conciliatory speech, while Labour leader Mike Moore delivered a speech later described by political scientist Jack Vowles as "damaging" and "more appropriate for a decisive Labour win than a narrow defeat."

On election night result with the two major parties tied, the Governor-General Dame Catherine Tizard asked her predecessor Sir David Beattie to form a committee, along with three retired appeal court judges, to decide whom to appoint as prime minister. However National won one more seat and was returned to power when the official count saw the seat of Waitaki swing from Labour to National, giving National 50 seats and Labour 45 seats. Labour's Sir Peter Tapsell agreed to become speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives (so that National would not lose a vote in the house). Hence National had a majority of one 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

Summary of the 6 November 1993 New Zealand House of Representatives election results

Party		Votes	% of votes		Seats
			%	change	total	change
	National	673,892	35.05	-12.78	50	-17
	Labour	666,759	34.68	-0.46	45	+16
	Alliance	350,064	18.21	+3.93a	2	+1b
	NZ First	161,481	8.40	+8.4	2	+2
	Christian Heritage	38,749	2.02	+1.49	0	–
	McGillicuddy Serious	11,706	0.61	+0.06	0	–
	Natural Law	6,056	0.31	+0.31	0	–
	Mana Māori	3,342	0.17	+0.17	0	–
	minor parties and independents	10,747	0.56	+0.34	0	–
total votes		1,922,796	100.00		99	+2
total registered electors		2,321,664
turnout		82.82%

^a Increase over Alliance's constituent member parties' (Greens, NewLabour, Democrats and Mana Motuhake) combined vote share in 1990.
^b Increase of one over Alliance's constituent party, NewLabour's result in 1990.

Votes summary

Popular Vote National   35.05% Labour   34.68% Alliance   18.21% NZ First   8.40% Christian Heritage   2.02% Others   1.65%

Parliament seats National   50.50% Labour   45.45% Alliance   2.02% NZ First   2.02%

Electorate results

The table below shows the results of the 1993 general election by electorate:

Key

  National   Labour   Alliance   NZ First   Independent

Electorate results for the 1993 New Zealand general election

Electorate	Incumbent		Winner		Majority	Runner up
General electorates
Albany		Don McKinnon			3,651		Jill Jeffs
Auckland Central		Richard Prebble		Sandra Lee	1,291		Richard Prebble
Avon		Larry Sutherland			5,643		Marie Venning
Awarua		Jeff Grant		Eric Roy	2,236		Olivia Scaletti-Longley
Birkenhead		Ian Revell			104		Ann Hartley
Christchurch Central		Lianne Dalziel			6,189		Andrew Rowe
Christchurch North		Mike Moore			6,024		Lee Morgan
Clutha		Robin Gray			4,117		Jeff Buchanan
Dunedin North		Pete Hodgson			3,794		Hugh Perkins
Dunedin West		Clive Matthewson			4,477		Ollie Turner
East Coast Bays		Murray McCully			4,516		Heather-Anne McConachy
Eastern Bay of Plenty	New electorate			Tony Ryall	806		Diane Collins
Eastern Hutt		Paul Swain			4,718		Peter MacMillan
Eden		Christine Fletcher			3,394		Verna Smith
Far North	New electorate			John Carter	3,425		Maryanne Baker
Fendalton		Philip Burdon			4,982		Tony Day
Franklin	New electorate			Bill Birch	3,543		Judy Bischoff
Gisborne		Wayne Kimber		Janet Mackey	1,068		Wayne Kimber
Glenfield		Peter Hilt			1,983		Ann Batten
Hamilton East		Tony Steel		Dianne Yates	80		Tony Steel
Hamilton West		Grant Thomas		Martin Gallagher	449		Grant Thomas
Hastings		Jeff Whittaker		Rick Barker	2,571		Cynthia Bowers
Hauraki	New electorate			Warren Kyd	1,870		Jeanette Fitzsimons
Hawkes Bay		Michael Laws			3,143		Peter Reynolds
Henderson	New electorate			Jack Elder	2,130		David Jorgensen
Heretaunga		Peter McCardle			832		Heather Simpson
Hobson		Ross Meurant			2,697		Frank Grover
Horowhenua		Hamish Hancock		Judy Keall	2,347		Hamish Hancock
Howick	New electorate			Trevor Rogers	5,754		James Clarke
Invercargill		Rob Munro		Mark Peck	1,174		Rob Munro
Island Bay		Elizabeth Tennet			5,422		Chris Shields
Kaimai		Robert Anderson			372		Peter Brown
Kaipara		Lockwood Smith			2,958		Rosalie Steward
Kapiti		Roger Sowry			1,038		Rob Calder
King Country		Jim Bolger			4,506		Murray Simpson
Lyttelton		Gail McIntosh		Ruth Dyson	677		David Carter
Manawatu		Hamish MacIntyre		Jill White	164		Gray Baldwin
Māngere		David Lange			5,958		Len Richards
Manurewa		George Hawkins			4,014		Mark Chalmers
Marlborough		Doug Kidd			2,548		Ron Howard
Matakana	New electorate			Graeme Lee	893		John Neill
Matamata		John Luxton			5,977		John Pemberton
Miramar		Graeme Reeves		Annette King	2,595		Graeme Reeves
Mount Albert		Helen Clark			4,656		Vanessa Brown
Napier		Geoff Braybrooke			4,926		Colleen Pritchard
Nelson		John Blincoe			2,007		Margaret Emerre
New Lynn		Jonathan Hunt			1,598		Cliff Robinson
New Plymouth		John Armstrong		Harry Duynhoven	3,126		John Armstrong
North Shore		Bruce Cliffe			4,723		Joel Cayford
Onehunga		Grahame Thorne		Richard Northey	407		Grahame Thorne
Onslow	New electorate			Peter Dunne	1,065		George Mathew
Otago		Warren Cooper			3,220		Janet Yiakmis
Otara		Trevor Rogers		Taito Phillip Field	5,981		Shane Frith
Pahiatua		John Falloon			5,178		Margo Martindale
Pakuranga		Maurice Williamson			5,460		Heather MacKay
Palmerston North		Steve Maharey			3,764		Barbara Stones
Panmure		Judith Tizard			3,277		Bruce Jesson
Papakura		John Robertson			484		Nancy Hawks
Papatoetoe		Ross Robertson			5,977		Jim Wild
Pencarrow		Sonja Davies		Trevor Mallard	2,641		Rosemarie Thomas
Porirua		Graham Kelly			6,713		Lagi Sipeli
Raglan		Simon Upton			4,540		Bill Harris
Rakaia	New electorate			Jenny Shipley	4,540		John Howie
Rangiora		Jim Gerard			4,469		Maureen Little
Rangitīkei		Denis Marshall			3,422		Bob Peck
Remuera		Doug Graham			8,619		Mary Tierney
Roskill		Gilbert Myles		Phil Goff	2,205		Allan Spence
Rotorua		Paul East			429		Keith Ridings
Selwyn		Ruth Richardson			888		Ron Mark
St Albans		David Caygill			3,425		Raewyn Dawson
St Kilda		Michael Cullen			5,071		Leah McBey
Sydenham		Jim Anderton			7,476		Greg Coyle
Tāmaki		Clem Simich			7,951		Richard Green
Taranaki		Roger Maxwell			4,871		Stephen Wood
Tarawera		Max Bradford			4,155		Gordon Dickson
Tasman		Nick Smith			4,059		Geoff Rowling
Tauranga		Winston Peters		Winston Peters	7,924		John Cronin
Te Atatū		Brian Neeson		Chris Carter	1,388		Laila Harré
Timaru		Maurice McTigue		Jim Sutton	2,940		Maurice McTigue
Titirangi		Marie Hasler		Suzanne Sinclair	340		Marie Hasler
Tongariro		Ian Peters		Mark Burton	1,951		Ian Peters
Waikaremoana		Roger McClay			4,021		Gregg Sheehan
Waikato		Rob Storey			2,286		Susan Moore
Waipa		Katherine O'Regan			3,730		John Kilbride
Wairarapa		Wyatt Creech			2,229		Peter Teahan
Waitakere	New electorate			Brian Neeson	3,180		Barbara Hutchinson
Waitaki		Alec Neill			53		Bruce Albiston
Waitotara		Peter Gresham			4,545		K F Lehmstedt
Wallace		Bill English			5,578		Lesley Soper
Wanganui		Cam Campion		Jill Pettis	3,371		Gael Donoghue
Wellington-Karori	New electorate			Pauline Gardiner	480		Chris Laidlaw
West Coast		Margaret Moir		Damien O'Connor	2,920		Margaret Moir
Western Hutt		Joy Quigley			1,542		Vern Walsh
Whangarei		John Banks			1,587		Mark Furey
Yaldhurst		Margaret Austin			2,997		David Watson
Māori electorates
Eastern Maori		Peter Tapsell			6,666		Alamein Kopu
Northern Maori		Bruce Gregory		Tau Henare	416		Bruce Gregory
Southern Maori		Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan			6,340		Jules Parkinson
Western Maori		Koro Wētere			3,777		Ricky Taiaroa

Table footnotes:

Summary of changes

Based on the 1991 New Zealand census, an electoral redistribution was carried out; the last one had been carried out in 1987 based on the previous census in 1986. This resulted in the abolition of nine electorates, and the creation of eleven new electorates. Through an amendment in the Electoral Act in 1965, the number of electorates in the South Island was fixed at 25, so the new electorates increased the number of the North Island electorates by two. In the South Island, one electorate was abolished (Ashburton), and one electorate was recreated (Rakaia). In the North Island, five electorates were newly created (Eastern Bay of Plenty, Far North, Howick, Matakana, and Wellington-Karori), five electorates were recreated (Franklin, Hauraki, Henderson, Onslow, and Waitakere), and eight electorates were abolished (Bay of Islands, Clevedon, Coromandel, East Cape, Maramarua, Ohariu, Wellington Central, and West Auckland).

In many cases an MP from an abolished seat stood for, and was elected to a new one that broadly covered their previous electorate.

Abolished Electorate		MP relocated		New Electorate
Ashburton	→	Jenny Shipley	→	Rakaia
Bay of Islands	→	John Carter	→	Far North
Clevedon	→	Warren Kyd	→	Hauraki
Coromandel	→	Graeme Lee	→	Matakana
East Cape	→	Tony Ryall	→	Eastern Bay of Plenty
Maramarua	→	Bill Birch	→	Franklin
Ohariu	→	Peter Dunne	→	Onslow
West Auckland	→	Jack Elder	→	Henderson
One MP from an abolished electorate failed to win a new electorate
Wellington Central		Pauline Gardiner Y		Wellington-Karori
		Chris Laidlaw N
Due to boundary changes, two MPs moved to safer new electorates
Marginal Electorate		MP relocated		New Electorate
Te Atatu	→	Brian Neeson	→	Waitakere
Otara	→	Trevor Rogers	→	Howick

New electorates.

• 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 West Auckland, Te Atatu, and Titirangi electorates. Won by former West Auckland 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).
• Waitakere – chiefly, the abolished seat of West Auckland. Won by former Te Atatu MP Brian Neeson (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. Seventeen of these seats (Gisborne, Hamilton East, Hamilton West, Hastings, Horowhenua, Lyttelton, Manawatu, Miramar, New Plymouth, Onehunga, Otara, Roskill, Te Atatu, Titirangi, Tongariro, Wanganui & the West Coast) had been won by National from Labour in 1990, so were one-term National seats.

• 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.

Post-election events

A number of local by-elections were required due to the resignation of incumbent local body politicians following their election to Parliament:

• A by-election to the Auckland City Council was caused after Hauraki Gulf Islands Ward councillor Sandra Lee resigned her seat after she was elected MP for Auckland Central, necessitating a by-election to fill the council vacancy. The by-election was won by Gordon Hodson.

References

• McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN 0-477-01384-8.
• Temple, Philip (1994). Temple's Guide to the 44th New Zealand Parliament. Dunedin: McIndoe Publishers. ISBN 0-86868-159-8.
• Part 1: Votes recorded at each polling place (Technical report). Chief Electoral Office. 1993.