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6 unusual facts about New Zealand Labour Party


Gordon Hultquist

Axel Gordon Hultquist, known as Gordon Hultquist (1904 – 1 November 1941) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Ihaia Porutu Puketapu

He was active in the early New Zealand Labour Party and had close friendships with Peter Fraser and Walter Nash; he was active in the campaign for the Maori Social and Economic Advancement Act 1945.

Max Falstein

Falstein was first involved in politics in New Zealand, where he was an organiser for the New Zealand Labour Party.

Ministers of the New Zealand Government

Different parties have different mechanisms for this - the Labour Party, for example, has provision for caucus to select ministers, while in the National Party, a Prime Minister theoretically has greater authority to make their own selections.

Television in New Zealand

Although the Broadcasting Authority had favoured the Independent Television bid, the incoming Labour government favoured the NZBC's application and awarded it the licence without any formal hearings beforehand.

As part of wide ranging reforms in the broadcasting sector, the Labour Government of David Lange established the Broadcasting Commission, which became known as and finally called New Zealand on Air.


40th New Zealand Parliament

The Labour Party, led by former Prime Minister Bill Rowling, had made significant gains (actually winning the largest portion of the popular vote), but remained in opposition.

Adam Hamilton

He was also criticised when the Post and Telegraph Department jammed a pro-Labour broadcast on a private radio station by Colin Scrimgeour just before the 1935 general election.

Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party

This placed them behind the New Zealand National Party, New Zealand Labour Party, Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, New Zealand First, Maori Party, Mana Party and ACT New Zealand, all of which won electorate representation whether due to party lists and/or electorate seats.

Charter schools in New Zealand

The plan was heavily criticised by the opposition Labour and Green parties, the main teachers' professional associations – the NZEI and the PPTA – and the general public.

Darien Fenton

Fenton's grandfather, Fred Frost, was a Labour MP for New Plymouth from 1938 – 1943.

David Caygill

Douglas, Caygill, and Richard Prebble were together dubbed "the Troika", and were responsible for most of the economic reform undertaken by the Labour government.

Mount Albert by-election, 2009

Former UN Deputy Special Representative and 2002 candidate for Whangarei David Shearer won the Labour nomination from a field of eight candidates including lawyer Helen White and Auckland City councillor Glenda Fryer.

New Zealand general election, 1981

It saw the governing National Party, led by Robert Muldoon, win a third term in office, although the opposition Labour Party, led by Bill Rowling, actually won the largest share of the votes cast.

New Zealand intelligence agencies

While both major political parties (Labour and National) broadly support the current arrangements, there exists a movement which seeks an overhaul of the system, or even the outright abolition of New Zealand's intelligence agencies.

Ormond Wilson

Ormond Wilson met Labour Party MPs (Harry Holland, Michael Joseph Savage and James McCombs) at a luncheon at Government House hosted by the Governor-General Lord Bledisloe.

Ralph Hanan

In 1961, Hanan and nine other National MPs (Ernest Aderman, Gordon Grieve, Duncan MacIntyre, Robert Muldoon, Herbert Pickering, Logan Sloane, Brian Talboys, Mrs Esme Tombleson and Bert Walker) crossed the floor and voted with Labour to abolish the death penalty for murder in New Zealand.

Royal New Zealand Navy

One of the best-known roles that the RNZN played on the world stage was when the frigates Canterbury and the Otago were sent by the Labour Government of Norman Kirk to Moruroa Atoll in 1973 to protest against French nuclear testing there.

St Kilda, New Zealand

This electorate existed from 1946 to 1993 (after which it was replaced by the new Dunedin South electorate), and was represented in turn by Fred Jones (Labour, 1946-1951), Sir James Barnes (National, 1951-1957), Bill Fraser, (Labour, 1957-1981), and Michael Cullen (Labour, 1981-1993).

Stacey Jones

During the New Zealand 2008 election Jones publicly appeared with then Prime Minister Helen Clark and offered his support to the Labour Party campaign.

Taitā, New Zealand

Its urban development began around the middle of the 20th century as part of the Labour Government's State housing scheme.

Three Kings, New Zealand

The office of Phil Goff, former Labour Party leader and MP for the Mt Roskill electorate, is in Three Kings.


see also

Labour Party leadership election, 2011

The New Zealand Labour Party leadership election, 2011 refers to the leadership election that took place in the New Zealand Labour Party following the resignation of Phil Goff

Murray Smith

Murray Robert Smith (1941–2009), New Zealand Labour Party politician & MP

Walter Hudson

Walter Arthur Hudson (1898–1972), New Zealand Labour Party politician, MP for Mornington (Dunedin)