New Zealand general election, 1972

1972 General Election
Leader:	Norman Kirk {{{title}}}	Jack Marshall {{{title}}}
Party:	Labour	National
Leader Since:	1965	1972
Leaders seat:	Sydenham	Karori
Last election:	39 seats	45 seats
Seats Won:	55	32
Popular vote:	677,669	581,422

The New Zealand general election of 1972 was held to elect MPs to the 37th session of the New Zealand Parliament. The Labour Party, led by Norman Kirk, defeated the governing National Party.

Background

The National Party had been in office since the 1960 elections, when it had defeated the ruling Labour Party, led by Walter Nash. The Second Labour Government was the shortest-lasting of all New Zealand governments to that day; in contrast, the Second National Government, led for the majority of its tenure by Keith Holyoake, would be re-elected three times. National's policies were focused around stability and a "steady as she goes" approach, but Holyoake's Government was increasingly perceived as tired and worn-out. In February 1972, Holyoake stood aside and was replaced by his deputy, Jack Marshall, who took steps to reinvigorate the party.

Meanwhile, Norman Kirk had been at the helm of Labour since 1965. In this time, he had been modernising and updating the Labour Party, but narrowly lost the 1969 election. Kirk slimmed and dressed to improve his image, and visited several overseas Labour parties to broaden his knowledge. He activated a "spokesman" or shadow cabinet system to spread the responsibility, though it was difficult to avoid one composed largely of Auckland and Christchurch members. Despite these improvements, commentators speculated whether National would pull off another cliff-hanger victory. Economic recession and voter fatigue hurt National at the polls. Labour's solgan was 'Time For A Change-Vote Labour', which expertly captured the national mood.

1972 electoral redistribution

Since the 1969 elections, the number of electorates in the South Island was fixed at 25, with continued faster population growth in the North Island leading to an increase in the number of general electorates. Including the four Māori electorates, there had been 80 electorates since the 1902 elections. This increased to 84 electorates through the 1969 election. The 1972 electoral redistribution saw three additional general seats created for the North Island, bringing the total number of electorates to 87. Together with increased urbanisation in Christchurch and Nelson, the changes proved very disruptive to existing electorates. Only two South Island electorates were not altered by the redistribution (Clutha and Lyttelton). Only eight of the North Island electorates were not altered (Franklin, Gisborne, Hobson, Island Bay, Miramar, North Shore, Tamaki, and Wairarapa).

In the South Island, three electorates were abolished (Buller, Westland, and Selwyn), and three electorates were newly created (Rakaia, Tasman, and West Coast). In the North Island, five electorates were abolished (Hauraki, Marsden, Otaki, Waimarino, and Waitomo), two electorates were recreated ( Coromandel and Otahuhu), and six electorates were newly created (East Coast Bays, Hamilton East, Kapiti, King Country, Ruahine, and Whangarei).

The election

The date for the 1972 elections was 25 November, a Saturday. 1,583,256 people were registered to vote, and there was a turnout of 89.1%. This turnout was slightly higher than the previous election, and considerably higher than the following one. The number of electorates being contested was 87.

Results

The 1972 election saw the Labour Party defeat the governing National Party, winning 55 seats to National's 32. Labour was therefore able to form its first government since 1960, with Norman Kirk becoming Prime Minister. The second National government thus gave way to the third Labour government. No minor parties managed to gain seats, and no independents were elected. There were 1,583,256 electors on the roll, with 1,401,152 (88.50%) voting.

Key

  National     Labour     Social Credit     Independent  

Electorate results for the New Zealand general election, 1972

Electorate	Incumbent		Winner		Majority	Runner up
General electorates
Auckland Central		Norman Douglas			2,009		W C Edwards
Avon		John Mathison		Mary Batchelor	6,055		G V Thomas
Awarua		Hugh Templeton		Aubrey Begg	723		Hugh Templeton
Bay of Plenty		Percy Allen			2,189		G B Mead
Birkenhead		Norman King			1,533		Don McKinnon
Christchurch Central		Bruce Barclay			5,103		Mrs B J Beaven
Clutha		Peter Gordon			2,131		L. J. McKay
Coromandel	(new electorate)			Leo Schultz	2,181		Mrs A Murphy
Dunedin Central		Brian MacDonell			3,771		F. A. O'Neill
Dunedin North		Ethel McMillan			4,020		J. H. Wallis
East Coast Bays	(new electorate)			Frank Gill	979		B T Pauling
Eden		John Rae		Mike Moore	788		Mary Kidd
Egmont		Venn Young			2,928		R L Peck
Franklin		Alfred E. Allen		Bill Birch	4,188		Geoff Braybrooke
Gisborne		Esme Tombleson		Trevor Davey	488		Esme Tombleson
Grey Lynn		Eddie Isbey			5,487		J. Meder
Hamilton East	(new electorate)			Rufus Rogers	397		R M Jansen
Hamilton West		Leslie Munro		Dorothy Jelicich	544		G. S. D. Heather
Hastings		Duncan MacIntyre		Richard Mayson	1,148		Duncan MacIntyre
Hawkes Bay		Richard Harrison			600		David Butcher
Henderson		Martyn Finlay			4,221		R. C. MacFarlane
Heretaunga		Ron Bailey			2,964		J W Schnellenberg
Hobson		Logan Sloane			1,148		B. H. E. Manning
Hutt		Trevor Young			3,397		E M C Fowler
Invercargill		John Chewings		J. B. Munro	765		J G Chewings
Island Bay		Gerald O'Brien			3,495		B H Farland
Kapiti	(new electorate)			Frank O'Flynn	706		Barry Brill
Karori		Jack Marshall			4,408		A Floyd
King Country	(new electorate)			Jim Bolger	1,240		B C Sakey
Lyttelton		Tom McGuigan			3,235		John Blumsky
Manawatu		Les Gandar		Allan McCready	427		M W Hancock
Mangere		Colin Moyle			3,939		S A Lawson
Manukau		Roger Douglas			2,844		R O Price
Manurewa		Phil Amos			2,397		Patrick Norman Baker
Marlborough		Ian Brooks			1,290		B J Dalliessi
Miramar		Bill Young			434		Brian Edwards
Mt Albert		Warren Freer			3,980		J H Malcolm
Napier		Gordon Christie			3,725		Mrs M A Bell
Nelson		Stanley Whitehead			1,933		I D McWhannell
New Lynn		Jonathan Hunt			4,312		G D McDermott
New Plymouth		Ron Barclay			1,296		T W Boon
North Shore		George Gair			2,821		C A Chiles
Oamaru		Allan Dick		Bill Laney	390		Allan Dick
Onehunga		Hugh Watt			4,835		P A Blakeborough
Otago Central		Murray Rose		Ian Quigley	1,483		Murray Rose
Otahuhu	(new electorate)			Bob Tizard	6,403		D C Brooker
Pahiatua		Keith Holyoake			4,359		L J Cairns
Pakuranga		Bob Tizard		Gavin Downie	1,802		J. B. Irwin
Palmerston North		Joe Walding			1,766		P W Mitchell
Papanui		Bert Walker			1,734		Mrs M McG Clark
Petone		Fraser Colman			5,340		N G Ursin
Piako		Jack Luxton			4,472		I L Howell
Porirua		Gerard Wall			4,399		R A Doughty
Raglan		Douglas Carter			1,350		A J Smith
Rakaia	(new electorate)			Colin McLachlan	2,133		H A Clark
Rangiora		Herbert Pickering		Kerry Burke	866		A E Hartt
Rangitikei		Norman Shelton		Roy Jack	3,037		N R Pearce
Remuera		Allan Highet			6,118		L R Stanton
Riccarton		Eric Holland			2,164		D I Jackson
Rodney		Peter Wilkinson			4,507		P W Trim
Roskill		Arthur Faulkner			4,439		John Maurice Priestley
Rotorua		Harry Lapwood			786		N F Pachoud
Ruahine	(new electorate)			Les Gandar	552		T S Mihaere
St Albans		Roger Drayton			3,066		R T Doak
St Kilda		William Fraser			5,615		C La S Kirby
South Canterbury		Rob Talbot			2,035		N. D. Braithwaite
Stratford		David Thomson			3,068		D G Turney
Sydenham		Norman Kirk			6,986		J F Burn
Tamaki		Robert Muldoon			4,590		A H Hedger
Tasman	(new electorate)			Bill Rowling	1,834		G H Hunt
Taupo		Rona Stevenson		Jack Ridley	783		J. F. Higgins
Tauranga		George Walsh		Keith Allen	2,215		H. J. Uttinger
Timaru		Basil Arthur			3,954		D A J Walker
Wairarapa		Jack Williams			1,086		Ben Couch
Waitemata		Frank Gill		Michael Bassett	2,544		Ray La Varis
Wallace		Brian Talboys			2,904		I D Lamont
Wanganui		William Tolhurst		Russell Marshall	2,879		William Tolhurst
Wellington Central		Dan Riddiford		Ken Comber	27		D. A. Shand
West Coast	(new electorate)			Paddy Blanchfield	4,242		Barry Dallas
Western Hutt		Henry May			2,392		Julian Watts
Whangarei	(new electorate)			Murray Smith	1,180		L. G. Carr
Waikato		Lance Adams-Schneider			4,208		R D Reese
Wigram		Mick Connelly			5,255		D. G. Cox
Māori electorates
Eastern Maori		Paraone Reweti			6,190		K. M. Dewes
Northern Maori		Matiu Rata			5,260		Graham Latimer
Southern Maori		Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan			8,251		K. Parahi
Western Maori		Koro Wētere			8,686		R. Te A. H. Rawiri