2005 New Zealand general election
Template:Short description Template:Use New Zealand English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox election
Government: Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend Opposition: Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend
The 2005 New Zealand general election on Saturday 17 September 2005 determined the membership of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. One hundred and twenty-one MPs were elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives: 69 from single-member electorates, including one overhang seat, and 52 from party lists (one extra due to the overhang).
No party won a majority, but the Labour Party of Prime Minister Helen Clark secured two seats more than its nearest rival, the National Party, led by Don Brash. With the exception of the newly formed Māori Party, which took four Māori electorates from Labour, most of the other parties polled lower than in the previous election, losing votes and seats.
Brash deferred conceding defeat until 1 October, when National's election-night 49 seats fell to 48 after special votes were counted. The official count increased the Māori Party share of the party vote above 2%, entitling them to three rather than two seats from the party vote. With four electorate seats, the election night overhang of two seats was reduced to one, and as National had the 120th seat allocated under the party vote, National lost one list seat (that of Katrina Shanks) that they appeared to have won on election night.Template:Sfn
The election was a strong recovery for National, which won 21 more seats than at the 2002 election, where it suffered its worst result in its history, and the highest party vote percentage for the party since 1990; indeed, National saw its first vote share gain since 1990. Despite its resurgence, National failed to displace Labour as the largest party in Parliament. National's gains apparently came mainly at the expense of smaller parties, while Labour won only two seats less than in 2002.
On 17 October, Clark announced a new coalition agreement that saw the return of her minority government coalition with the Progressive Party, with confidence and supply support from New Zealand First and from United Future. New Zealand First parliamentary leader Winston Peters and United Future parliamentary leader Peter Dunne became ministers of the Crown outside Cabinet, Peters as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Dunne as Minister of Revenue. The Green Party, which had supported Labour before the election, received no cabinet post (see below), but gained several concessions from the coalition on matters such as energy and transport, and agreed to support the government on matters of confidence and supply. This was the second time that Labour won three consecutive elections, and to date it is the only time it has won three consecutive peacetime elections.
The election
The total votes cast in 2005 was 2,304,005 (2,164,595 & 139,510 Māori). Turnout was 80.92% of those on the rolls, or 77.05% of voting age population. Turnout was higher than in the previous 2002 election (72.5% and 76.98% respectively), and the Māori roll turnout at 67.07% was significantly higher than 2002 (57.5%).Template:Sfn
In the election 739 candidates stood, and there were 19 registered parties with party lists. Of the candidates, 525 were electorate and list, 72 were electorate only and 142 were list only. All but 37 represented registered parties (on the list or in the electorate or both). Only 35 candidates from registered parties chose to stand as an electorate candidate only. 71% of candidates (523) were male and 29% (216) female; the same percentages as in 2002.Template:Sfn
Labour had achieved a third term in office for the first time since 1943.
MPs retiring in 2005
Eight MPs intended to retire at the end of the 47th Parliament.
| Party | Name | Electorate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| rowspan=2 width=3 style="background-color: Template:Party color" | | ACT | Deborah Coddington | (List) |
| Richard Prebble | (List) | ||
| style="background-color: Template:Party color" | | Green | Ian Ewen-Street | (List) |
| rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:Party color" | | National | Lynda Scott | Kaikoura |
| Roger Sowry | (List) | ||
| rowspan=3 style="background-color: Template:Party color" | | Labour | Helen Duncan | (List) |
| Janet Mackey | East Coast | ||
| Mark Peck | Invercargill | ||
Detailed results
Parliamentary parties
<section begin=Results />Template:Election table
| colspan=12 align=center| 
|- style="text-align:center;"
! colspan=2 rowspan=2 style="width:213px;" | Party
! Colspan=3 | Party vote
! Colspan=3 | Electorate vote
! Colspan=4 | Seats
|- style="text-align:center;"
! Votes
! %
! Change
(pp)
! Votes
! %
! Change
(pp)
! List
! Electorate
! Total
! +/-
|-
| Template:Party name with colour
| 935,319
| 41.10
| Template:Decrease0.16
| 902,072
| 40.35
| Template:Decrease4.34
| 19
| 31
| 50
| Template:Decrease2
|-
| Template:Party name with colour
| 889,813
| 39.10
| Template:Increase18.17
| 902,874
| 40.38
| Template:Increase9.84
| 17
| 31
| 48
| Template:Increase21
|-
| Template:Party name with colour
| 130,115
| 5.72
| Template:Decrease4.66
| 78,117
| 3.49
| Template:Decrease0.49
| 7
| 0
| 7
| Template:Decrease6
|-
| Template:Party name with colour
| 120,521
| 5.30
| Template:Decrease1.70
| 92,164
| 4.12
| Template:Decrease1.23
| 6
| 0
| 6
| Template:Decrease3
|-
| Template:Party name with colour
| 48,263
| 2.12
| new
| 75,076
| 3.36
| new
| 0
| 4
| 4
| new
|-
| Template:Party name with colour
| 60,860
| 2.67
| Template:Decrease4.02
| 63,486
| 2.84
| Template:Decrease1.52
| 2
| 1
| 3
| Template:Decrease5
|-
| Template:Party name with colour
| 34,469
| 1.51
| Template:Decrease5.63
| 44,071
| 1.97
| Template:Decrease1.58
| 1
| 1
| 2
| Template:Decrease7
|-
| Template:Party name with colour
| 26,441
| 1.16
| Template:Decrease0.54
| 36,638
| 1.64
| Template:Decrease0.20
| 0
| 1
| 1
| Template:Decrease1
|-
| Template:Party name with colour
| 14,210
| 0.62
| new
| 17,608
| 0.79
| new
| 0
| 0
| 0
| new
|-
| Template:Party name with colour
| 5,748
| 0.25
| Template:Decrease0.39
| 2,601
| 0.12
| Template:Decrease0.05
| 0
| 0
| 0
| Template:Steady
|-
| Template:Party name with colour
| 2,821
| 0.12
| Template:Decrease1.23
| 1,296
| 0.06
| Template:Decrease1.99
| 0
| 0
| 0
| Template:Steady
|-
| Template:Party name with colour
| 1,641
| 0.07
| Template:Decrease1.20
| 1,901
| 0.09
| Template:Decrease1.60
|
| 0
| 0
| Template:Steady
|-
| Template:Party name with colour
| 1,178
| 0.05
| new
| 1,045
| 0.05
| new
| 0
| 0
| 0
| new
|-
| Template:Party name with colour
| 1,079
| 0.05
| new
| 565
| 0.03
| new
| 0
| 0
| 0
| new
|-
|Template:Party name with color
| 946
| 0.04
| Template:Increase0.04
| 781
| 0.03
| Template:Steady
| 0
| 0
| 0
| Template:Steady
|-
| Template:Party name with colour
| 782
| 0.03
| new
| 1,934
| 0.09
| new
|
| 0
| 0
| new
|-
| Template:Party name with colour
| 601
| 0.03
| new
| —
| —
| —
| 0
| 0
| 0
| new
|-
|Template:Party name with color
| 478
| 0.02
| Template:Decrease0.07
| 214
| 0.01
| Template:Decrease0.12
|
| 0
| 0
| Template:Steady
|-
| Template:Party name with colour
| 344
| 0.02
| new
| 131
| 0.01
| new
| 0
| 0
| 0
| new
|-
| style="background-color:#ffffff" |
| style="text-align:left;" |Unregistered parties
| —
| —
| —
| 1,466
| 0.07
| Template:Decrease0.12
| 0
| 0
| 0
| Template:Steady
|-
| Template:Party name with colour
| —
| —
| —
| 11,829
| 0.53
| Template:Decrease0.22
| 0
| 0
| 0
| Template:Steady
|-
! colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" | Valid votes
! 2,275,629
! 98.77
! Template:Decrease0.07
! 2,235,869
! 97.04
! Template:Decrease0.05
! Colspan=4 |
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" | Informal votes
| 10,561
| 0.46
| Template:Increase0.04
| 24,801
| 1.08
| Template:Decrease0.21
| Colspan=4 |
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" | Disallowed votes
| 17,815
| 0.77
| Template:Increase0.03
| 43,335
| 1.88
| Template:Increase0.26
| Colspan=4 |
|-
! colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" | Total
! 2,304,005
! 100
!
! 2,304,005
! 100
!
! 52
! 69
! 121
! Template:Increase1
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" | Eligible voters and Turnout
| 2,847,396
| 80.92
| Template:Increase3.94
| 2,847,396
| 80.92
| Template:Increase3.94
| Colspan=4 |
|}<section end=Results />
The election saw an 81% voter turnout.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The results of the election give a Gallagher index of disproportionality of 1.11.
Votes summary
Template:Bar box Template:Bar box Template:Bar box
Electorate results
The table below shows the results of the 2005 general election:
Key:
| Template:Party index link | Template:Party index link | Template:Party index link | Template:Party index link |
| Template:Party index link | Template:Party index link | Template:Party index link |
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List results
Template:Clear MPs returned via party lists, and unsuccessful candidates, were as follows:<ref name="2005 successful">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="2005 unsuccessful">Template:Cite web</ref>
| Labour | Michael Cullen Margaret Wilson Dover Samuels Jim Sutton2 Mita Ririnui Rick Barker Jill Pettis Ashraf Choudhary Shane Jones Dianne Yates2 Ann Hartley2 Georgina Beyer2 Maryan Street David Parker Russell Fairbrother Dave Hereora Moana Mackey Sue Moroney Darien Fenton |
| Unsuccessful: Charles Chauvel1, Lesley Soper1, Louisa Wall1, William Sio1, Brendon Burns, Hamish McCracken, Denise MacKenzie, Max Purnell, Thomas Harpur, Leila Boyle, Dinesh Tailor, Phil Twyford, Jennifer McCutcheon, Chris Yoo, Michael Wood, Linda Hudson, Stuart Nash, Tony Milne, David Talbot, Marilyn Brown, Anjum Rahman, Eamon Daly, Judy Lawley, Michael Mora, Erin Ebborn-Gillespie, Ailian Su, Ghazala Anwar, Paul Gibson, Kelly-Ann Harvey, Camille Nakhid, Ola Kamel, Andrea Bather | |
| National | Don Brash2 David Carter Katherine Rich Tim Groser Richard Worth Clem Simich Georgina te Heuheu Pansy Wong Chris Finlayson Nicky Wagner Tau Henare Chris Auchinvole Mark Blumsky Kate Wilkinson Nathan Guy Jackie Blue Paula Bennett |
| Unsuccessful: Katrina Shanks1, Fepulea'i Aiono, Ravi Musuku, Moira Irving, Mita Harris, Michael Leddy, Conway Powell, David Round, Gilbert Stehbens, Kenneth Yee, Paul Goldsmith, Malcolm Plimmer, Nicola Young, Tim Macindoe, Allison Lomax, Weston Kirton, Rosemarie Thomas | |
| New Zealand First | Winston Peters Peter Brown Brian Donnelly2 Ron Mark Doug Woolerton Barbara Stewart Pita Paraone |
| Unsuccessful: Susan Baragwanath, Jim Peters, Dail Jones1, Craig McNair, Edwin Perry, Bill Gudgeon, Brent Catchpole, Joe Williams, John Foote, Fletcher Tabuteau, Alan Heward, Kristin Campbell Smith, Bryan Lundy, David Fowler, Brendan Stewart, Brett Webster, Bob Daw, Murray Strawbridge, Moetu Davis, Toa Greening, David Mackie, Anne Martin, Julian Batchelor, Chis Perry, Lindy Palmer, Brian Roswell, Matua Glen, James Mist, Howard Levarko, Paul Manning, Timothy Manu, Kevin Gardener, Graham Odering | |
| Greens | Jeanette Fitzsimons Rod Donald2 Sue Bradford Sue Kedgley Keith Locke Metiria Turei |
| Unsuccessful: Nándor Tánczos12, Mike Ward, Catherine Delahunty, Russel Norman1, Steffan Browning, David Clendon, Lucinda Highfield, Jonathan Carapiet, Roland Sapsford, Mojo Mathers, Mikaere Curtis, Paul Bruce, Jeanette Elley, Muamua Strickson-Pua, Richard Davies, Lois Griffiths, Natalie Cutler-Welsh, Jane Pearce, Lawrence O'Halloran, Richard Green, Claire Bleakley, Irene Bentley, Craig Carson, Nicola Harvey, Moea Armstrong, Steve Bayliss, Laura Beck, Sarah Brown, Terence Creighton, John Davis, Katherine Dewar, James Diack, Ruth Earth, Kathryn Elsen, Graham Evans, Nicholas Fisher, Robert Guyton, Daniel Howard, Philippa Jamieson, Stephen Lee, Alan Liefting, Mary McCammon, John Milnes, Michael Morris, Noel Peterson, Paul Qualtrough, Jacob Rawls, Raewyn Saville, Ian Stephens, Richard Suggate, Peter Thomlinson | |
| Māori | Unsuccessful: Atareta Poananga, Simon Wi Rutene, Glenis Philip-Barbara, Robert Consedine, Pakake Winiata, Te Whiti Love, Angeline Greensill, William Maea, Monte Ohia, Te Orohi Paul, Bronwyn Yates, Charles Joe, Teremoananuiakiwa Tahere, Malcolm Peri, Anthony Ruakere, Ratapu Te Awa, Brett Cowan, Josephine Peita, Anne Fitzsimon, Abraham Hepi, Ngahiwi Tomoana, Tureiti Moxon, Aroha Reriti-Crofts, John Harré, Rangi McLean, Tell Kuka, Bill Puru, Mere Rawiri-Tau, Richard Orzecki, Maraea Ropata, Robert Hosking, Daryl Gregory, Rangi Tawhiao, Andre Meihana, Solomon Matthews, Adell Dick, Georgina Haremate-Crawford, Raewyn Harrison, Cecilia Hotene, Alice Hudson, Reimana Johnson, Rahuia Kapa, David King, Aaron Makutu, Kelvin Martin, Merehora Taurua, Frances Waaka, Henrietta Walker |
| United Future | Judy Turner Gordon Copeland |
| Unsuccessful: Marc Alexander, Larry Baldock, Murray Smith, Paul Check, Janet Tuck, Bernie Ogilvy, Graeme Reeves, Russell Judd, Hannah Baral, Joy Lietze, Neville Wilson, Richard Barter, Stephen Taylor, Ian McInnes, Ross Tizard, Fiona McKenzie, Andrew Barr, John Walker, Ram Parkash, Ralph Kennard, Jayati Prasad, Vanessa Roberts, Gerald Telford, Robin Loomes, Robyn Jackson, Anthony Gordon, Gregory Graydon, Martyn Seddon, Bernard McClelland, Beth Stone, Robin Westley, Rosemary Drake, Gordon Hinton, Michael Satur, Diane Brown, Steven Dromgool, Andrea Deeth, Mark Peters, Mary Moffat, Dennis Wells, Milton Osborne, Garry Pedersen, William Pickering, Adam Archer, Neil Linscott, Barry Hayes, Janita Stuart, Dianne Wilson, James Rudd, Peter Mountain, Stuart Robertson, John van Buren, Jeffrey Leigh, Matthew Collier | |
| ACT | Heather Roy |
| Unsuccessful: Muriel Newman, Stephen Franks, Graham Scott, Ken Shirley, Kenneth Wang, Gerry Eckhoff, Lindsay Mitchell, Bronwyn Jacobsen, Simon Ewing-Jarvie, Jo Giles, Willie Martin, David Olsen, Hamish Stevens, Andrew Jollands, Hardev Singh Brar, Lech Beltowski, Ian Beker, Christopher Brown, Kevin Gill, John Waugh, Dianne Dawson, Kevin Murray, Stephen Langford-Tebby, Gavin Middleton, John Fraser, Frances Denz, Elizabeth Barkla, Nigel Chetty, Scott Clune, Michael Collins, Tetauru Emile, Andrew Falloon, Michael Heine, Kerry O'Connor, David Seymour, Helen Simpson, Philip White, Alan Wilden, Andrew Stone, Barbara Steinijans, John Riddell, Carl Peterson, Andre Peters, Julie Pepper, Thomas McClelland, Alexander Mann, Michelle Lorenz, Nigel Kearney, Nicholas Kearney, Mark Davies, Stephen Cox, Raymond Bassett, Brian Davidson, Rebekah Holdaway, Shirley Marshall, Patrick O'Sullivan, Garry Mallett | |
| Progressive | Unsuccessful: Matt Robson, Grant Gillon, Megan Woods, John Wright, Sione Fonua, Vivienne Shepherd, Ngov Ly, Fatima Ashrafi, Barry Wilson, Fale Leleisiuao, Russell Franklin, Paula Gillon, Philip Clearwater, Trevor Barnard, Raghbir Singh, Brenda Hill, Fiona Beazley, Russell Caldwell, David Reeks, John Maurice, Seyed Kazemi Yazdi, Heka Heker, Veronique Stewart-Ward, Zemin Zhang, Julian Aaron, Sukerna Amirapu, Annette Anderson, Sukhdev Bains, Peter Banks, James Boyack, Ian Donald, Lewis Holland, Karandeep Lall, Jacqueline McAlpine, Claire Main, Philippa Main, James Palmer, Max Panirau, David Parkyn, Elizabeth Patchett, Talatala Po'e, Pavitra Roy, Elspeth Sandys, Anthony Sharrock, Barry Silcock, Karen Silcock, David Somerset, Petronella Townsend, Martin Vaughan, Jennifer Wilson |
| Destiny | Unsuccessful: Richard Lewis, David Jesze, Elaine Herbert, Hayden Solomon, Nigel Heslop, Etuate Saafi, Anita Breach, Charles Te Kowhai, David Knight, Hawea Vercoe, Neils Jensen, Sophie Hemahema-Tamati, Rodney Gabb, James Te Wano, Stephen Sinnott, Frances Williamson, Kerin Roberts, Peter Johnston, John Kotoisuva, Karen Penney, Colin Ranby, Tala Leiasamaivao, Paul Hubble, Roberta Maxwell, Tony Harrison, David Daglish, Jason Thomson, Maru Samuel, Stephen Brown, William Sadler, Patrick Morton, Ned So'e, David Isaachsen, Mason Lee, Stanley Green, Patrick Komene, Anthony Ford, Maureen Vincent, Albert Wipani, Brian Ane, Tauha Te Kani, Douglas Keven |
| Legalise Cannabis | Unsuccessful: Michael Appleby, Michael Britnell, Judy Daniels, Paula Lambert, Irinka Britnell, Kevin O'Connell, Paul McMullan, Steven Wilkinson, Judy Matangi, Jason Baker-Sherman, Peter Green, Neville Yates, Phillip Pophristoff |
| Christian Heritage | Unsuccessful: Ewen McQueen, Derek Blight, Nicholas Barber, Betty Jenkins, Mark Jones, Joy Jones |
| Alliance | Unsuccessful: Jill Ovens, Paul Piesse, Andrew McKenzie, Julie Fairey, Kane O'Connell, Leonard Richards, Jim Flynn, Victor Billot, Margaret Jeune, Robert van Ruyssevelt, Thomas Dowie, Christopher Ford, Quentin Findlay, Kelly Buchanan, Joseph Hendren, Gail Marmont, Alexander Protheroe, Gregory Kleis, Sandra Ethell, Colin Pounder, Robert Harrison, Peta Knibb, Marvin Hubbard, Shirley Haslemore, Norman MacRitchie, Eric Gamble, Lynda Boyd, Jocelyn Brooks, Nicholas Corlett, Nicolas Scullin |
| Family Rights Protection | Unsuccessful: Tafe Williams, Tapu Po-Wihongi, Christine Reid, Lale Ene-Ulugia, John Ulberg, Anne Kerisome Zekaria Strickland, Siniva Papali'i, Amelia Fepulea'i, Tangata Greig, Te Paeru Browne-Knowles, Papali'i Malietoa, Edward Ulberg, Etevise Fuiava, Souvenir Sanerivi, Manogitulua Livapulu-Head, Kearlene Ulberg, Christie Greig, Rafaele Vaifale |
| Democrats for Social Credit | Unsuccessful: Stephnie de Ruyter, John Pemberton, David Wilson, Richard Prosser, John Steemson, Katherine Ransom, John Kilbride, Graham Atkin, Heather Smith, David Tranter, Edgar Goodhue, Malcolm Murchie, Ross Weddell, David Espin, Ross Hayward, Bruce Stirling, Karl Hewlett, Ronald England, Kelly Pemberton, Robert Warren, David Wood, Mary Weddell, Allen Cookson, Barry Pulford, Hessel van Wieren, Alida Steemson, Edward Fox, Coralie Leyland, John Rawson |
| Libertarianz | Unsuccessful: Bernard Darnton, Julian Pistorius, Timothy Wikiriwhi, Susan Ryder, Peter Cresswell, Colin Cross, Helen Hughes, Russell Watkins, Peter Linton, Michael Webber, Robin Thomsen, Philip Howison, Michael Murphy, Faustina White, Andrew Bates, Richard Goode, Luke Howison, Christopher Robertson, Peter Osborne, Barry Cole, Donald Rowberry, Willem Verhoeven, Elliot Smith, Nikolas Haden, Terence Verhoeven, Keith Patterson, Kenneth Riddle, Robert Palmer |
| Direct Democracy | Unsuccessful: Kelvyn Alp, Paul Teio, Dilip Rupa, Patrick Fahy, Michael Francis-Roberson, Simon Guy, Gary Burch, Kevin Smith, Kevin Moore, Kyle Chapman, Rex Newey, Gregory Trichon, Alona Covich, Eugene Opai, Seira Perese, Tin Yau Chan, Helen Koster, Craig Stratton, Alastair Anderson, Anton Foljambe, Robert T Atack, Leanne Martinovich, Grant Burch, Howard Ponga, Edward Sullivan, Colin Punter, Mel Whaanga, Jason Anderson, Jason Orme, Barry Scott, Scott Burch, Craig Guy |
| 99MP | Unsuccessful: Margaret Robertson, Ramasmy Ramanathan |
| One NZ | Unsuccessful: Ian Brougham, Richard Fisher, James White, John Porter, Janet Walters, Lanya Murray |
| Republic of NZ | Unsuccessful: Kerry James, Wayne Hawkins, Debra Potroz, Jack Gielen, Steven Hart, Gilbert Parker |
- Notes
- These party list members later entered parliament in the term as other list MPs elected resigned from parliament.
- These party list members later resigned during the parliamentary term.
Changes during parliamentary term
Party vote by electorate
Analysis of results
Going into the election, Labour had assurances of support from the Greens (six seats in 2005, down three from 2002) and from the Progressives (one seat, down one). This three-party bloc won 57 seats, leaving Clark four seats short of the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 121-seat Parliament (decreased from the expected 122 because the final results gave the Māori Party only one overhang seat, after it appeared to win two overhang seats on election night). On 5 October the Māori Party began a series of hui to decide whom to support. That same day reports emerged that a meeting between Helen Clark and Māori co-leader Tariana Turia on 3 October had already ruled out a formal coalition between Labour and the Māori Party. Māori Party representatives also held discussions with National representatives, but most New Zealanders thought the Māori Party more likely to give confidence-supply support to a Labour-dominated government because its supporters apparently heavily backed Labour in the party vote.
Had Turia and her co-leader Pita Sharples opted to join a Labour-Progressive-Green coalition, Clark would have had sufficient support to govern with support from a grouping of four parties (Labour, Green, Māori and Progressive). Without the Māori Party, Labour needed the support of New Zealand First (seven seats, down six) and United Future (three seats, down five) to form a government. New Zealand First said it would support (or at least abstain from opposing in confidence-motions) the party with the most seats. Clark sought from New Zealand First a positive commitment rather than abstention. United Future, which had supported the previous Labour-Progressive minority government in confidence and supply, said it would talk first to the party with the most seats about support or coalition. Both New Zealand First and United Future said they would not support a Labour-led coalition which included Greens in Cabinet posts. However, United Future indicated it could support a government where the Greens gave supply-and-confidence votes.<ref name="NZ_Herald_10346236">Template:Cite news</ref>
Brash had only one possible scenario to become Prime Minister: a centre-right coalition with United Future and ACT (two seats, down seven). Given the election results, however, such a coalition would have required the confidence-and-supply votes of both New Zealand First and the Māori Party. This appeared highly unlikely on several counts. New Zealand First's involvement in such a coalition would have run counter to Peters' promise to deal with the biggest party, and Turia and Sharples would have had difficulty in justifying supporting National after their supporters' overwhelming support for Labour in the party vote. Turia and Sharples probably remembered the severe mauling New Zealand First suffered in the 1999 election. (Many of its supporters in 1996 believed they had voted to get rid of National, only to have Peters go into coalition with National; New Zealand First has never really recovered.) Even without this to consider, National had indicated it would abolish the Maori seats if it won power.
The new government as eventually formed consisted of Labour and Progressive in coalition, while New Zealand First and United Future entered agreements of support on confidence and supply motions. In an unprecedented move, Peters and Dunne became Foreign Affairs Minister and Revenue Minister, respectively, but remained outside cabinet and had no obligatory cabinet collective responsibility on votes outside their respective portfolios.
Background
The governing Labour Party retained office at 2002 election. However, its junior coalition partner, the Alliance, lost most of its support after internal conflict and disagreement and failed to win parliamentary representation. Labour formed a coalition with the new Progressive Coalition, formed by former Alliance leader Jim Anderton. The Labour-Progressive coalition then obtained an agreement of support ("confidence and supply") from United Future, enabling it to form a stable minority government. The National Party, Labour's main opponents, suffered a major defeat, winning only 21% of the vote (22.5% of the seats), its weakest showing in an election.
The collapse of National's vote led ultimately to the replacement of its Parliamentary party leader Bill English with parliamentary newcomer Don Brash, the former governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, on 28 October 2003. Brash began an aggressive campaign against the Labour-dominated government. A major boost to this campaign came with his "Orewa speech" (27 January 2004), in which he attacked the Labour-dominated government for giving "special treatment" to the Māori population, particularly over the foreshore and seabed controversy. This resulted in a surge of support for the National Party, although most polls indicated that this subsequently subsided. National also announced it would not stand candidates in the Māori electorates, with some smaller parties following suit.
The foreshore-and-seabed controversy also resulted in the establishment of the Māori Party in July 2004. The Māori Party hoped to break Labour's traditional (and then current) dominance in the Māori electorates, just as New Zealand First had done in the 1996 election.
A large number of so-called "minor" parties also contested the election. These included Destiny New Zealand (the political branch of the Destiny Church) and the Direct Democracy Party.
Polls
A series of opinion polls published in June 2005 indicated that the National Party had moved ahead of Labour for the first time since June 2004. Commentators speculatedTemplate:Citation needed that a prominent billboard campaign may have contributed to this. Some saidTemplate:Citation needed the National Party had peaked too early. The polls released throughout July showed once more an upward trend for Labour, with Labour polling about 6% above National. The release by the National Party of a series of tax-reform proposals in August 2005 appeared to correlate with an increase in its ratings in the polls.
Direct comparisons between the following polls have no statistical validity:
| poll | date | Labour | National | NZ First | Greens |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One News Colmar Brunton | 29 August | 43% | 40% | 5% | 7% |
| 3 News TNS | 1 September | 39% | 41% | 6% | 6% |
| Herald DigiPoll | 2 September | 43.4% | 39.1% | 6.6% | 5% |
| Fairfax NZ/ACNeilsen | 3 September | 41% | 44% | <5% | 5% |
| One News Colmar Brunton | 4 September | 38% | 46% | 4.6% | 6% |
| 3 News TNS | 7 September | 45% | 36% | 5% | 7% |
| Herald Digipoll | 8 September | 40.6% | 40.1% | 7.1% | 5.6% |
| Herald Digipoll | 11 September | 42.1% | 38.5% | 5% | 6% |
| ACNielsen-Sunday Star-Times | 11 September | 37% | 44% | 5% | 6% |
| One News Colmar Brunton | 11 September | 39% | 41% | 6% | 6% |
| Fairfax ACNielsen | 14 September | 37% | 43% | 7% | 6% |
| 3 News TNS | 15 September | 40.5% | 38.7% | 6.8% | 6.9% |
| TVNZ Colmar Brunton | 15 September | 38% | 41% | 5.5% | 5.1% |
| Herald Digipoll | 16 September | 44.6% | 37.4% | 4.5% | 4.6% |
No single political event can explain the significant differences between most of these polls over the period between them. They show either volatility in the electorate and/or flaws in the methods of polling. In the later polls, the issue of National's knowledge of a series of pamphlets (distributed by members of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church and attacking the Green and Labour parties) appeared not to have reduced National Party support.
Candidates
For lists of candidates in the 2005 election see:
Major policy platforms
Labour Party
The Labour Party platform<ref>Labour web site Template:Webarchive</ref> included:
- student loans: writing off interest if the recipient stays in New Zealand
- health: a pledge of extra public-hospital operations
- Treaty of Waitangi: accepting no lodgements for Treaty-claims after 1 September 2008
- increasing rates-rebates
- a "KiwiSaver" programme, aimed at getting first homeowners into their own homes
- sponsoring 5,000 new apprenticeships
- increasing community police-force numbers by 250.
- a "Working for Families" tax-relief/benefit programme aimed at lower to middle-income families
National Party
The National Party campaigned on the platform of (National Party Press Release):
- taxation: lowering income-tax rates. The party ran a television advertisement parodying the telethons aired by TVNZ in the 1980s, rewording the telethon theme song "Thank you very much for your kind donation" (itself a cover of the 1967 The Scaffolds song "Thank U Very Much") to "Thank you very much for your high taxation"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- removing references to the Treaty of Waitangi from existing legislation; and resolving all treaty claims amicably by 2010
- by 1 April 2006, make student-loan repayments and $5000 of pre-school childcare costs recoupable to mainstream New Zealanders
- "reworking" the New Zealand Resource Management Act 1991 to make development easier
- "removing excessive bureaucracy" in the education system, in particular by overhauling the NCEA, and by re-introducing "bulk funding" of schools
- abolishing early parole for violent criminals. (As of 2005 most prisoners became eligible for parole after serving one-third of their sentence)
- a return to "market rents" for state-housing tenants, including a system of paying housing-subsidies (for the poorest tenants) directly to private landlords
- increase Nationwide Maths and English standards
- welfare Reform – reduce the waste of having 300,000 working age New Zealand adults on benefits and to ensure all of those on benefits really need the help
- a "work-for-the-dole" scheme
- abolishing the Maori electorates
Voting
Postal voting for New Zealanders abroad began on 31 August. Ballot voting took place on Saturday 17 September, from 9Template:Nbspam to 7Template:Nbsppm. The Chief Electoral Office released a provisional result at 12:05Template:Nbspam on 18 September.
Party funding
New Zealand operates on a system whereby the Electoral Commission allocates funding for advertising on television and on radio. Parties must use their own money for all other forms of advertising, but may not use any of their own money for television or radio advertising.
| Party | Funding in 2005 Election |
|---|---|
| Labour | $1,100,000 |
| National | $900,000 |
| ACT | $200,000 |
| Greens | $200,000 |
| NZ First | $200,000 |
| United Future | $200,000 |
| Māori Party | $125,000 |
| Progressives | $75,000 |
| Alliance | $20,000 |
| Christian Heritage NZ | $20,000 |
| Destiny NZ | $20,000 |
| Libertarianz | $20,000 |
| 99 MP Party* | $10,000 |
| Beneficiaries Party* | $10,000 |
| Democrats | $10,000 |
| National Front* | $10,000 |
| New Zealand F.R.P.P.* | $10,000 |
| Patriot Party* | $10,000 |
| The Republic of New Zealand Party | $10,000 |
*Must register for funding
Source: Electoral Commission
Controversies
Police investigated six political parties for alleged breaches of election-spending rules relating to the 2005 election, but brought no prosecutions,<ref name="NZ_Herald_10373214">Template:Cite news</ref> determining that "there was insufficient evidence to indicate that an offence under s214b of the Electoral Act had been committed."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Auditor-General has also investigated publicly funded party-advertising for the 2005 election, with a leaked preliminary finding of much of the spending as unlawful. Observers expected the release of a final report in October 2006.<ref name="NZ_Herald_10400726">Template:Cite news</ref>
Plymouth Brethren Christian Church involvement
The 2005 general election was marked by controversial third-party campaigning by members of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (at the time known as the Exclusive Brethren), a secretive Christian group.<ref name="NZH_Nightmare">Template:Cite news</ref> Members of the church funded a campaign aimed at helping the National Party win, which included anonymous pamphlets and the hiring of private investigators.<ref name="NZH_Nightmare" />
Pamphlet campaign
Brethren members funded and distributed a series of pamphlets that attacked the incumbent Labour government and, in particular, the Green Party.<ref name="NZH_SecretSeven">Template:Cite news</ref> The pamphlets made claims such as that the Greens' policies were "reminiscent...of communists".<ref name="Scoop_BrashLying">Template:Cite web</ref> The campaign, which was later revealed to have a "war-chest" of $1.2 million, was organised by a group of seven Brethren businessmen who later identified themselves as the "secret seven".<ref name="NZH_SecretSeven" /><ref name="NZH_Record">Template:Cite news</ref>
Surveillance and links to Don Brash
The controversy deepened after the election when, in September 2006, it was revealed that Brethren members had hired private investigators to "dig dirt" on Labour MPs.<ref name="NZH_DugDirt">Template:Cite news</ref> This included the surveillance of Prime Minister Helen Clark and her husband, Peter Davis, which coincided with what Clark called a "smear campaign" of rumours about Davis.<ref name="NZH_DugDirt" /><ref name="NZH_SpyCold">Template:Cite news</ref>
The campaign also raised questions about the National Party's involvement. Party leader Don Brash initially distanced himself from the pamphlets.<ref name="NZH_SecretSeven" /> However, he later admitted to meeting with Brethren members, who told him they planned to issue pamphlets attacking the government, to which Brash replied, "that's tremendous".<ref name="Scoop_BrashLying" /> The full extent of the coordination was later detailed in Nicky Hager's 2006 book, The Hollow Men, which was based on leaked emails from Brash's office.<ref name="NatLib_HollowMen">Template:Cite web</ref> In the wake of the scandal, Brash "cut ties" with the church.<ref name="NZH_SpyCold" />
References
Further reading
External links
- Elections New Zealand, joint website of the Electoral Enrolment Centre, Chief Electoral Office, and Electoral Commission.
- 2005 General Election Results from the Chief Electoral Office, Ministry of Justice
- nzvotes.org, comparative information on parties, candidates and electorates
- New Zealand Herald Election 2005 website
- Stuff.co.nz Election 2005 website
- Scoop Election 2005 website
- Scoop Election 2005 campaign diary
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