The 41st Parliament was the first term of the fourth
Labour Party government. It marked the end of three terms of
National Party administration under
Robert Muldoon.
David Lange become
Prime Minister and
Roger Douglas became
Minister of Finance — the economic reforms undertaken by Douglas, nicknamed Rogernomics, would prove to be a defining feature of the fourth Labour government, and were deeply unpopular with Labour's traditional support base. The National Party, now in opposition, experienced a number of leadership disputes, replacing Muldoon first with
Jim McLay and then with
Jim Bolger.
The 41st Parliament consisted of ninety-five representatives, the highest number since the
10th Parliament (elected in
1887). All of these representatives were chosen by single-member geographical electorates, including four
Māori electorates.
Electoral boundaries for the 41st Parliament
Overview of seats
The table below shows the number of MPs in each party following the 1984 election and at dissolution:
^The candidate Doug Graham who contested the Lyttelton electorate for National is a different person from
Doug Graham, who contested and won the Remuera seat.
^Bob Jones came third for the New Zealand Party in Ohariu
^In July 1983
Kirk said he would not stand in 1984: when
Anderton was selected for
Sydenham, Kirk (a
Lange supporter) withdrew from the Labour caucus and was suspended by Labour, becoming an independent
By-elections during 41st Parliament
There were a number of changes during the term of the 41st Parliament.
Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen.
ISBN0-474-00177-6.
Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946-1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington.
ISBN0-475-11200-8.