The Tauranga by-election was a
by-election in the
New Zealand electorate of
Tauranga, a city in New Zealand's
North Island. It took place on 17 April 1993, and was precipitated by the resignation from parliament of sitting MP
Winston Peters. Peters, who had been increasingly at odds with his
National Party colleagues, had resigned both from his party and from Parliament. He contested the seat as an independent.[1]
Background
None of the major parties contested this election, claiming the upcoming general election was close enough to make the by-election nothing but a publicity stunt. The National Party did not propose a candidate to replace Peters. As expected, Peters won a massive majority, receiving just over ninety percent of the vote. While Peters' grip on Tauranga was so secure at the time that no one believed he would lose, there was some question about what his margin would have been had the other parties challenged him.[2]
Candidates
Eleven candidates stood in the election. None of the three main political parties at the time (the
National Party,
Labour Party or
Alliance) fielded candidates. The candidates were:[3]
Ian Malcolm Blakie, an Auckland picture framer and art dealer, stood as an independent candidate. He advocated for tax incentives for small businesses, abolition of
Maori electorates, reintroducing
capital punishment for serious crimes and New Zealand
becoming a republic.
Gary John Barham, an organic farmer of Tauranga, stood under the label "Health for All" (HFA). He was a member of the
Green Party and the Toxins Awareness Group which successfully campaigned the
Tauranga City Council for a referendum against the use of chemical sprays by the council.
Ashley Grant Bedford, a Tauranga-based artist, stood for the Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) movement. A longtime campaigner for legalising Marijuana, his policies were to
legalise Marijuana in order to develop a
hemp fibre industry in New Zealand.
Victor Frederick Bryers, a retired engineer, was a candidate for the Christ's Ambassadors Union a party of Christian ideals. Bryers was concerned with rising public debt, high unemployment and crime increases saying that the love of money is the root of all evil. He was a candidate at the recent by-elections in
Tamaki and
Wellington Central.
Raymond Alan Campbell, an unemployed man from Rotorua, stood for the Aotearoa Partnership. He stated his party believed New Zealand should be the leading country in
Polynesia rather than "a colony of an Asian superpower" and advocated for
zero immigration. He was also critical of the selling of revenue earning
state assets, lack of political accountability and foreign property ownership.
Lynne Lee, an Auckland
transcendental meditation teacher, was the candidate of the
Natural Law Party. She was critical of what she saw as "negative, confrontational and adversarial politics" and wanted to fix the cause of problems rather than the symptoms. In particular she was concerned with lowering crime and improving health and wellbeing of New Zealanders.
Winston Peters, a lawyer and MP for Tauranga, stood as an independent candidate. Peters had resigned from the National Party a month earlier after he was deselected as the party candidate for Tauranga. He had been publicly opposed to many government decisions which he saw as a betrayal of National's policy pledges at the 1990 election. During the by-election he campaigned for a referendum on the electorate's rights "over the faceless few in Wellington." National had previously attempted to prevent Peters from seeking re-election for any party or label. Peters successfully challenged the party's actions in the High Court in the case Peters v Collinge where the court ruled this interfered with democratic process, making it illegal under
common law, and thusly legally unenforceable.
Gregory Mark Pittams, a '
Jacobite revolutionary' from Auckland, stood for the satirical
McGillicuddy Serious Party. Pittams wanted to encourage new crop cultivation by outlawing kiwifruit, potatoes, carrots, brussels sprouts and turnips. At the 1990 election he had stood in the
Pakuranga electorate.
Rhona Sharon Tengblad, an 'Admiral of the Bloke Fleet' from
Waiheke Island, stood for the
joke party the Blokes' Liberation Front. She pledged to sell the
Beehive to the United States to repay national debt, move parliament to Waiheke Island, introduce free apples and milk and appoint
Linda McCartney as an advisor to Prime Minister
Jim Bolger.
Peter Keith Wakeman, a Christchurch pilot, stood as an independent candidate. He advocated for a compulsory savings scheme, ending goods and services tax refunds on prepaid travel to New Zealand, improving sex education standards and
changing the electoral system to
Single transferable vote. He also favoured increased spending on health and education with decreasing spending on defence.
Peter Richard Watson, an accountant from
Waipukurau, was a candidate for the '
Silent Majority'. He was concerned with public spending levels and urged for New Zealanders to become more self-sufficient and less reliant on social spending programmes from central government.