New Zealand by-elections
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
By-elections in New Zealand occur to fill vacant seats in the New Zealand Parliament. The death, resignation, or expulsion of a sitting electorate MP can cause a by-election. (Note that list MPs do not have geographic districts for the purpose of provoking by-elections — if a list MP's seat becomes vacant, the next person on his or her party's list fills the position.)
A by-election need not take place if a general election will occur within six months of an electorate seat becoming vacant. In 1996 the general election date was brought forward slightly, to 12 October, to avoid a by-election after the resignation of Michael Laws.
In recent years by-elections have not occurred particularly frequently — only one in the 2002 - 2005 parliamentary term, and none in the 1999 - 2002 term. This is because most MPs who retire mid-term (most recently Labour MP Jim Sutton) are List MPs, and are simply replaced by the next member on their party list.
Historically, however, they have taken place considerably more frequently — the 2nd Parliament of 1856 - 1860, for example, saw at least twenty by-elections, despite the House of Representatives then having only thirty-seven seats.
In the past it was not uncommon for an MP who died in office to be replaced with an immediate family member such as a brother, wife or son. This resulted in the election of the first woman MP Elizabeth McCombs (who was in turn succeeded by her son Terence McCombs) and the first woman National MP Mary Grigg; both of whom took over their husband's seat. This practice has however fallen out of favour since the 1970s.
[edit] List of New Zealand by-elections
The following incomplete table lists previous by-elections in New Zealand. Interestingly, it features the names of ten subsequent Prime Ministers (#).
| Election | Date | Reason | Winner |
| 1854 City of Auckland by-election | 4 August 1854 | Resignation of Thomas Houghton Bradley | William Brown |
| 1854 Nelson by-election | 19 June 1854 | Resignation of William Travers | Samuel Stephens |
| 1854 Waimea by-election | 21 June 1854 | William Travers | |
| 1858 Dunedin Country by-election | 16 June 1858 | Resignation of William Cargill | John Parkin Taylor |
| 1867 Ashley by-election | 7 August 1867 | Resignation of Lancelot Walker | Henry Tancred |
| 1872 Egmont by-election | 3 October 1872 | Harry Atkinson # | |
| 1877 Wairarapa by-election | 3 July 1877 | George Beetham | |
| 1886 Dunedin Central by-election | 19 September 1886 | Death of James Benn Bradshaw | Thomas Bracken |
| 1888 Ashley by-election | 25 July 1888 | John Verrall | |
| 1892 Bruce by-election | 4 May 1892 | James Allen (Reform) | |
| 1893 Inangahua by-election | 8 June 1893 | Robert Stout (Liberal) # | |
| 1894 Waitemata by-election | 9 April 1894 | Election of Richard Monk declared invalid | William Massey (Reform) # |
| 1897 Suburbs of Wellington by-election | 23 April 1897 | Previous election declared void in this seat. | Charles Wilson (Liberal) |
| 1897 Awarua by-election | 5 August 1897 | Bankruptcy forced resignation of Joseph Ward | Joseph Ward (Liberal) # |
| 1897 City of Dunedin by-election | 13 October 1897 | Death of Henry Smith Fish | Alexander Sligo (opposition) |
| 1898 Mataura by-election | 1898 | Bankruptcy forced resignation of George Frederick Richardson | Robert McNab (Liberal) |
| 1901 Caversham by-election | 19 December 1901 | Death of Arthur Morrison | Thomas Sidey (Liberal) |
| 1904 Pahiatua by-election | 1904 | William Henry Hawkins (Liberal) | |
| 1906 Westland by-election | 13 July 1906 | Death of Richard John Seddon | Tom Seddon (Liberal) |
| 1909 Thames by-election | 4 February 1909 | Edmund Taylor (Liberal) | |
| 1909 Northern Maori by-election | 20 March 1909 | Death of Hone Heke Ngapua | Te Rangi Hiroa (Peter Buck) (Liberal) |
| 1909 Rangitikei by-election | 23 September 1909 | Robert William Smith (Liberal) | |
| 1910 Auckland East by-election | 16 June 1910 | Death of Frederick Baume | Arthur Myers (Liberal) |
| 1911 Christchurch North by-election | 17 August 1911 | Death of T.E. Taylor | Leonard Isitt (Liberal) |
| 1912 Egmont by-election | 17 September 1912 | Resignation of Thomas Mackenzie | Charles Wilkinson (Reform) |
| 1913 Grey by-election | 24 July 1913 | Death of Arthur Guinness | Paddy Webb (Social Democrats) |
| 1913 Lyttelton by-election | 9 December 1913 | Death of George Laurenson | James McCombs (Social Democrats) |
| 1915 Dunedin Central by-election | 3 February 1915 | Voting irregularities in previous general election led to resignation of Charles Statham | Charles Statham (Reform) |
| 1915 Bay of Islands by-election | 8 June 1915 | William Stewart (Reform) | |
| 1915 Taumaurunui by-election | 15 June 1915 | William Thomas Jennings (Liberal) | |
| 1916 Pahiatua by-election | 17 August 1916 | George Harold Smith (Reform) | |
| 1917 Hawke's Bay by-election | 8 March 1917 | John Findlay (Liberal) | |
| 1917 Bay of Islands by-election | 17 March 1917 | Vernon Reed (Reform) | |
| 1917 Grey by-election | 24 November 1917 | Resignation of Paddy Webb over conscription issue | Paddy Webb (Labour) |
| 1918 Wellington North by-election | 12 February 1918 | John Luke (Liberal) | |
| 1918 Southern Maori by-election | 21 February 1918 | John Uru (Independent) | |
| 1918 Grey by-election | 29 May 1918 | Imprisonment of Paddy Webb | Harry Holland (Labour) |
| 1918 Wellington Central by-election | 3 October 1918 | Death of Robert Fletcher | Peter Fraser (Labour) # |
| 1918 Taranaki by-election | 10 October 1918 | Sydney George Smith (Independent) | |
| 1918 Palmerston by-election | 19 December 1918 | Death of David Buick | James Nash (Reform) |
| 1918 Wellington South by-election | 19 December 1918 | Robert Semple (Labour) | |
| 1920 Bruce by-election | 14 April 1920 | John Edie (Liberal) | |
| 1920 Stratford by-election | 6 May 1920 | Previous result declared void | Robert Masters (Liberal) |
| 1920 Bay of Plenty by-election | 30 September 1920 | Death of William Donald Stuart MacDonald | Kenneth Stuart Williams (Reform) |
| 1921 Patea by-election | 13 April 1921 | Death of Walter Dutton Powdrell | Edwin Dixon (Reform) |
| 1921 Auckland East by-election | 2 November 1921 | Resignation of Arthur Myers | Clutha MacKenzie (Reform) |
| 1922 Southern Maori by-election | 25 January 1922 | Death of John Hopere Wharewiti Uru | Henare Uru (Reform) |
| 1922 Dunedin North by-election | 21 June 1922 | Death of Edward Kellett | James Wright Munro (Labour) |
| 1923 Tauranga by-election | 28 March 1923 | Death of William Herbert Herries | Charles MacMillan (Reform) |
| 1923 Oamaru by-election | 1 May 1923 | Result in previous election declared invalid | John Macpherson (Liberal) |
| 1925 Franklin by-election | 17 June 1925 | Death of William Massey | Ewen McLennan (Reform) |
| 1926 Eden by-election | 15 April 1926 | Appointment of Christopher Parr to the High Commission of New Zealand in London | Rex Mason (Labour) |
| 1927 Raglan by-election | 29 September 1927 | Death of Richard Bollard | William Lee Martin (Labour) |
| 1929 Bay of Islands by-election | 10 April 1929 | Previous result declared void | Harold Rushworth (Country) |
| 1929 Hutt by-election | 18 December 1929 | Resignation of Thomas Mason Wilford | Walter Nash (Labour) # |
| 1930 Parnell by-election | 7 May 1930 | Resignation of Harry Reginald Jenkins | William Endean (Reform) |
| 1930 Invercargill by-election | 13 August 1930 | Death of Joseph Ward | Vincent Ward (United) |
| 1930 Waipawa by-election | 8 October 1930 | Death of George Hunter | Albert Jull (United) |
| 1930 Western Maori by-election | 8 October 1930 | Death of Maui Pomare | Taite te Tomo (Reform) |
| 1931 Hauraki by-election | 27 May 1931 | Death of Arthur William Hall | Walter William Massey (Reform) |
| 1932 Southern Maori by-election | 3 August 1932 | Death of Tuiti Makitanara | Eruera Tirikatene (Independent) |
| 1932 Motueka by-election | 1 December 1932 | Death of George Black | Keith Holyoake (Reform) # |
| 1933 Lyttelton by-election | 13 September 1933 | Death of James McCombs | Elizabeth McCombs (Labour) |
| 1933 Buller by-election | 22 November 1933 | Death of Harry Holland | Paddy Webb (Labour) |
| 1935 Lyttelton by-election | 24 July 1935 | Death of Elizabeth McCombs | Terry McCombs (Labour) |
| 1936 Manukau by-election | 30 September 1936 | Resignation of William Joseph Jordan | Arthur George Osborne (Labour) |
| 1939 Christchurch South by-election | 3 June 1939 | Death of Edwin John Howard | Robert Macfarlane (Labour) |
| 1940 Auckland West by-election | 18 May 1940 | Death of Michael Joseph Savage | Peter Carr (Labour) |
| 1940 Waipawa by-election | 16 November 1940 | Death of Albert Jull | Cyril Geoffrey Edmond Harker (National) |
| 1941 Waitemata by-election | 19 July 1941 | Death of William John Lyon | Mary Manson Dreaver (Labour) |
| 1941 Bay of Plenty by-election | 13 December 1941 | Death of Gordon Hultquist | William Sullivan (National) |
| 1942 Mid-Canterbury by-election | 27 January 1942 | Death of Arthur Nattle Grigg | Mary Victoria Cracroft Grigg (National) |
| 1942 Temuka by-election | 7 February 1942 | Death of Thomas David Burnett | Hugh John Dyke Ackland (National) |
| 1942 Hauraki by-election | 7 February 1942 | Death of John Manchester Allen | Andrew Sinclair Sutherland (National) |
| 1943 Christchurch East by-election | 6 February 1943 | Death of Tim Armstrong | Mabel Howard (Labour) |
| 1943 Northern Maori by-election | 24 September 1943 | Death of Paraire Karaka Paikea | Tapihana Paraire Paikea (Labour) |
| 1944 Awarua by-election | 28 October 1944 | Death of James Hargest | George Richard Herron (National) |
| 1945 Western Maori by-election | 10 February 1945 | Death of Haami Tokouru Ratana | Matiu Ratana (Labour) |
| 1945 Hamilton by-election | 26 May 1945 | Death of Frank Findlay | Grace Hilda Ross (National) |
| 1945 Dunedin North by-election | 21 July 1945 | Death of James Wright Munro | Robert Walls (Labour) |
| 1946 Raglan by-election | 5 March 1946 | Death of Robert Coulter | Hallyburton Johnstone (National) |
| 1947 Avon by-election | 28 May 1947 | Death of Daniel Giles Sullivan | John Mathison (Labour) |
| 1947 Mount Albert by-election | 24 September 1947 | Death of Arthur Shapton Richards | Warren Freer (Labour) |
| 1947 Westland by-election | 3 December 1947 | Death of James O'Brien | James Begg Kent (Labour) |
| 1951 Brooklyn by-election | 17 February 1951 | Death of Peter Fraser | Arnold Nordmeyer (Labour) |
| 1953 Dunedin North by-election | 12 December 1953 | Death of Robert Walls | Ethel McMillan (Labour) |
| 1953 Onehunga by-election | 19 December 1953 | Death of Arthur Osborne | Hugh Watt (Labour) |
| 1954 Onslow by-election | 7 July 1954 | Death of Harry Ernest Combs | Henry May (Labour) |
| 1954 Patea by-election | 31 July 1954 | Death of Harold Galt Dickie | William Alfred Sheat (National) |
| 1956 Riccarton by-election | 27 October 1956 | Death of Angus Mclagan | Mick Connelly (Labour) |
| 1957 Bay of Plenty by-election | 6 April 1957 | Resignation of William Sullivan | Percy Allen (National) |
| 1959 Hamilton by-election | 2 May 1959 | Death of Grace Hilda Ross | Lancelot (Lance) Adams-Schneider (National) |
| 1961 Hurunui by-election | 10 June 1961 | Death of William Henry Gillespie | Herbert Elmer Lorraine Pickering (National) |
| 1962 Waitaki by-election | 10 March 1962 | Death of Thomas Hayman | Allan Dick (National) |
| 1962 Buller by-election | 7 July 1962 | Death of Jerry Skinner | Bill Rowling (Labour) # |
| 1962 Timaru by-election | 21 July 1962 | Resignation of Rev. Clyde Carr (who died later in 1962) | Basil Arthur (Labour) |
| 1963 Otahuhu by-election | 16 March 1963 | Death of James Deas | Bob Tizard (Labour) |
| 1963 Northern Maori by-election | 16 March 1963 | Death of Tapihana Paraire Paikea | Matiu Rata (Labour) |
| 1963 Grey Lynn by-election | 18 May 1963 | Death of Fred Hackett | Reginald Alfred Keeling (Labour) |
| 1967 Southern Maori by-election | 11 March 1967 | Death of Eruera Tirikatene | Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan (Labour) |
| 1967 Fendalton by-election | 15 April 1967 | Death of Harry Lake | Eric Holland (National) |
| 1967 Petone by-election | 15 April 1967 | Death of Michael Moohan | Fraser Colman (Labour) |
| 1967 Palmerston North by-election | 2 December 1967 | Death of William Henry Brown | Joe Walding (Labour) |
| 1967 Eastern Maori by-election | 12 December 1967 | Death of Puti Tipene Watene | Paraone Reweti (Labour) |
| 1968 Hutt by-election | 3 August 1968 | Death of Walter Nash | Trevor James Young (Labour) |
| 1970 Marlborough by-election | 21 February 1970 | Death of Tom Shand | Ian James Brooks (Labour) |
| 1974 Sydenham by-election | 2 November 1974 | Death of Norman Kirk | John Kirk (Labour) |
| 1976 Nelson by-election | 28 February 1976 | Death of Stanley Whitehead | Mel Courtney (Labour) |
| 1977 Mangere by-election | 26 March 1977 | Resignation of Colin Moyle | David Lange (Labour) # |
| 1977 Pahiatua by-election | 30 April 1977 | Resignation of Sir Keith Holyoake, appointed as Governor-General | John Falloon (National) |
| 1978 Rangitikei by-election | 18 February 1978 | Death of Roy Jack | Bruce Beetham (Social Credit) |
| 1979 Christchurch Central by-election | 18 August 1979 | Death of Bruce Barclay | Geoffrey Palmer (Labour) # |
| 1980 Northern Maori by-election | 7 June 1980 | Resignation of Matiu Rata | Bruce Gregory (Labour) |
| 1980 Onehunga by-election | 7 June 1980 | Death of Frank Lewis Rogers | Fred Gerbic (Labour) |
| 1980 East Coast Bays by-election | 6 September 1980 | Appointment of Frank Gill to be Ambassador to the United States | Gary Knapp (Social Credit) |
| 1985 Timaru by-election | 15 June 1985 | Death of Basil Arthur | Maurice McTigue (National) |
| 1992 Tamaki by-election | 15 February 1992 | Retirement of Robert Muldoon | Clem Simich (National) |
| 1992 Wellington Central by-election | 12 December 1992 | Election of sitting MP Fran Wilde to Mayoralty of Wellington, and her resignation | Chris Laidlaw (Labour) |
| 1993 Tauranga by-election | 17 April 1993 | Resignation of Winston Peters from the National Party | Winston Peters (Independent) |
| 1994 Selwyn by-election | 13 August 1994 | Resignation of Ruth Richardson | David Carter (National) |
| 1998 Taranaki-King Country by-election | 2 May 1998 | Resignation of Jim Bolger | Shane Ardern (National) |
| 2004 Te Tai Hauauru by-election | 10 July 2004 | Resignation of Tariana Turia from the Labour Party | Tariana Turia (Maori Party) |
