Georgina Beyer won the Wairarapa electorate for Labour in 1999 by a margin of 3033 votes.
MPs
Events In History
8 December 1972
Whetu Tirikātene-Sullivan became the first female Māori Cabinet minister when she was sworn in as Minister of Tourism in Norman Kirk’s third Labour government
29 May 1947
When mabel Howard was appointed minister of health and minister in charge of child welfare, she became the first woman to serve as a Cabinet minister in New Zealand.
13 September 1933
The Labour Party’s Elizabeth McCombs became New Zealand’s first female Member of Parliament, winning a by-election in the Lyttelton seat caused by the death of her husband, James McCombs.
10 June 1906
Known as 'King Dick', Seddon had dominated New Zealand politics since the early 1890s. His Liberal government established the tradition of state-supported welfare in this country.
Articles
The House of Representatives
New Zealand's Parliament dates back to 1854, just 14 years after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and the beginning of the European settlement of the country. For most of its history as a nation state, New Zealand has had some form of elected government. Read the full article
Page 1 - The House of Representatives
New Zealand's Parliament dates back to 1854, just 14 years after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and the beginning of the European settlement of the country. For most of its
Page 2 - Quick history
New Zealand's Parliament has been making laws, scrutinising the government and representing New Zealanders for over 150 years.
Page 4 - Doing business
The operation of Parliament has changed over time as its workload has grown and new systems such as MMP have been implemented.
Page 5 - First sitting, 1854
It started with a bang – 21 in fact, fired from the guns at Auckland's Fort Britomart. As soon as the smoke had cleared, New Zealand's first Parliament was under
Page 6 - The Opposition
The Opposition uses a variety of tactics to hold the government to
Page 7 - The Speaker
The Speaker, who is elected by MPs, has a key role in representing the House to the Crown and in presiding over the
Parliament Buildings
Parliament buildings have been modified, destroyed by fire, half-built and restored; the parliamentary places and spaces have formed an important part of New Zealand's history. Read the full article
Page 6 - A workplace
Many people call Parliament their workplace, but for MPs and others, the parliamentary complex has not always been the ideal place to spend long
Parliament's people
Today there are usually between 120 and 123 MPs in New Zealand's Parliament, which is a far cry from the 37 who met for the first time in Auckland in 1854. Read the full article
Page 1 - Parliament's people
Today there are usually between 120 and 123 MPs in New Zealand's Parliament, which is a far cry from the 37 who met for the first time in Auckland in
Page 2 - Women MPs
For much of its first century, Parliament was a bastion of male culture. Nowadays women make up 30% of
Page 3 - Māori MPs
Leaders of Māori society have represented their people in the House, including Māui Pōmare, James Carroll, Matiu Rata and, most famously, Apirana
Page 4 - Pay and travel
One of the early issues parliamentarians discussed was pay for MPs, and one of the biggest difficulties MPs faced in the early years was travelling to
Page 5 - Social life
In the early years, Parliament was a little like a superior gentlemen's club.
Page 9 - Biographies
Some of the key figures in New Zealand parliamentary history
Parliament's culture and traditions
Explore Parliament's rich history and its colourful culture and traditions. Read the full article
Page 5 - Bad language
In the cut and thrust of Parliament's Debating Chamber, there are rules about what can and cannot be said.
The road to MMP
In 1993 New Zealanders voted to replace their traditional first past the post (FPP) voting system with mixed member proportional representation (MMP). Eighteen years on, as Kiwis voted in a new electoral referendum, we explore how and why that dramatic reform came about. Read the full article
Page 5 - 1996 and beyond - the road to MMP
The three years following the 1993 referendum, before the first MMP election in 1996, were ones of transition and
Lyttelton-Wellington ferries
For more than 80 years the overnight Lyttelton ferry was a vital link in the country's transport network. Read the full article
Page 4 - Politicians and ferries
Politicians used the ferries to travel between their electorates and Wellington, so they scrutinised the Union Steam Ship Company's management of the
Biographies
Cabinet Minister and twice acting Prime Minister, James Carroll’s main aim in Parliament was to empower Maori and secure a role for them in the economic life of the country.
Forty years after women in New Zealand received the right to vote, Elizabeth McCombs became the first female Member of Parliament.
Hōne Heke Ngāpua was elected to Parliament in 1893 and represented the people of Northern Māori almost continuously until his death in 1909.
Politician Francis Bell staunchly supported the Waitara purchase in 1860, which led to the Taranaki war. In 1862 he became Minister of Native Affairs. His administration has been described as 'not particularly efficient or vigorous', although he did support the 1862 forerunner of the Native Land Court
Gordon Coates seemed unbeatable. Tall and handsome, this affable war hero embodied modernity – he was the ‘jazz premier’. In 1925’s presidential-style election voters elected to take their ‘Coats off with Coates’.
Peter Fraser, New Zealand’s wartime PM, led the nation for nine years. Respected rather than loved like Savage, many experts rate him our finest PM.
In 1972 Norman Kirk broke National’s 12-year-long grip on the Treasury benches and became Labour’s first New Zealand-born PM.
Politician and land purchase agent Donald McLean's approach to race relations was based on the belief that European dominance was inevitable and desirable, and that the best chance for Māori was complete assimilation.
Richard Seddon’s nickname, ‘King Dick’, says it all. Our longest-serving and most famous leader not only led the government, he was it, many argued. For 13 years he completely dominated politics.
Colenso arrived at the Bay of Islands as the Church Mission printer in December 1834. His achievements include printing the New Testamont in Māori and the Māori version of the Treaty of Waitangi.
A clever theorist of mercurial character, Edward Gibbon Wakefield (1796-1862) masterminded the large-scale British settlement of New Zealand.
Seven years and one stomach-stapling operation after entering Parliament in 1977, David Lange became PM at the age of 41.
A charismatic ex-soldier, orator and propagandist, John A. Lee was a dynamic figure in the Labour Party from the 1920s until 1940, when he was expelled for attacking the leadership of M.J. Savage.
Holland became PM in 1949. A year later he abolished the Legislative Council, and in 1951, after winning the Waterfront Dispute, he increased his majority in a snap election.
A stalwart of Wellington political life, Featherston served as provincial Superintendent and later served as a member of the House of Representatives, colonial secretary and minister without portfolio.
Norman Kirk’s death in office brought Bill Rowling to the prime ministership unexpectedly in August 1974. A member of an old Tasman Bay farming family, and a teacher by training, he had been finance minister since 1972.
The series of labour acts for which William Pember Reeves was responsible gave New Zealand the most extensive system of labour regulations in the world at the turn of the twentieth century.
William Richmond was a lawyer, Minister in Edward Stafford’s Parliament, and judge of the Supreme Court of New Zealand.
Tommy Taylor was one of the most colourful figures in the political life of his day. He spent his life campaigning for the prohibition of alcohol.
As Minister of Defence from 1912 until 1920, James Allen was responsible for the organisation of New Zealand’s military forces during the First World War.
As the only son of New Zealand Company director Edward Gibbon Wakefield, Edward Jerningham Wakefield's life was inevitably bound up in his father's colonial and political ventures.
Main image: Sound: parliamentary Members and staff
Francis Fisher discusses Members and staff in the House of Representatives.
