29th New Zealand Parliament
{{Short description|Term of the Parliament of New Zealand}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2015}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=April 2015}}
{{Infobox legislative term
| name = 29th Parliament of New Zealand
| image = File:Parliament House, Wellington, New Zealand (50).JPG
| image_size =
| caption = Parliament House, Wellington
| body = New Zealand Parliament
| election = 1949 New Zealand general election
| government = First National Government
| opposition =
| term_start = 27 June 1950
| term_end = 31 July 1951
| before = 28th Parliament
| after = 30th Parliament
| website =
| chamber1 = House of Representatives
| chamber1_image = File:33rd & 29th New Zealand Parliament Seating.png
| chamber1_image_size =
| chamber1_alt =
| membership1 = 80
| control1 =
| chamber1_leader1_type = Speaker of the House
| chamber1_leader1 = Matthew Oram
| chamber1_leader2_type = Prime Minister
| chamber1_leader2 = Sidney Holland
| chamber1_leader3_type = Leader of the Opposition
| chamber1_leader3 = Walter Nash from 17 January 1951
— Peter Fraser until 12 December 1950 †
| chamber2 = Legislative Council
Abolished: 1 December 1950
| chamber2_image =
| chamber2_image_size =
| chamber2_alt =
| membership2 = 54
| control2 =
| chamber2_leader1_type = Speaker of the Council
| chamber2_leader1 = Thomas Bishop
| chamber2_leader2_type = Leader of the Council
| chamber2_leader2 = William Polson
| chamber3 = Sovereign
| chamber3_image =
| chamber3_image_size =
| chamber3_alt =
| membership3 =
| control3 =
| chamber3_leader1_type = Monarch
| chamber3_leader1 = HM George VI
| chamber3_leader2_type = Governor-General
| chamber3_leader2 = HE Lt. Gen. The Lord Freyberg
}}
File:Opening of 29th NZ Parliament.jpg Matthew Oram]]
The 29th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. It opened in 1950, following the 1949 general election. It was dissolved in 1951 in preparation for the 1951 general election. The governing Labour Party had been defeated in the election by the National Party. This marked the end of the First Labour government and the beginning of the First National government.
Additionally, this Parliament saw the final meeting of the Upper House; the Legislative Council, which was abolished on 1 December 1950, making the New Zealand Parliament a unicameral legislative body.
1949 general election
{{Main|1949 New Zealand general election}}
The 1949 general election was held on Tuesday, 29 November in the Māori electorates and on Wednesday, 30 November in the general electorates, respectively.{{cite web|title=General elections 1853–2005 – dates & turnout |url=http://www.elections.org.nz/elections/resultsdata/elections-dates-turnout.html |publisher=Elections New Zealand |access-date=3 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527022404/http://www.elections.org.nz/elections/resultsdata/elections-dates-turnout.html |archive-date=27 May 2010 |df=dmy }} A total of 80 MPs were elected; 49 represented North Island electorates, 27 represented South Island electorates, and the remaining four represented Māori electorates; this was the same distribution used since the {{NZ election link|1946}}.{{sfn|Wilson|1985|p=173}} 1,113,852 voters were enrolled and the official turnout at the election was 93.5%.
Sessions
The 29th Parliament sat for two sessions, and was prorogued on 18 July 1951.{{sfn|Wilson|1985|p=141}}
| class="wikitable" | ||
| Session | Opened | Adjourned |
|---|---|---|
| first | 27 June 1950 | 1 December 1950 |
| second | 26 June 1951 | 13 July 1951 |
Ministries
The National Party under Sidney Holland won the 1949 election, defeating Labour's second Fraser Ministry. Holland remained in power until 1957, when he stepped down due to ill health.{{sfn|Wilson|1985|pp=86–87}}
Historical context
The National Government appointed 25 new members to the New Zealand Legislative Council (the so-called Suicide Squad), so that the Legislative Council Abolition Bill could be passed. With that legislation, the Legislative Council voted itself out of existence, and New Zealand has been unicameral since the last meeting of the Upper House on 1 December 1950.{{cite web|title=Sound: the end of the Legislative Council|url= http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/sound/sound-clip-the-suicide-squad-house-of-representatives |publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage|access-date=30 October 2011|date=28 January 2011}}
Members
=Overview=
The table below shows the number of MPs in each party following the 1949 election and at dissolution:
| class="wikitable" border="1" style="font-size:95%; width:300pt; text-align:center" |
| colspan="2" rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;vertical-align:middle; " | Affiliation
! colspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;" | Members |
|---|
| At 1949 election
! At dissolution |
| {{Party name with color|New Zealand National Party}} Government
| 46 | 46 |
| {{Party name with color|New Zealand Labour Party}} Opposition
| 34 | 34 |
| colspan="2" rowspan="1" | Total | 80 |80 |
| colspan="2" rowspan="1" | Working Government majority
| 12 | 12 |
Notes
- The Working Government majority is calculated as all Government MPs less all other parties.
=Initial MPs=
{{#section:1949 New Zealand general election|Electorate results}}
=By-elections during 29th Parliament=
There was one by-election during the term of the 29th Parliament.
| class="wikitable" |
| align=center
! colspan=2 | Electorate and by-election !! Date !! colspan=2 | Incumbent !! Cause !! colspan=2 | Winner |
| {{New Zealand by-elections during the 29th Parliament}} |
Notes
{{Reflist}}
References
- {{cite book |last = Gustafson |first = Barry |author-link = Barry Gustafson |title = The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party |year = 1986 |publisher = Reed Methuen |location = Auckland |isbn = 0-474-00177-6}}
- {{cite book |last=Norton |first=Clifford |title=New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946–1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science |year=1988 |publisher=Victoria University of Wellington |location=Wellington |isbn=0-475-11200-8}}
- {{cite book |last= Wilson |first= James Oakley |title= New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 |edition= 4th |orig-year=First published in 1913 |year= 1985 |publisher=V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer |location= Wellington |oclc= 154283103}}