Waka-jumping#Legislation

{{Main|Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Acts}}

The implementation of the mixed-member proportional (MMP) electoral system after a referendum in 1993 led to a series of defections and re-alignments as the former two-party system adjusted to the change. This led to the rise and fall of a number of political parties in New Zealand, including the creation of New Zealand First and ACT. The new political climate tended to favour the establishment of new political parties since in former times, dissidents had often simply become independent MPs.{{Citation needed|date=May 2018}} In the two previous parliaments before the 2001 act had been passed, 22 MPs defected.{{cite web| publisher=New Zealand Parliament |date=6 December 2005 |title=Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Bill — First Reading |url= https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/document/48HansD_20051206_00001032/electoral-integrity-amendment-bill-first-reading|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190217030424/https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/document/48HansD_20051206_00001032/electoral-integrity-amendment-bill-first-reading|archive-date=17 February 2019|url-status=live}}

The frequency of waka-jumping made New Zealand enact the Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Act 2001, which had been introduced by Labour Party associate justice minister Margaret Wilson in 1999 but had been promoted by Labour's coalition partner Alliance ahead of that year's general election. The act expired at the 2005 election, when the sunset clause came into effect. It required MPs who had entered Parliament via a party list to resign from Parliament if they left that party's parliamentary caucus.{{Cite act|title=Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Act 2001|number=105|date=21 December 2001|url=http://www.nzlii.org/nz/legis/hist_act/eaa20012001n105328.pdf}}

However, parties were still able to find ways around this law. When the Alliance split in 2002 over how to respond to the invasion of Afghanistan, Jim Anderton nominally remained the leader of the Alliance inside Parliament while he campaigned outside Parliament as the leader of the newly-founded Progressive Party.{{Cite journal|last=Geddis|first=Andrew|date=2002|title=Party-hopping|journal=New Zealand Law Journal|pages=137–138}} The resulting uncertainty around the Alliance’s position contributed to Prime Minister Helen Clark's decision to call an early general election in 2002.{{Cite book|title=The House: New Zealand's House of Representatives, 1854–2004|last=Martin|first=John|publisher=Dunmore Press|year=2004|isbn=0-86469-463-6|location=Palmerston North|pages=330}} While the law was in force, it was used once to expel a list MP from Parliament (an electorate MP who changed parties could still fight a by-election, as Tariana Turia did{{Cite web|url= https://www.pundit.co.nz/content/who-controls-the-past-now-controls-the-future |title=Who controls the past now, controls the future|last=Geddis|first=Andrew|date=11 January 2018|website=Pundit|access-date=27 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210215085213/https://www.pundit.co.nz/content/who-controls-the-past-now-controls-the-future|archive-date=15 February 2021|url-status=live}}).

In December 2003, the ACT Party caucus voted to expel Donna Awatere Huata, an ACT list MP who became an independent after she had been charged with fraud.{{Cite press release|url= http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0312/S00382/act-caucus-votes-to-expel-donna-awatere-huata.htm |title=ACT Caucus Votes to Expel Donna Awatere Huata |date=16 December 2003 |publisher=ACT New Zealand |agency=Scoop |access-date=27 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116040045/http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0312/S00382/act-caucus-votes-to-expel-donna-awatere-huata.htm|archive-date=16 November 2018|url-status=live}} The expulsion became the subject of litigation, and Awatere Huata was not expelled from Parliament until a Supreme Court decision handed down in November 2004.{{Cite news |url= https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=3611622 |title=Awatere facing expulsion from Parliament after court decision|last=Taylor|first=Kevin|date=19 November 2004|work=The New Zealand Herald |access-date=27 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615032147/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=3611622|archive-date=15 June 2018|url-status=live}} A proposed bill to replace the act in 2005 failed.{{Cite web|url= http://www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2005/0003/latest/whole.html |title=Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Bill 3-1 (2005), Government Bill |website=New Zealand Legislation|publisher=Parliamentary Counsel Office|language=en-NZ|access-date=24 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111225003/http://www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2005/0003/latest/whole.html|archive-date=11 November 2020|url-status=live}}

The Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Act 2018 received Royal Assent on 3 October 2018 and entered into force in New Zealand the next day.{{cite web |url= http://www.nzlii.org/nz/legis/consol_act/eaa2018301/ |website=New Zealand Legal Information Institute |title=New Zealand Acts: Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Act 2018 |access-date=24 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630153543/http://www.nzlii.org/nz/legis/consol_act/eaa2018301/|archive-date=30 June 2020|url-status=live}} The provisions on waka-jumping now appear as section 55A of the Electoral Act 1993.{{cite web |url= http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1993/0087/latest/whole.html |website=New Zealand Legislation|publisher=Parliamentary Counsel Office |title=New Zealand Legislation: Electoral Act 1993 |access-date=24 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518084156/https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1993/0087/latest/whole.html|archive-date=18 May 2021|url-status=live}} Under those provisions, members of Parliament who choose to leave their party or are expelled from their party are also expelled from Parliament if the leader of the party under which they were elected issues appropriate notice to the Speaker that the MP should be expelled, with the seat becoming vacant.{{cite news |url= https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/367427/waka-jumping-bill-passes-into-law-after-heated-debate |work=Radio New Zealand |title=Waka-jumping bill passes into law after heated debate |author=Craig McCulloch |date=27 September 2018 |access-date=24 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125084722/https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/367427/waka-jumping-bill-passes-into-law-after-heated-debate|archive-date=25 November 2020|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/07/national-party-prepared-to-work-with-the-greens-to-repeal-waka-jumping-legislation.html |title=National Party 'prepared to work with the Greens' to repeal 'waka-jumping' legislation |work=Newshub |date=2 July 2020 |access-date=24 July 2020 |author=Zane Small |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202003031/https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/07/national-party-prepared-to-work-with-the-greens-to-repeal-waka-jumping-legislation.html|archive-date=2 December 2020 |url-status=dead}} Unlike the 2001 act, the 2018 act did not have a sunset clause and so remains in force until it is deliberately repealed. The act was passed as part of the coalition agreement between New Zealand First and the Labour Party and supported through Parliament "begrudgingly" by the Green Party under the terms of its own confidence-and-supply agreement with Labour.{{Cite news |date=27 September 2018|title=Waka jumping bill finally passes, with begrudging support of Green Party|url= https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/107427225/waka-jumping-bill-finally-passes-with-begrudging-support-of-green-party |access-date=2 August 2020|work=Stuff|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316110741/https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/107427225/waka-jumping-bill-finally-passes-with-begrudging-support-of-green-party|archive-date=16 March 2021|url-status=live}}

A member's bill in the name of National Party MP David Carter with the intent of repealing the Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Act 2018 was introduced into Parliament in July 2020.{{Cite news |date=2 July 2020|title=Members' bills: Defying sad odds|url= https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/the-house/audio/2018753270/members-bills-defying-sad-odds |access-date=2 August 2020|work=Radio New Zealand|language=en-nz|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022152135/https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/the-house/audio/2018753270/members-bills-defying-sad-odds|archive-date=22 October 2020|url-status=live}} The Green Party defied other government parties to support the repeal bill, with the first reading in Parliament passing by 64 to 55 votes.{{Cite news |date=29 July 2020|title=Dead rat spat back up: Green Party vote to repeal waka jumping law with National, infuriating Winston Peters|url= https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300069404/dead-rat-spat-back-up-green-party-vote-to-repeal-waka-jumping-law-with-national-infuriating-winston-peters |access-date=2 August 2020|work=Stuff|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420073358/https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300069404/dead-rat-spat-back-up-green-party-vote-to-repeal-waka-jumping-law-with-national-infuriating-winston-peters|archive-date=20 April 2021}} Carter's Electoral (Integrity Repeal) Amendment Bill was then referred to the justice select committee.{{cite web |title=Electoral (Integrity Repeal) Amendment Bill — First Reading |url=https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/combined/HansDeb_20200729_20200729_28 |publisher=New Zealand Parliament |access-date=14 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813082531/https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/combined/HansDeb_20200729_20200729_28 |archive-date=13 August 2020 |date=29 July 2020 |url-status=live}} After the 2020 New Zealand general election, the bill's second reading was held on 12 May and 14 June 2021, and the Labour Party used its majority of 65 seats to block its passage.{{cite web |title=Electoral (Integrity Repeal) Amendment Bill — Second Reading |url=https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/combined/HansDeb_20210609_20210609_40 |publisher=New Zealand Parliament |access-date=14 June 2021 |date=9 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614234942/https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/combined/HansDeb_20210609_20210609_40|archive-date=14 June 2021 |url-status=live}}

Below is a list of members who left their party while in parliament. With the introduction of MMP came list MPs, and the potential for a member to be brought into parliament without being voted upon directly.

:1.{{note|a}}After becoming an independent politician, Peters successfully contested a by-election in his Tauranga electorate.

:2.{{note|b}}After switching to the Maori Party, Turia had to contest a by-election, in line with the ban on waka-jumping then in force. She won the resulting contest in Te Tai Hauauru.

:3.{{note|c}}After crossing to the Mana Movement, Harawira successfully contested a by-election in his constituency of Te Tai Tokerau.

MPs elected to parliament before the introduction of mixed-member proportional representation in 1996:{{cite news |last=Johns |first=Geraldine |date=16 August 1991 |title=Few go alone and survive |work=The New Zealand Herald |page=9}}

• Aaya Ram Gaya Ram
• Anti-defection law (India)
• Crossing the floor (United Kingdom)
• Floor crossing (South Africa)
• Frog (Malaysian politics) for a similar concept in Malaysia
• Trasformismo for a similar concept in Italy

{{notelist}}

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{{Parliament of NZ}}

{{Party switching}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waka-Jumping}}

Category:Politics of New Zealand

Category:Party switching

Category:New Zealand English

Category:Political terminology in New Zealand