1960 New Zealand general election

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| <- 1957 | 26 November 1960 (1960-11-26) | 1963 ->

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<- outgoing members

elected members ->

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All 80 seats in the New Zealand Parliament
41 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout| 1,170,503 (89.8%)
|  | First party  | Second party

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|

|  |
Leader  | Keith Holyoake | Walter Nash
Party  | National | Labour
Leader since  | 13 August 1957 | 17 January 1951
Leader's seat  | Pahiatua | Hutt
Last election  | 39 seats, 44.2%  | 41 seats, 48.3%
Seats won  | 46 | 34
Seat change  |  7  |  7
Popular vote  | 557,046 | 508,179
Percentage  | 47.6% | 43.4%
Swing  |  3.4%  |  4.9%

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Results by electorate, shaded by winning margin

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| Prime Minister before election

Walter Nash
Labour

| Subsequent Prime Minister

Keith Holyoake
National

|

The 1960 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 33rd term. It saw the governing Labour Party defeated by the National Party, putting an end to the short second Labour government.

## Background

[edit]

The Labour Party had won the 1957 election by a narrow margin, beginning New Zealand's second period of Labour government. However, the new administration soon lost its narrow lead in public opinion, with its financial policies being the principal cause of dissatisfaction. The so-called "Black Budget", introduced by finance minister Arnold Nordmeyer, increased taxes substantially, with particularly large increases for alcohol and tobacco taxes; Labour became widely seen as both miserly and puritanical. The government defended its tax increases as a necessary measure to avert a balance of payments crisis, but the opposition, led by Keith Holyoake, made substantial gains out of the issue throughout the parliamentary term.[1]

Both parties crafted narratives on the history of the balance of payments crisis in the lead up to the election. Holyoake tried to argue that overseas funds had not fallen as much as Nash said in 1957, and that Labour had produced a panic budget. Moreover, the over-importing was due to a fear of import controls if Labour should win. Nash continued to stress that National had produced the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and that Labour had averted further disaster by its action. Coincidentally, at the beginning of the election another drop in overseas funds occurred, but neither party commented much about it.[2]

Labour's main policy platform was on industrialization particularly with new cotton mills in Nelson. Nash constantly repeated the theme people in New Zealand had 'never been so well off' and pamphlets stated 'everyone, everywhere, will again be better off', closely mirroring British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan's winning slogan in 1959, 'You've never had it so good'.[3] National's campaign promised to lower taxes, reduce import controls and abolish compulsory unionism.[4]

A very thorough study of the election by three political scientists concluded that National's preparations for the election, organization, and publicity were much better than Labour's which was the main reason for the result with little substantial differences between the parties in policy.[5] National's party organisation recognised their win was mostly due to public mood against Labour and many traditional Labour voters not bothering to vote. As a result Labour's vote share had fallen more than National's had risen.[6]

### MPs retiring in 1960

[edit]

Five National MPs and four Labour MPs intended to retire at the end of the 32nd Parliament.

Party | Name | Electorate

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|

| National | James Roy | Clutha
Duncan Rae | Eden
Jack Watts | Fendalton
Sidney Walter Smith | Hobson
Jimmy Maher | Otaki
| Labour | Bill Anderton | Auckland Central
Phil Holloway | Heretaunga
Joe Cotterill | Wanganui
Jim Kent | Westland

## The election

[edit]

The date for the main 1960 election was 26 November. 1,310,742 people were registered to vote, and turnout was 89.8%. This turnout was slightly lower than what had been recorded in the previous elections. The number of seats being contested was 80, a number which had been fixed since 1902.

## Opinion polling

[edit]

Polling ahead of the 1960 New Zealand general election was limited, but three polls conducted by Gallup provided insight into voter preferences leading up to the election. These polls give a snapshot of party support in the months before the vote. The results are outlined in the table below:

Poll  | Date  | National | Labour | Social Credit | Other | Lead

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|
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|  |  |
1960 election result | 26 Nov 1960 | 47.2 | 43.4 | 8.6 | 0.4 | 3.8
Gallup[7] | 22 Nov 1960 | 46 | 43 | 9 |  | 3
Gallup[8] | 18 Oct 1960 | 49 | 43 | 6 |  | 6
Gallup[9] | 13 Sep 1960 | 47 | 44 | 6 |  | 3

## Results

[edit]

The 1960 election saw the governing Labour Party defeated by a twelve-seat margin, having previously held a two-seat majority. National won a total of 46 seats to Labour's 34 seats, and formed the second National government.[10] In the popular vote, National won 47.59% to Labour's 43.42%.[11]

The Social Credit Party won 8.62% of the vote, but no seats.[12] Three of their candidates missed the nomination deadline, and the opening address of the party leader P. H. Matthews was not noteworthy.

Three new National members of parliament were called the Young Turks: Peter Gordon, Duncan MacIntyre and Robert Muldoon.[13] The other new National MPs were Esme Tombleson, Bill Brown, Harry Lapwood, Logan Sloane, Bert Walker, and Dan Riddiford.[14]

Paddy Blanchfield, Ron Bailey, Norman Douglas and George Spooner entered parliament for Labour.

Election results
Party  | Candidates  | Total votes  | Percentage  | Seats won  | Change
| National | 80  | 557,046  | 47.6  | 46 | +7
| Labour | 80  | 508,179  | 43.4  | 34 | −7
| Social Credit | 79  | 100,905  | 8.6  | 0 | ±0
| Communist | 18  | 2,423  | 0.21  | 0 | ±0
| Others  | 7  | 1,950  | 0.2  | 0 | ±0
Total  | 269  | 1,170,503  |  | 80 |

### Votes summary

[edit]

| Popular Vote

|  |
National |

| 47.60%
Labour |

| 43.40%
Social Credit |

| 8.60%
Others |

| 0.40%

| Parliament seats

|  |
National |

| 57.50%
Labour |

| 42.50%

The table below shows the results of the 1960 general election:

Key

National Labour Social Credit

Electorate results for the 1960 New Zealand general election[15] Electorate  | Incumbent  | Winner  | Majority  | Runner up

|
|
|
|

General electorates
Ashburton |  | Geoff Gerard | 2,558  |  | George Glassey
Auckland Central |  | Bill Anderton |  | Norman Douglas | 1,846  |  | Ray Presland
Avon |  | John Mathison | 4,216  |  | Lorrie Pickering
Awarua |  | Gordon Grieve | 3,000  |  | J P Wyatt
Bay of Plenty |  | Percy Allen | 2,411  |  | Thomas Godfrey Santon
Buller |  | Jerry Skinner | 1,546  |  | Ernie King
Christchurch Central |  | Robert Macfarlane | 1,935  |  | Tom Flint
Clutha |  | James Roy |  | Peter Gordon | 3,863  |  | Joseph Fahey
Dunedin Central |  | Phil Connolly | 842  |  | Norman Scurr
Dunedin North |  | Ethel McMillan | 2,475  |  | Brenda Bell
Eden |  | Duncan Rae |  | John Rae | 1,902  |  | Russell Gordon Penney
Egmont |  | William Sheat | 3,933  |  | J W Watson
Fendalton |  | Jack Watts |  | Harry Lake | 2,722  |  | Bill Rowling
Franklin |  | Alfred E. Allen | 5,197  |  | Howard Preston
Gisborne |  | Reginald Keeling |  | Esme Tombleson | 291  |  | Reginald Keeling
Grey Lynn |  | Fred Hackett | 4,596  |  | Brian Zouch
Hamilton |  | Lance Adams-Schneider | 2,583  |  | Sir Basil Arthur
Hastings |  | Ted Keating |  | Duncan MacIntyre | 300  |  | Ted Keating
Hauraki |  | Arthur Kinsella | 2,635  |  | Albert Clifford Tucker
Hawkes Bay |  | Cyril Harker | 3,682  |  | John Woolf
Heretaunga |  | Phil Holloway |  | Ron Bailey | 2,576  |  | Vere Hampson-Tindale
Hobson |  | Sidney Walter Smith |  | Logan Sloane | 1,401  |  | Vernon Cracknell
Hurunui |  | William Gillespie | 2,731  |  | Arthur Adcock
Hutt |  | Walter Nash | 2,349  |  | George Barker
Invercargill |  | Ralph Hanan | 1,926  |  | Oliver James Henderson
Island Bay |  | Arnold Nordmeyer | 1,791  |  | Fairlie Curry
Karori |  | Jack Marshall | 4,313  |  | Olive Smuts-Kennedy
Lyttelton |  | Norman Kirk | 260  |  | Jim Hay
Manawatu |  | Blair Tennent | 3,120  |  | Leonard Thomas Fischer
Manukau |  | Leon Götz | 245  |  | Cyril Stamp
Marlborough |  | Tom Shand | 1,747  |  | Robert William Hope
Marsden |  | Don McKay | 4,351  |  | John Swanson Reid
Miramar |  | Bill Fox | 467  |  | Bernard Lyons
Mornington |  | Wally Hudson | 2,246  |  | George Robert Thorn
Mount Albert |  | Warren Freer | 1,676  |  | Clarice Anderson
Napier |  | Jim Edwards | 1,405  |  | William John Gunn
Nelson |  | Stan Whitehead | 1,767  |  | Colin Wilson Martin
New Plymouth |  | Ernest Aderman | 1,693  |  | Ron Barclay
North Shore |  | Dean Eyre | 1,817  |  | Peter Lawrence Smith
Onehunga |  | Hugh Watt | 4,705  |  | Paul Brian Phillips
Onslow |  | Henry May | 790  |  | Maida Clark
Otago Central |  | Jack George | 4,344  |  | Brian MacDonell
Otahuhu |  | James Deas | 2,774  |  | Thomas Tucker
Otaki |  | Jimmy Maher |  | Allan McCready | 2,044  |  | Thomas William Cameron
Pahiatua |  | Keith Holyoake | 4,934  |  | Kingsley McKane
Palmerston North |  | Philip Skoglund |  | Bill Brown | 133  |  | Philip Skoglund[nb 1]
Patea |  | Roy Jack | 2,304  |  | David Costello Valley
Petone |  | Mick Moohan | 2,918  |  | Dick Martin
Piako |  | Stan Goosman | 5,376  |  | Henry Uttinger
Ponsonby |  | Ritchie Macdonald | 4,744  |  | Neil McLaughlan
Raglan |  | Douglas Carter | 1,371  |  | Alan Baxter
Rangitikei |  | Norman Shelton | 3,889  |  | Shaun Alex Cameron
Remuera |  | Ronald Algie | 6,109  |  | Barry Gustafson
Riccarton |  | Mick Connelly | 2,022  |  | Deena V. Sergel [16]
Rodney |  | Jack Scott | 4,157  |  | Phil Amos
Roskill |  | Arthur Faulkner | 1,374  |  | Geoffrey Taylor
Rotorua |  | Ray Boord |  | Harry Lapwood | 358  |  | Ray Boord
Selwyn |  | John McAlpine | 2,839  |  | John Palmer
St Albans |  | Neville Pickering |  | Bert Walker | 298  |  | Neville Pickering
St Kilda |  | Bill Fraser | 835  |  | Jim Barnes
Stratford |  | Thomas Murray | 4,388  |  | H M St George
Sydenham |  | Mabel Howard | 4,793  |  | Derek Quigley
Tamaki |  | Bob Tizard |  | Robert Muldoon | 1,148  |  | Bob Tizard
Tauranga |  | George Walsh | 5,239  |  | D C Goodfellow
Timaru |  | Clyde Carr | 357  |  | Ronald Erle White
Waikato |  | Geoffrey Sim | 3,041  |  | Arthur John Ingram
Waipa |  | Hallyburton Johnstone | 3,241  |  | Bob Reese
Wairarapa |  | Bert Cooksley | 2,088  |  | Allan Goldsmith
Waitakere |  | Rex Mason | 3,709  |  | John Herbert Wilkinson
Waitaki |  | Thomas Hayman | 1,972  |  | Les McKay
Waitemata |  | Norman King | 1,249  |  | Jolyon Firth
Waitomo |  | David Seath | 3,951  |  | Duncan Barclay McLaren
Wallace |  | Brian Talboys | 5,736  |  | E Harris
Wanganui |  | Joe Cotterill |  | George Spooner | 160  |  | E J Crotty
Wellington Central |  | Frank Kitts |  | Dan Riddiford | 381  |  | Frank Kitts
Westland |  | Jim Kent |  | Paddy Blanchfield | 3,844  |  | D A Hogg
Māori electorates
Eastern Maori |  | Tiaki Omana | 3,025  |  | Arnold Reedy[17]
Northern Maori |  | Tapihana Paikea | 3,372  |  | George Russell Harrison
Southern Maori |  | Eruera Tirikatene | 3,947  |  | Rangi Tutaki
Western Maori |  | Iriaka Rātana | 4,666  |  | Pei Te Hurinui Jones

Table footnotes:

1. ^ Skoglund was first on election night, but lost after special votes were counted

### Bibliography

[edit]

* The New Zealand Gazette "Members of the House of Representatives Elected – General Election" (20 December 1960) issue 84 page 2002.

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Gustafson 1986, p. 80.
2. ^ Sinclair 1976, p. 350.
3. ^ Sinclair 1976, pp. 349–50.
4. ^ Gustafson 1986, p. 82.
5. ^ Sinclair 1976, p. 349.
6. ^ Gustafson 1986, p. 90.
7. ^ Chapman, R M; Jackson, W K; Mitchell, A V (1962). New Zealand Politics in Action: the 1960 General Election. London: Oxford University Press. p. 108.
8. ^ Chapman, R M; Jackson, W K; Mitchell, A V (1962). New Zealand Politics in Action: the 1960 General Election. London: Oxford University Press. p. 108.
9. ^ Chapman, R M; Jackson, W K; Mitchell, A V (1962). New Zealand Politics in Action: the 1960 General Election. London: Oxford University Press. p. 108.
10. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 288.
11. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 290.
12. ^ Wilson 1985, pp. 288, 290.
13. ^ "Obituary: Duncan MacIntyre". The New Zealand Herald. 16 June 2001. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
14. ^ Gustafson 1986, p. 85.
15. ^ Norton 1988.
16. ^ Gustafson 1986, p. 386.
17. ^ Gustafson 1986, p. 383.

## References

[edit]

* Chapman, R M; Jackson, W K; Mitchell, A V (1962). New Zealand Politics in Action: the 1960 General Election. London: Oxford University Press.
* Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN 0-474-00177-6.
* Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946-1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. ISBN 0-475-11200-8.
* Sinclair, Keith (1976). Walter Nash. Auckland: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-647949-5.
* Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.

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