40th New Zealand Parliament

40th Parliament of New Zealand
← 39th Parliament 41st Parliament →
Parliament House, Wellington
Overview
Legislative body	New Zealand Parliament
Term	6 April 1982 – 14 June 1984
Election	New Zealand general election, 1981
Government	Third National Government
House of Representatives
Members	92
Speaker of the House	Richard Harrison
Leader of the House	David Thomson
Prime Minister	Robert Muldoon
Leader of the Opposition	David Lange ––Bill Rowling until 3 February 1983
Sovereign
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor-General	David Beattie
Sessions
1st 6 April 1982 – 17 December 1982 2nd 7 April 1983 – 16 December 1983 3rd 31 May 1984 – 14 June 1984

The 40th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. Its composition was determined by the 1981 elections, and it sat until the 1984 elections.

The 40th Parliament was the third and final term of the third National Party government. Robert Muldoon, who served as both Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, remained in power. The Labour Party, led by former Prime Minister Bill Rowling, had made significant gains (actually winning the largest portion of the popular vote), but remained in opposition. The Social Credit Party was the only other opposition party in the 40th Parliament, holding two seats.

The 40th Parliament consisted of ninety-two representatives, the same as in the previous election. All of these representatives were chosen by single-member geographical electorates, including four special Māori electorates.

Electoral boundaries for the 40th Parliament

Overview of seats

The table below shows the number of MPs in each party following the 1981 election and at dissolution:

Affiliation		Members
		At 1981 election	At dissolution
	National	47	47
Government total
	Labour	43	43
	Social Credit	2	2
Government total		45	45
Total		92	92
Working Government majority		2	2

Notes

• The Working Government majority is calculated as all Government MPs less all other parties.

Initial composition of the 40th Parliament

There were no by-elections held during the term of the 40th Parliament.

References

• Bohan, Edmund (2004). Burdon: a man of our time. Hazard Press. ISBN 978-1-877270-90-1. OCLC 62718931. Retrieved 20 June 2015. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN 0-474-00177-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• 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. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)