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26th New Zealand Parliament

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26th Parliament of New Zealand
←25th Parliament 27th Parliament→
Parliament House, Wellington
Overview
Legislative bodyNew Zealand Parliament
Term27 June 1939 – 26 August 1943
Election1938 New Zealand general election
GovernmentFirst Labour Government
House of Representatives
Members80
Speaker of the HouseBill Barnard
Prime MinisterPeter Fraser from 1 April 1940
— Michael Joseph Savage until 27 March 1940 †
Leader of the OppositionSidney Holland
— Adam Hamilton until 26 November 1940
Legislative Council
Speaker of the CouncilMark Fagan
— Sir Walter Carncross until 18 July 1939
Leader of the CouncilDavid Wilson
Sovereign
Members34 (at start)
36 (at end)
MonarchHM George VI
Governor-GeneralHE Rt. Hon. Sir Cyrill Newall from 22 February 1941
— HE Rt. Hon. The Viscount Galway until 3 February 1941
Sessions
1st27 June 1939 – 6 October 1939
2nd30 May 1940 – 31 July 1940
3rd21 August 1940 – 30 August 1940
4th1 October 1940 – 11 October 1940
5th26 November 1940 – 6 December 1940
6th12 March 1941 – 27 March 1941
7th10 June 1941 – 12 June 1941
8th15 July 1941 – 17 October 1941

The 26th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1938 general election in October of that year.

1938 general election

Main article: 1938 New Zealand general election

The 1938 general election was held on Friday, 14 October in the Māori electorates and on Saturday, 15 October in the general electorates, respectively.[1] A total of 80 MPs were elected; 48 represented North Island electorates, 28 represented South Island electorates, and the remaining four represented Māori electorates.[2] 995,173 voters were enrolled and the official turnout at the election was 92.9%.[1]

Sessions

The 26th Parliament sat for an unprecedented 19 sessions by omitting the 1941 general election, and was prorogued on 30 August 1943.[3] A 1941 act extended the life of parliament to 1 November 1942,[4] and a 1942 act allowed extension to "one year from the termination of the present war",[5] although a general election was held in 1943.

Session Opened Adjourned
first 27 June 1939 6 October 1939
second 30 May 1940 31 July 1940
third 21 August 1940 30 August 1940
fourth 1 October 1940 11 October 1940
fifth 26 November 1940 6 December 1940
sixth 12 March 1941 27 March 1941
seventh 10 June 1941 12 June 1941
eight 15 July 1941 17 October 1941
ninth 11 December 1941 12 December 1941
tenth 5 February 1942 12 February 1942
eleventh 17 March 1942 20 March 1942
twelfth 28 April 1942 9 May 1942
thirteenth 24 June 1942 10 July 1942
fourteenth 18 August 1942 20 August 1942
fifteenth 14 October 1942 22 October 1942
sixteenth 2 December 1942 4 December 1942
seventeenth 24 February 1943 18 March 1943
eighteenth 19 May 1943 2 July 1943
nineteenth 20 July 1943 25 August 1943

Ministries

The Labour Party had been in power since December 1935, and Michael Joseph Savage led the Savage Ministry.[6] The opposition had consisted of the United Party and the Reform Party, which merged in 1936 during the term of the 25th Parliament to form the National Party. The First Labour Government was confirmed at the 1938 general election with an increased majority, and the Savage Ministry remained until Savage's death on 27 March 1940.[7]

Savage was succeeded as Prime Minister by Peter Fraser, who formed the Fraser Ministry on 1 April 1940. The first Fraser Ministry resigned on 30 April 1940 and was reappointed, with some portfolios adjusted.[8] The second Fraser Ministry remained in power until its defeat by the National Party at the 1949 election.[9][10]

A War Cabinet was formed on 16 July 1940, which held the responsibility for all decisions relating to New Zealand's involvement in World War II. The War Cabinet was dissolved on 21 August 1945.[11] For some months in 1942, a War Administration was in place. Formed on 30 June and dissolved on 2 October, the War Administration had responsibility for all war matters, with the War Cabinet as its executive body.[11]

Party standings

Start of Parliament

Party Leader(s) Seats at start
bgcolor=Template:New Zealand Labour Party/meta/color| Labour Party Michael Joseph Savage 53
bgcolor=Template:New Zealand National Party/meta/color| National Party Adam Hamilton 25
bgcolor=Template:Independent politician/meta/color| Independents 2

End of Parliament

Party Leader(s) Seats at start
bgcolor=Template:New Zealand Labour Party/meta/color| Labour Party Peter Fraser 50
bgcolor=Template:New Zealand National Party/meta/color| National Party Sidney Holland 25
bgcolor=Template:Democratic Labour Party (New Zealand)/meta/color| Democratic Labour John A. Lee 2
bgcolor=Template:Independent politician/meta/color| Independents 3

Initial composition of the 26th Parliament

The following table shows the initial composition of the 26th Parliament: Template:1938 New Zealand general election

Changes

There were a number of changes during the term of the 26th Parliament.

Electorate and by-election Date Incumbent Cause Winner
Christchurch South 1939 3 June Ted Howard Death Robert Macfarlane
Auckland West 1940 18 May Michael Joseph Savage Death Peter Carr
Waipawa 1940 16 November Albert Jull Death Cyril Harker
Waitemata 1941 19 July Jack Lyon Death Mary Dreaver
Bay of Plenty 1941 13 December Gordon Hultquist Death Bill Sullivan
Mid-Canterbury 1942 27 January Arthur Grigg Death Mary Grigg
Hauraki 1942 7 February John Allen Death Andy Sutherland
Temuka 1942 7 February Thomas Burnett Death Jack Acland
Christchurch East 1943 6 February Tim Armstrong Death Mabel Howard
Northern Maori 1943 19 June Paraire Karaka Paikea Death (by-election postponed by legislation)[12]
Name Year Seat From To
John A. Lee 1940 Grey Lynn

rowspan="2" style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #D82A20;" data-sort-value="New Zealand Labour Party" |

Labour

rowspan="2" style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #FFA500;" data-sort-value="Democratic Labour Party (New Zealand)" |

Democratic Labour
Bill Barnard Napier
Gordon Coates 1942 Kaipara

rowspan="2" style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #00529F;" data-sort-value="New Zealand National Party" |

National

rowspan="2" style="width: 2px; color:inherit; background-color: #DCDCDC;" data-sort-value="Independent politician" |

Independent
Bert Kyle Riccarton

Notes

  1. ^ a b "General elections 1853–2005 - dates & turnout". Elections New Zealand. Archived from the original on 27 May 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  2. ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 90.
  3. ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 70.
  4. ^ "Prolongation of Parliament Act, 1941". New Zealand Law online.
  5. ^ "Prolongation of Parliament Act, 1942". New Zealand Law online.
  6. ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 48.
  7. ^ Gustafson, Barry. "Savage, Michael Joseph - Biography". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  8. ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 50.
  9. ^ Beaglehole, Tim. "Fraser, Peter". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  10. ^ Scholefield 1950, pp. 50–51.
  11. ^ a b Scholefield 1950, p. 52.
  12. ^ "By-election Postponement Act 1943". Retrieved 8 March 2012.

References

  • Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN 0-474-00177-6.
  • Scholefield, Guy (1950) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer.
  • Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
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