New Zealand Labour Party

History

Background

The founding of the New Zealand Labour Party, on 7 July 1916 in Wellington,[12] brought together a number of earlier socialist groups advocating proportional representation, the abolition of the country quota, the recall of members of Parliament, as well as the nationalisation of production and exchange.

Despite the Labour Party's Wellington origins, the West Coast town of Blackball is regarded as the "spiritual home" of the party,[21] because it was the site of a miners' strike in 1908 that led to the founding of the first nationwide federation of trade unions (the "Red Federation"). The Labour Party was established by trade unions, among other groups, and the party identifies itself as part of the wider labour movement in New Zealand. The Labour Party has long been identified with red, a political colour traditionally affiliated with socialism and the labour movement.

Formation (1901–1916)

At the turn of the 20th century, the radical side of New Zealand working class politics was represented by the Socialist Party, founded in 1901. The more moderate leftists generally supported the Liberal Party. In 1905 a group of working-class politicians who were dissatisfied with the Liberal approach established the Independent Political Labour League (IPLL), which managed to win a seat in Parliament in the 1908 election. At the same time, moderates contested as "Lib-Lab" candidates, aligning with the Liberal Party while enjoying the endorsement of the labour movement. This established the basic dividing line in New Zealand's left-wing politics – the Socialists/IPLL tended to be revolutionary and militant, while the moderates focused instead on progressive reform. The process of unifying these sides into a single party was difficult, with tensions between different factions running strong.

In 1910 the Independent Political Labour League was relaunched as an organisation called the Labour Party (distinct from the modern party). Soon, however, the leaders of the new organisation decided that additional effort was needed to promote left-wing cooperation, and organised a "Unity Conference". The Socialists refused to attend, but several independent labour activists agreed. The United Labour Party (ULP) was born.

Soon afterward, the labour movement went through the 1912 Waihi miners' strike, a major industrial disturbance prompted by radicals in the union movement. The movement split over supporting or opposing the radicals, and in the end, the conservative Reform Party government of William Massey suppressed the strike by force. In the strike's aftermath, there was a major drive to end the divisions in the labour movement and to establish a united front. Accordingly, Walter Thomas Mills organised another Unity Conference, and this time the Socialists attended. The resulting group was named the Social Democratic Party.

Not all members of the United Labour Party accepted the new organisation, however, and some continued under their own banner. Gradually, however, the differences between the Social Democrats and the ULP Remnant broke down, and in 1915 they formed a unified caucus – both to oppose Reform better and to differentiate themselves from the Liberals. A year later yet another gathering took place. This time, all major factions of the labour movement agreed to unite, forming the Labour Party as it is today.

Electoral record of constituent parties pre–1916 Labour

In opposition, 2023–present

In early November 2023, caretake Prime Minister Chris Hipkins was re-elected as leader of the Labour Party and Carmel Sepuloni was elected as deputy leader. In early 2024, three veteran Labour MPs Kelvin Davis, Rino Tirikatene and Grant Robertson resigned from Parliament, allowing Shanan Halbert, Tracey McLellan and Glen Bennett to re-enter Parliament via the party list. In February 2024, Labour reversed its previous support for New Zealand entering the non-nuclear component of the AUKUS, with foreign affairs spokesperson Phil Twyford describing it as an "offensive warfighting alliance against China." In April 2024, Labour called for New Zealand to recognise Palestinian statehood.

Ideology

The New Zealand Labour Party's founding 1916 policy objectives called for "the socialisation of the means of production, distribution and exchange", including state ownership of major parts of the economy, and increased rights for workers. While the socialist objective attracted support from some members, it also became a target for opponents who portrayed Labour as an extremist party. In the aftermath of World War II, Labour prioritised national unity over societal divisions, but after their defeat in 1949, many party members perceived the socialist objective as outdated and a hindrance to electoral success, leading to its abolition in 1951. The party transformed into a moderate social-democratic party, focusing on reform within the democratic framework while maintaining ties with trade unions.

By the late 1980s, the Labour Party had undergone significant ideological changes, leading to policies that frequently conflicted with the goals and interests of the union movement. The Labour Government of the 1980s deviated sharply from a social-democratic path; in a series of economic reforms, the government removed a swathe of regulations and subsidies, privatised state assets, and introduced corporate practices to state services.

The party's constitution and platform programme maintains its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers describe Labour's policies as social-democratic and pragmatic in practice. From the 1990s onwards, Labour has again aimed to use the power of the state to try to achieve a "fairer and more equal society", based on a mixed economy in which both the state and private enterprise play a part. Subsequently, the party has also been described as embracing certain social-liberal policies.

Principles

According to its current constitution, the party accepts democratic socialist principles, including:

• The management of New Zealand's natural resources for the benefit of all, including future generations.

• Equal access to all social, economic, cultural, political, and legal spheres, regardless of wealth or social position.

• Co-operation as the main governing factor in economic relations, to ensure a just distribution of wealth.

• Universal rights to dignity, self-respect, and the opportunity to work.

• The right to wealth and property, subject to the provisos of regarding people as always more important than property and the obligations of the state to ensure a just distribution of wealth.

• Honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi / the Treaty of Waitangi as the founding document of New Zealand.

• The promotion of peace and social justice throughout the world by international co-operation.

• Equality in human rights regardless of race, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, religious faith, political belief or disability.

Voter base

Historically, the party drew upon a stable sectional voter base comprising the urban working class, predominantly manual labourers and trade unionists. From the 1930s onwards, Labour has increasingly positioned itself as a broad-based party by responding and adapting to different social and economic problems and changing demographics (appealing to an expanding migrant population and a diversified ethnic, social make-up). Beginning in the 1980s, there was a shift away from class-issues and towards the promotion of individual freedoms, particularly for members of disadvantaged groups such as women and Māori. The modern party's core support base lies among young people, urban workers, civil servants, and minorities (particularly the Māori and Pasifika communities).

Organisation and Party structure

General and special branches

Party membership is tied into geographically-based branches in each parliamentary electorate. General branches must consist of at least 10 members aged 15 or over. Members may also form special branches where they have a special community of interest (such as university students and academics, young people, women, Māori people, Pasifika, multicultural groups, people with disabilities, the LGBT community, and industrial workers). Influential branches include Princes Street Labour (this Auckland university branch is described as the "ideological powerhouse of the party", and has contributed many prominent Labour politicians) and Vic Labour (the Victoria University of Wellington branch).

Membership figures are rarely released to the public. Full (non-affiliate) membership is known to have peaked at 55,000 in 1976. During the 1980s and 1990s, party membership plummeted to levels not seen since before the First Labour Government. This decline might be attributed to disillusionment on the part of some members with the economic policies of the Fourth Labour Government ("Rogernomics"). Membership figures began to recover under Helen Clark's leadership, with 14,000 members recorded in 2002.

Conference, councils and committees

Delegates from all branches in the electorate, together with delegates from affiliated unions, make up the Labour Electorate Committee (LEC). The LEC is responsible for party organisation in the electorate. The party is divided into six regional areas, which each year convene a Regional Conference. Policy and other matters are debated and passed onto the Annual Conference.

The Annual Conference (called Congress in election years) is the supreme governing body of the Labour Party when it is in session. All constituent bodies of the party are entitled to send delegates to Annual Conference.

The New Zealand Council is the Labour Party's governing executive. It ensures that the party is governed effectively according to its constitution. The NZ Council consists of the president, two senior vice presidents (one of which must be Māori), three vice presidents (representing women, affiliates, and Pacific Islanders), seven regional representatives, one Policy Council representative, three Caucus representatives, and the general secretary.

The Policy Council, responsible for the development of the policy platform and election manifesto, is elected for a three-year term following each general election. The party structure also provides for Special Interest Group Councils: representing the affiliates, women's issues, Māori issues, Pacific Islands, primary industries, local government, and youth.

Caucus and parliamentary leadership

The elected members representing the Labour Party in the House of Representatives meet as the Parliamentary Labour Party, also called the Caucus. The current parliamentary leader is Chris Hipkins (since 22 January 2023). A leadership election is triggered upon the vacancy of the position of leader or a motion of no confidence. Candidates are nominated from within the Caucus. Under Labour Party rules, party members have 40% of the votes, MPs have another 40% of the votes, and affiliated unions have 20% of the votes. Some observers have criticised the influence of the unions in leadership elections.

Affiliated trade unions

In the first decades of the 20th century, manufacturing industries grew strongly in New Zealand's main cities and union membership also increased. The Labour Party was formed in this period as the political wing of the labour movement and was financed by trade unions. Since then, the unions have retained close institutional links with the party. In 2023 there were 11 affiliated unions, which paid a levy to the party based on the size of their own memberships. Generally, members of these unions are also affiliated members of the Labour Party. Affiliates receive a percentage of the vote in party leadership elections.

In addition, the president of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions continues to speak at the Labour Party Annual Conference.

Young Labour

Young Labour is the party's youth wing. It exists to organise young party members (and young members of affiliated unions) aged under 30, and encourage wider involvement of young New Zealanders in centre-left politics. Young Labour is the most active sector in the Labour Party and plays a significant role in policy development and campaign efforts. It is endearingly called the "conscience of the party".

In March 2018, it was reported that four people under 16 were allegedly sexually assaulted at a Young Labour summer camp in February. The camp was said to have "mountains of alcohol", and people under the legal drinking age of 18 were said to have consumed alcohol. Although Young Labour and the Labour Party were aware of the allegations, party leadership failed to tell the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. The party offered counselling and support after the allegations were publicly reported. An independent review into the party's conduct and sexual assault complaint policy was announced by Party President Nigel Haworth, and was completed late August. The party has declined to release the report to the public.

Local government

Labour Party members, including current and former MPs, have contested various local government positions throughout New Zealand during local body elections. While several have stood as Labour Party candidates, others have contested the elections as independent politicians.

Auckland

Labour has contested the Auckland local body elections alongside City Vision, a left-leaning electoral ticket representing the local Labour, Green parties and other progressives. Following the 2022 Auckland local elections, the Auckland Council had four councillors serving under the Labour ticket and one serving under the affiliated City Vision ticket. In addition, 26 Labour Party candidates were elected to local community boards across Auckland while four Labour candidates were elected to local licensing trusts in the Auckland Region. Meanwhile, seven City Vision local board members and three City Vision liquor licensing trust members were also elected.

Former Labour MP and cabinet minister Phil Goff served as mayor of Auckland for two terms between 2016 and 2022.

Christchurch

In Christchurch, former Labour MP and cabinet minister Lianne Dalziel served for three terms as mayor between 2013 and 2022. She ran as an independent.

Within the Christchurch City Council, Labour maintains an umbrella, including community independents called The People's Choice (formerly Christchurch 2021). During the 2019 Christchurch local elections, People's Choice candidates held 10 community board seats, seven council seats, and several community board chairmanships.

Dunedin

On 26 February 2016, Dunedin city councillor and former Labour MP David Benson-Pope announced that he would be contesting the Dunedin local elections in October under the "Local Labour" ticket. While still a Labour Party member, Benson Pope had stood in the 2013 local elections as an independent candidate. This report coincided with the dissolution of the city's main local body ticket, the centre-left Greater Dunedin group. On 20 April, it was reported that the Labour Party had dropped its plan to field a bloc of candidates in the 2016 Dunedin elections. However, the party has not ruled out endorsing other candidates.

During the 2019 local elections, Steve Walker and Marian Hobbs were elected to the Dunedin City Council and Otago Regional Council respectively on Labour Party tickets. Hobbs subsequently resigned from the Otago Regional Council in November 2021.

During the 2022 Dunedin local elections, Steve Walker and Joy Davis stood as Labour candidates for the Dunedin City Council. While Walker was re-elected, Davis failed to win a seat.

New Plymouth

In New Plymouth, former MP Harry Duynhoven served as mayor from 2010 to 2013, when he was defeated by Andrew Judd.

Palmerston North

Beginning in 2016, the Labour Party began contesting the Palmerston North local elections, ending a long tradition of keeping national party political affiliations out of local government bodies. During the 2016 local elections, Lorna Johnson was elected on the Labour Party ticket to the Palmerston North City Council. During the 2019 local elections, she was joined by Zulfiqar Butt, who also stood on the Labour ticket. During the 2022 local elections, Johnson was re-elected to the Palmerston North City Council but Butt was defeated.

Rotorua

Former Rotorua electorate then Labour list MP Steve Chadwick, was elected as mayor of Rotorua in the 2013 elections. She stood as an independent. She served for three terms before resigning in 2022.

Wellington Region

During the 2022 Wellington local elections, four Labour Party councillors were elected: Ben McNulty – Northern Ward, Rebecca Matthews – Onslow-Western Ward, Teri O'Neill – Eastern Ward, and Nureddin Abdurahman – Southern Ward. Labour MP Paul Eagle unsuccessfully contested the 2022 Wellington City mayoral election but came third place.

Daran Ponter of the Wellington City ward on the Greater Wellington Regional Council was the only councillor to have been re-elected on a Labour ticket during the 2022 Wellington local election.

Campbell Barry has been the mayor of Lower Hutt since 2019 and was re-elected on the Labour ticket along with Wainuiomata ward councilor Keri Brown during the 2022 Hutt City Council elections.

Whanganui

In Whanganui, Labour member Hamish McDouall served two terms as mayor until he was defeated by Andrew Tripe during the 2022 local elections. McDouall had previously contested the seat of Whanganui for the party. McDouall ran on an independent ticket.

MMP era, 1996–present

Labour did not contest every electorate until 1946, when it stood candidates in all 80 electorates. According to the National Executive reports, the number of official candidates in 1919 is uncertain (53 or possibly 46). The party ran 41 candidates in 1922; 56 in 1925; 55 in 1928; 53 in 1931; 70 in 1935; 78 in 1938; and 77 in 1943. Labour did not run against independent candidates who voted with Labour, such as Harry Atmore in Nelson and David McDougall in Mataura, Southland. Labour did not run candidates against the two Country Party candidates in 1935, but did in 1938, when both candidates were defeated.

Māori electorates

Leadership[edit]

The Labour Party has had 17 leaders, 11 of whom have served as prime minister. To date, Helen Clark served longest as leader of the Labour Party. While some dispute exists as to when Harry Holland officially became leader, Clark had passed his longest possible leadership term by 26 October 2008.

List of leaders

The following is a complete list of Labour Party leaders in the House of Representatives: