Leader of the Opposition (New Zealand)
The Leader of the Opposition in New Zealand is the politician who leads Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition (the body in Parliament recognized as the Official Opposition).
Role
By convention, the Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the largest party of the Opposition.
The Leader of the Opposition does not have a large official role, as most of the post's functions are ceremonial. Nevertheless, there are several ways in which the Leader of the Opposition participates directly in affairs of state. Often, these relate to national security matters, which are supposed to transcend party politics - the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service, for example, is required to brief the Leader of the Opposition as well as the Prime Minister on certain matters.
The Leader of the Opposition also receives a higher salary than other members of the Opposition, being paid the same amount as a Cabinet Minister.
History
The development of the Leader of the Opposition's office in New Zealand was gradual. While the title has existed for some time, it only came to have much significance as part of a slow process. Initially, before the establishment of a party system, the Leader of the Opposition merely "first among equals", nominated by those MPs who happened to oppose the ministry of the day. It was only later, when political parties began to be established, that the Leader of the Opposition gained a more substantial role.
Initially, all Leaders of the Opposition were independents, although were often affiliated with a particular identifiable faction. Later, with the creation of a party system, the post alternated between the Liberal Party and the Reform Party, although the newly-founded Labour Party did manage to capture the position from 1926 to 1928. Since 1935, the position has alternated between the Labour Party and the National Party.
After a poor showing in the 2002 elections, the National Party constituted less than half of what was (at least technically) the Opposition. As the largest party, however, its leader had still retained the title of Leader of the Opposition. This prompted a number of parties, notably New Zealand First and the Greens, to call for the abolition or reform of the post. It was argued by these parties that the position had become an "anachronism" in the modern multi-party environment, and that the days of a united opposition bloc were gone.
The current Leader of the Opposition is Don Brash.
Past Leaders of the Opposition
A table of past Leaders of the Opposition is below. The table begins in 1981, when the first real political party (the Liberals) was founded. Those who also served as Prime Minister, either before or after being Leader of the Opposition, are shown in italics.
|
| Name
| Took Office
| Left Office
| Party
|
| 1
| John Bryce
| 23 June 1891
| 31 August 1891
| None
|
| 2
| William Rolleston
| 31 August 1891
| 8 November 1893
| None
|
| 3
| William Russell
| June 1894
| 3 July 1901
| None
|
| 4
| William Massey
| 11 September 1903
| February 1909
| None
|
|
| William Massey, continued
| February 1909
| 10 July 1912
| Reform
|
| 5
| Joseph Ward*, 1st time
| 10 July 1912
| 27 November 1919
| Liberal
|
| 6
| William MacDonald
| 21 January 1920
| 31 August 1920
| Liberal
|
| 7
| Thomas Wilford
| 8 September 1920
| 13 August 1925
| Liberal
|
| 8
| George William Forbes, 1st time
| 13 August 1925
| 14 October 1925
| Liberal
|
| 9
| Harry Holland, 1st time
| 16 June 1926
| 18 October 1928
| Labour
|
|
| Joseph Ward, 2nd time
| 4 December 1928
| 10 December 1928
| United (Liberal)
|
| 10
| Gordon Coates
| 10 December 1928
| 22 September 1931
| Reform
|
|
| Harry Holland, 2nd time
| 22 September 1931
| 8 October 1933
| Labour
|
| 11
| Michael Joseph Savage
| 12 October 1933
| 6 December 1935
| Labour
|
|
| George William Forbes, 2nd time
| 6 December 1935
| 2 November 1936
| United/Reform ("National")
|
| 12
| Adam Hamilton
| 2 November 1936
| 26 November 1940
| National
|
| 13
| Sidney Holland
| 26 November 1940
| 13 December 1949
| National
|
| 14
| Peter Fraser
| 13 December 1949
| 12 December 1950
| Labour
|
| 15
| Walter Nash, 1st time
| 17 January 1951
| 12 December 1957
| Labour
|
| 16
| Keith Holyoake
| 12 December 1957
| 12 December 1960
| National
|
|
| Walter Nash, 2nd time
| 12 December 1960
| 31 March 1963
| Labour
|
| 17
| Arnold Nordmeyer
| 1 April 1963
| 16 December 1965
| Labour
|
| 18
| Norman Kirk
| 16 December 1965
| 8 December 1972
| Labour
|
| 19
| Jack Marshall
| 8 December 1972
| 4 July 1974
| National
|
| 20
| Robert Muldoon, 1st time
| 4 July 1974
| 12 December 1975
| National
|
| 21
| Bill Rowling
| 12 December 1975
| 1982
| Labour
|
| 22
| David Lange
| 1982
| 26 July 1984
| Labour
|
|
| Robert Muldoon, 2nd time
| 26 July 1984
| ?
| National
|
| 23
| Jim McLay
| ?
| 26 March 1986
| National
|
| 24
| Jim Bolger
| 26 March 1986
| 2 November 1990
| National
|
| 25
| Mike Moore
| 2 November 1990
| 1993
| Labour
|
| 26
| Helen Clark
| 1993
| 5 December 1999
| Labour
|
| 27
| Jenny Shipley
| 5 December 1999
| 8 October 2001
| National
|
| 28
| Bill English
| 8 October 2001
| 28 October 2003
| National
|
| 29
| Don Brash
| 28 October 2003
| (present)
| National
|
* From 4 August 1915 to 21 August 1919, the Reform Party and the Liberal Party formed a joint wartime coalition. However, Joseph Ward of the Liberals officially remained "Leader of the Opposition", even though he was actually part of the government.
