# 40th New Zealand Parliament

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

## Overview of seats

The table below shows the number of MPs in each party following the 1981 election and at dissolution:
| Affiliation | Affiliation | Members | Members |
| Affiliation | Affiliation | At 1981 election | At dissolution |
| | National | 47 | 47 |
| 47 ||
| | Labour | 43 | 43 |
| | Social Credit | 2 | 2 |
| Government total | Government total | 45 | 45 |
| Total | Total | 92 | 92 |
| Working Government majority | 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

The tables below shows the results of the 1981 general election:
Key
National  Labour  Social Credit  Mana Motuhake  Independent
Electorate results for the 1981 New Zealand general election :
| Electorate | Incumbent | Winner | Winner | Majority | Runner up |
| General electorates ||||||||
| Albany | Don McKinnon | Don McKinnon | Don McKinnon | 1,964 | Bryan Mockridge |
| Ashburton | Rob Talbot | Rob Talbot | Rob Talbot | 3,655 | John Srhoy |
| Auckland Central | Richard Prebble | Richard Prebble | Richard Prebble | 6,614 | Dorice Reid |
| Avon | Mary Batchelor | Mary Batchelor | Mary Batchelor | 7,820 | Colin McNicholl |
| Awarua | Rex Austin | Rex Austin | Rex Austin | 2,341 | Dick Fitzgerald |
| Bay of Islands | Neill Austin | Neill Austin | Neill Austin | 864 | Les Hunter |
| Birkenhead | Jim McLay | Jim McLay | Jim McLay | 2,104 | Bill Smith |
| Christchurch Central | Geoffrey Palmer | Geoffrey Palmer | Geoffrey Palmer | 7,028 | Ian Wilson |
| Clutha | Robin Gray | Robin Gray | Robin Gray | 661 | Clive Matthewson |
| Dunedin Central | Brian MacDonell | Brian MacDonell | Brian MacDonell | 4,169 | Nancy Ruth King |
| Dunedin North | Stan Rodger | Stan Rodger | Stan Rodger | 4,733 | Des Bleach |
| East Cape | Duncan MacIntyre | Duncan MacIntyre | Duncan MacIntyre | 1,964 | Peter Dey |
| East Coast Bays | Gary Knapp | Gary Knapp | Gary Knapp | 758 | Don Brash |
| Eastern Hutt | Trevor Young | Trevor Young | Trevor Young | 5.011 | Alex Duthie |
| Eden | Aussie Malcolm | Aussie Malcolm | Aussie Malcolm | 117 | Ian Scott |
| Fendalton | Eric Holland | | Philip Burdon | 1,158 | David Close |
| Gisborne | Bob Bell | Bob Bell | Bob Bell | 150 | Allan Wallbank |
| Hamilton East | Ian Shearer | Ian Shearer | Ian Shearer | 1,188 | Lois Welch |
| Hamilton West | Mike Minogue | Mike Minogue | Mike Minogue | 1,477 | Paddy McCaffrey |
| Hastings | David Butcher | David Butcher | David Butcher | 1,845 | Hamish Kynoch |
| Hauraki | Leo Schultz | | Graeme Lee | 1,787 | Gordon Miller |
| Hawkes Bay | Richard Harrison | Richard Harrison | Richard Harrison | 2,430 | Mike Cullen |
| Helensville | Dail Jones | Dail Jones | Dail Jones | 216 | Jack Elder |
| Heretaunga | Ron Bailey | | Bill Jeffries | 2,233 | Ronald Palmer |
| Horowhenua | Geoff Thompson | Geoff Thompson | Geoff Thompson | 876 | David Page |
| Hunua | Winston Peters | | Colin Moyle | 996 | Winston Peters |
| Invercargill | Norman Jones | Norman Jones | Norman Jones | 1,592 | Dougal Soper |
| Island Bay | Frank O'Flynn | Frank O'Flynn | Frank O'Flynn | 3,938 | Doug Catley |
| Kaimai | Bruce Townshend | Bruce Townshend | Bruce Townshend | 5,146 | Douglas Conway |
| Kaipara | Peter Wilkinson | Peter Wilkinson | Peter Wilkinson | 1,029 | Nevern Connachy |
| Kapiti | Barry Brill | | Margaret Shields | 495 | Barry Brill |
| King Country | Jim Bolger | Jim Bolger | Jim Bolger | 2,158 | Derek Mason |
| Lyttelton | Ann Hercus | Ann Hercus | Ann Hercus | 3,892 | Simon Stamers-Smith |
| Manawatu | Michael Cox | Michael Cox | Michael Cox | 2,913 | Dennis Kessell |
| Mangere | David Lange | David Lange | David Lange | 5,806 | John Pettit |
| Manurewa | Roger Douglas | Roger Douglas | Roger Douglas | 2,815 | Keith Ralph |
| Marlborough | Doug Kidd | Doug Kidd | Doug Kidd | 1,643 | Graeme Macann |
| Matamata | Jack Luxton | Jack Luxton | Jack Luxton | 3,460 | David Mawdsley |
| Miramar | Bill Young | | Peter Neilson | 649 | Bill Young |
| Mount Albert | Warren Freer | | Helen Clark | 3,907 | Warren W. Moyes |
| Napier | Gordon Christie | | Geoff Braybrooke | 3,009 | Kevin Rose |
| Nelson | Mel Courtney | | Philip Woollaston | 698 | Mel Courtney |
| New Lynn | Jonathan Hunt | Jonathan Hunt | Jonathan Hunt | 4,874 | Ron Hanson |
| New Plymouth | Tony Friedlander | Tony Friedlander | Tony Friedlander | 1,567 | Dennis Duggan |
| North Shore | George Gair | George Gair | George Gair | 3,969 | Peter Chambers |
| Ohariu | Hugh Templeton | Hugh Templeton | Hugh Templeton | 1,567 | Norman Ely |
| Onehunga | Fred Gerbic | Fred Gerbic | Fred Gerbic | 2,012 | Sue Wood |
| Otago | Warren Cooper | Warren Cooper | Warren Cooper | 4,893 | Bryan Griffiths |
| Otahuhu | Bob Tizard | Bob Tizard | Bob Tizard | 5,164 | Stuart McDowell |
| Pahiatua | John Falloon | John Falloon | John Falloon | 7,569 | Bill Sutton |
| Pakuranga | Pat Hunt | Pat Hunt | Pat Hunt | 783 | Neil Morrison |
| Palmerston North | Joe Walding | | Trevor de Cleene | 2,110 | Brian Elwood |
| Papakura | Merv Wellington | Merv Wellington | Merv Wellington | 3,215 | John Cheeseman |
| Papanui | Mike Moore | Mike Moore | Mike Moore | 4,409 | Brian Keeley |
| Papatoetoe | Eddie Isbey | Eddie Isbey | Eddie Isbey | 1,689 | Roy McKeen |
| Pencarrow | Fraser Colman | Fraser Colman | Fraser Colman | 4,065 | Willard Amaru |
| Porirua | Gerry Wall | Gerry Wall | Gerry Wall | 3,639 | Estelle Brittain |
| Rangiora | Derek Quigley | Derek Quigley | Derek Quigley | 932 | Chris Hayward |
| Rangiriri | Bill Birch | Bill Birch | Bill Birch | 3,004 | Roy Hayward |
| Rangitikei | Bruce Beetham | Bruce Beetham | Bruce Beetham | 2,376 | Paul Bardwell |
| Remuera | Allan Highet | Allan Highet | Allan Highet | 5,105 | Judith Tizard |
| Roskill | Arthur Faulkner | | Phil Goff | 2,525 | Cheryl Parsons |
| Rotorua | Paul East | Paul East | Paul East | 1,544 | Johnny W Lepper |
| St Albans | David Caygill | David Caygill | David Caygill | 4,926 | Jim Baker |
| St Kilda | Bill Fraser | | Michael Cullen | 3,579 | Stuart Clark |
| Selwyn | Colin McLachlan | | Ruth Richardson | 2,129 | Bill Woods |
| Sydenham | John Kirk | John Kirk | John Kirk | 5,594 | Richard Bach |
| Tamaki | Robert Muldoon | Robert Muldoon | Robert Muldoon | 5,153 | Richard Northey |
| Taranaki | David Thomson | David Thomson | David Thomson | 4,470 | Brian Heilihy |
| Tarawera | Ian McLean | Ian McLean | Ian McLean | 2,442 | Noel Scott |
| Tasman | Bill Rowling | Bill Rowling | Bill Rowling | 2,246 | Ted Krammer |
| Taupo | Jack Ridley | | Roger McClay | 36 | Jack Ridley |
| Tauranga | Keith Allen | Keith Allen | Keith Allen | 2,232 | Paul Hills |
| Te Atatu | Michael Bassett | Michael Bassett | Michael Bassett | 3,330 | Stella Noble |
| Timaru | Sir Basil Arthur | Sir Basil Arthur | Sir Basil Arthur | 1,850 | Jane Coughlan |
| Waikato | Lance Adams-Schneider | | Simon Upton | 4,661 | Noel Johnston |
| Waipa | Marilyn Waring | Marilyn Waring | Marilyn Waring | 2,768 | John Kilbride |
| Wairarapa | Ben Couch | Ben Couch | Ben Couch | 1,546 | Tom Gemmell |
| Waitakere | Ralph Maxwell | Ralph Maxwell | Ralph Maxwell | 2,883 | Martin Gummer |
| Waitaki | Jonathan Elworthy | Jonathan Elworthy | Jonathan Elworthy | 305 | Jim Sutton |
| Waitotara | Venn Young | Venn Young | Venn Young | 2,784 | Sam Gray |
| Wallace | Brian Talboys | | Derek Angus | 6,558 | Owen Horton |
| Wanganui | Russell Marshall | Russell Marshall | Russell Marshall | 1,668 | Terry Heffernan |
| Wellington Central | Ken Comber | | Fran Wilde | 1,283 | Ken Comber |
| West Coast | Kerry Burke | Kerry Burke | Kerry Burke | 4,406 | Doug Truman |
| Western Hutt | John Terris | John Terris | John Terris | 1,420 | John Tanner |
| Whangarei | John Elliott | | John Banks | 1,743 | Maurice Penney |
| Yaldhurst | Mick Connelly | Mick Connelly | Mick Connelly | 1,962 | Margaret Murray |
| Māori electorates ||||||||
| Eastern Maori | Paraone Reweti | | Peter Tapsell | 6,232 | Albert Tahana |
| Northern Maori | Bruce Gregory | Bruce Gregory | Bruce Gregory | 3,541 | Matiu Rata |
| Southern Maori | Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan | Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan | Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan | 8,665 | Amster Reedy |
| Western Maori | Koro Wētere | Koro Wētere | Koro Wētere | 8,624 | Eva Rickard |
Table footnotes:
* ↑ Wallbank was first on election night for Gisborne, but lost on a recount.
* ↑ Courtney had withdrawn from the Labour caucus in March 1981.
* ↑ McClay was declared elected by the High Court after an electoral petition.
There were no by-elections held during the term of the 40th Parliament.