# 1960 New Zealand general election

The 1960 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 33rd term. It saw the governing Labour Party defeated by the National Party, putting an end to the short second Labour government.

## Background

The Labour Party had won the 1957 election by a narrow margin, beginning New Zealand's second period of Labour government. However, the new administration soon lost its narrow lead in public opinion, with its financial policies being the principal cause of dissatisfaction. The so-called "Black Budget", introduced by finance minister Arnold Nordmeyer, increased taxes substantially, with particularly large increases for alcohol and tobacco taxes; Labour became widely seen as both miserly and puritanical. The government defended its tax increases as a necessary measure to avert a balance of payments crisis, but the opposition, led by Keith Holyoake, made substantial gains out of the issue throughout the parliamentary term.
Both parties crafted narratives on the history of the balance of payments crisis in the lead up to the election. Holyoake tried to argue that overseas funds had not fallen as much as Nash said in 1957, and that Labour had produced a panic budget. Moreover, the over-importing was due to a fear of import controls if Labour should win. Nash continued to stress that National had produced the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and that Labour had averted further disaster by its action. Coincidentally, at the beginning of the election another drop in overseas funds occurred, but neither party commented much about it.
Labour's main policy platform was on industrialization particularly with new cotton mills in Nelson. Nash constantly repeated the theme people in New Zealand had 'never been so well off' and pamphlets stated 'everyone, everywhere, will again be better off', closely mirroring British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan's winning slogan in 1959, 'You've never had it so good'. National's campaign promised to lower taxes, reduce import controls and abolish compulsory unionism.
A very thorough study of the election by three political scientists concluded that National's preparations for the election, organization, and publicity were much better than Labour's which was the main reason for the result with little substantial differences between the parties in policy. National's party organisation recognised their win was mostly due to public mood against Labour and many traditional Labour voters not bothering to vote. As a result Labour's vote share had fallen more than National's had risen.

### MPs retiring in 1960

Five National MPs and four Labour MPs intended to retire at the end of the 32nd Parliament.
| Party | Name | Electorate |
| National | James Roy | Clutha |
| National | Duncan Rae | Eden |
| National | Jack Watts | Fendalton |
| National | Sidney Walter Smith | Hobson |
| National | Jimmy Maher | Otaki |
| Labour | Bill Anderton | Auckland Central |
| Labour | Phil Holloway | Heretaunga |
| Labour | Joe Cotterill | Wanganui |
| Labour | Jim Kent | Westland |

## The election

The date for the main 1960 election was 26 November. 1,310,742 people were registered to vote, and turnout was 89.8%. This turnout was slightly lower than what had been recorded in the previous elections. The number of seats being contested was 80, a number which had been fixed since 1902.

## Opinion polling

Polling ahead of the 1960 New Zealand general election was limited, but three polls conducted by Gallup provided insight into voter preferences leading up to the election. These polls give a snapshot of party support in the months before the vote. The results are outlined in the table below:
| Poll | Date | National | Labour | Social Credit | Others | Lead |
| 1960 election result | 26 Nov 1960 | 47.2 | 43.4 | 8.6 | 0.4 | 3.8 |
| Gallup | 22 Nov 1960 | 46 | 43 | 9 | | 3 |
| Gallup | 18 Oct 1960 | 49 | 43 | 6 | | 6 |
| Gallup | 13 Sep 1960 | 47 | 44 | 6 | | 3 |

## Results

The 1960 election saw the governing Labour Party defeated by a twelve-seat margin, having previously held a two-seat majority. National won a total of 46 seats to Labour's 34 seats, and formed the second National government. In the popular vote, National won 47.59% to Labour's 43.42%.
The Social Credit Party won 8.62% of the vote, but no seats. Three of their candidates missed the nomination deadline, and the opening address of the party leader P. H. Matthews was not noteworthy.
Three new National members of parliament were called the Young Turks: Peter Gordon, Duncan MacIntyre and Robert Muldoon. The other new National MPs were Esme Tombleson, Bill Brown, Harry Lapwood, Logan Sloane, Bert Walker, and Dan Riddiford.
Paddy Blanchfield, Ron Bailey, Norman Douglas and George Spooner entered parliament for Labour.
Election results :
| Party | Party | Candidates | Total votes | Percentage | Seats won | Change |
| | National | 80 | 557,046 | 47.6 | 46 | +7 |
| | Labour | 80 | 508,179 | 43.4 | 34 | −7 |
| | Social Credit | 79 | 100,905 | 8.6 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Communist | 18 | 2,423 | 0.21 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Others | 7 | 1,950 | 0.2 | 0 | ±0 |
| Total | Total | 269 | 1,170,503 | | 80 | |

### Votes summary

Popular Vote
National
47.60%
Labour
43.40%
Social Credit
8.60%
Others
0.40% :
Parliament seats
National
57.50%
Labour
42.50% :
The table below shows the results of the 1960 general election:
Key
National  Labour  Social Credit
Electorate results for the 1960 New Zealand general election :
| Electorate | Incumbent | Winner | Winner | Majority | Runner up |
| General electorates ||||||||
| Ashburton | Geoff Gerard | Geoff Gerard | Geoff Gerard | 2,558 | George Glassey |
| Auckland Central | Bill Anderton | | Norman Douglas | 1,846 | Ray Presland |
| Avon | John Mathison | John Mathison | John Mathison | 4,216 | Lorrie Pickering |
| Awarua | Gordon Grieve | Gordon Grieve | Gordon Grieve | 3,000 | J P Wyatt |
| Bay of Plenty | Percy Allen | Percy Allen | Percy Allen | 2,411 | Thomas Godfrey Santon |
| Buller | Jerry Skinner | Jerry Skinner | Jerry Skinner | 1,546 | Ernie King |
| Christchurch Central | Robert Macfarlane | Robert Macfarlane | Robert Macfarlane | 1,935 | Tom Flint |
| Clutha | James Roy | | Peter Gordon | 3,863 | Joseph Fahey |
| Dunedin Central | Phil Connolly | Phil Connolly | Phil Connolly | 842 | Norman Scurr |
| Dunedin North | Ethel McMillan | Ethel McMillan | Ethel McMillan | 2,475 | Brenda Bell |
| Eden | Duncan Rae | | John Rae | 1,902 | Russell Gordon Penney |
| Egmont | William Sheat | William Sheat | William Sheat | 3,933 | J W Watson |
| Fendalton | Jack Watts | | Harry Lake | 2,722 | Bill Rowling |
| Franklin | Alfred E. Allen | Alfred E. Allen | Alfred E. Allen | 5,197 | Howard Preston |
| Gisborne | Reginald Keeling | | Esme Tombleson | 291 | Reginald Keeling |
| Grey Lynn | Fred Hackett | Fred Hackett | Fred Hackett | 4,596 | Brian Zouch |
| Hamilton | Lance Adams-Schneider | Lance Adams-Schneider | Lance Adams-Schneider | 2,583 | Sir Basil Arthur |
| Hastings | Ted Keating | | Duncan MacIntyre | 300 | Ted Keating |
| Hauraki | Arthur Kinsella | Arthur Kinsella | Arthur Kinsella | 2,635 | Albert Clifford Tucker |
| Hawkes Bay | Cyril Harker | Cyril Harker | Cyril Harker | 3,682 | John Woolf |
| Heretaunga | Phil Holloway | | Ron Bailey | 2,576 | Vere Hampson-Tindale |
| Hobson | Sidney Walter Smith | | Logan Sloane | 1,401 | Vernon Cracknell |
| Hurunui | William Gillespie | William Gillespie | William Gillespie | 2,731 | Arthur Adcock |
| Hutt | Walter Nash | Walter Nash | Walter Nash | 2,349 | George Barker |
| Invercargill | Ralph Hanan | Ralph Hanan | Ralph Hanan | 1,926 | Oliver James Henderson |
| Island Bay | Arnold Nordmeyer | Arnold Nordmeyer | Arnold Nordmeyer | 1,791 | Fairlie Curry |
| Karori | Jack Marshall | Jack Marshall | Jack Marshall | 4,313 | Olive Smuts-Kennedy |
| Lyttelton | Norman Kirk | Norman Kirk | Norman Kirk | 260 | Jim Hay |
| Manawatu | Blair Tennent | Blair Tennent | Blair Tennent | 3,120 | Leonard Thomas Fischer |
| Manukau | Leon Götz | Leon Götz | Leon Götz | 245 | Cyril Stamp |
| Marlborough | Tom Shand | Tom Shand | Tom Shand | 1,747 | Robert William Hope |
| Marsden | Don McKay | Don McKay | Don McKay | 4,351 | John Swanson Reid |
| Miramar | Bill Fox | Bill Fox | Bill Fox | 467 | Bernard Lyons |
| Mornington | Wally Hudson | Wally Hudson | Wally Hudson | 2,246 | George Robert Thorn |
| Mount Albert | Warren Freer | Warren Freer | Warren Freer | 1,676 | Clarice Anderson |
| Napier | Jim Edwards | Jim Edwards | Jim Edwards | 1,405 | William John Gunn |
| Nelson | Stan Whitehead | Stan Whitehead | Stan Whitehead | 1,767 | Colin Wilson Martin |
| New Plymouth | Ernest Aderman | Ernest Aderman | Ernest Aderman | 1,693 | Ron Barclay |
| North Shore | Dean Eyre | Dean Eyre | Dean Eyre | 1,817 | Peter Lawrence Smith |
| Onehunga | Hugh Watt | Hugh Watt | Hugh Watt | 4,705 | Paul Brian Phillips |
| Onslow | Henry May | Henry May | Henry May | 790 | Maida Clark |
| Otago Central | Jack George | Jack George | Jack George | 4,344 | Brian MacDonell |
| Otahuhu | James Deas | James Deas | James Deas | 2,774 | Thomas Tucker |
| Otaki | Jimmy Maher | | Allan McCready | 2,044 | Thomas William Cameron |
| Pahiatua | Keith Holyoake | Keith Holyoake | Keith Holyoake | 4,934 | Kingsley McKane |
| Palmerston North | Philip Skoglund | | Bill Brown | 133 | Philip Skoglund |
| Patea | Roy Jack | Roy Jack | Roy Jack | 2,304 | David Costello Valley |
| Petone | Mick Moohan | Mick Moohan | Mick Moohan | 2,918 | Dick Martin |
| Piako | Stan Goosman | Stan Goosman | Stan Goosman | 5,376 | Henry Uttinger |
| Ponsonby | Ritchie Macdonald | Ritchie Macdonald | Ritchie Macdonald | 4,744 | Neil McLaughlan |
| Raglan | Douglas Carter | Douglas Carter | Douglas Carter | 1,371 | Alan Baxter |
| Rangitikei | Norman Shelton | Norman Shelton | Norman Shelton | 3,889 | Shaun Alex Cameron |
| Remuera | Ronald Algie | Ronald Algie | Ronald Algie | 6,109 | Barry Gustafson |
| Riccarton | Mick Connelly | Mick Connelly | Mick Connelly | 2,022 | Deena V. Sergel |
| Rodney | Jack Scott | Jack Scott | Jack Scott | 4,157 | Phil Amos |
| Roskill | Arthur Faulkner | Arthur Faulkner | Arthur Faulkner | 1,374 | Geoffrey Taylor |
| Rotorua | Ray Boord | | Harry Lapwood | 358 | Ray Boord |
| Selwyn | John McAlpine | John McAlpine | John McAlpine | 2,839 | John Palmer |
| St Albans | Neville Pickering | | Bert Walker | 298 | Neville Pickering |
| St Kilda | Bill Fraser | Bill Fraser | Bill Fraser | 835 | Jim Barnes |
| Stratford | Thomas Murray | Thomas Murray | Thomas Murray | 4,388 | H M St George |
| Sydenham | Mabel Howard | Mabel Howard | Mabel Howard | 4,793 | Derek Quigley |
| Tamaki | Bob Tizard | | Robert Muldoon | 1,148 | Bob Tizard |
| Tauranga | George Walsh | George Walsh | George Walsh | 5,239 | D C Goodfellow |
| Timaru | Clyde Carr | Clyde Carr | Clyde Carr | 357 | Ronald Erle White |
| Waikato | Geoffrey Sim | Geoffrey Sim | Geoffrey Sim | 3,041 | Arthur John Ingram |
| Waipa | Hallyburton Johnstone | Hallyburton Johnstone | Hallyburton Johnstone | 3,241 | Bob Reese |
| Wairarapa | Bert Cooksley | Bert Cooksley | Bert Cooksley | 2,088 | Allan Goldsmith |
| Waitakere | Rex Mason | Rex Mason | Rex Mason | 3,709 | John Herbert Wilkinson |
| Waitaki | Thomas Hayman | Thomas Hayman | Thomas Hayman | 1,972 | Les McKay |
| Waitemata | Norman King | Norman King | Norman King | 1,249 | Jolyon Firth |
| Waitomo | David Seath | David Seath | David Seath | 3,951 | Duncan Barclay McLaren |
| Wallace | Brian Talboys | Brian Talboys | Brian Talboys | 5,736 | E Harris |
| Wanganui | Joe Cotterill | | George Spooner | 160 | E J Crotty |
| Wellington Central | Frank Kitts | | Dan Riddiford | 381 | Frank Kitts |
| Westland | Jim Kent | | Paddy Blanchfield | 3,844 | D A Hogg |
| Māori electorates ||||||||
| Eastern Maori | Tiaki Omana | Tiaki Omana | Tiaki Omana | 3,025 | Arnold Reedy |
| Northern Maori | Tapihana Paikea | Tapihana Paikea | Tapihana Paikea | 3,372 | George Russell Harrison |
| Southern Maori | Eruera Tirikatene | Eruera Tirikatene | Eruera Tirikatene | 3,947 | Rangi Tutaki |
| Western Maori | Iriaka Rātana | Iriaka Rātana | Iriaka Rātana | 4,666 | Pei Te Hurinui Jones |
Table footnotes:
* ↑ Skoglund was first on election night, but lost after special votes were counted