# 1975 New Zealand general election

The 1975 New Zealand general election was held on 29 November to elect MPs to the 38th session of the New Zealand Parliament. It was the first general election in New Zealand where 18- to 20-year-olds and all permanent residents of New Zealand were eligible to vote, although only citizens were able to be elected.
The National Party, led by Rob Muldoon, won 55 of the 87 seats over the Labour Party, led by Bill Rowling, in a landslide. The election saw the defeat of the Third Labour Government after only three years in office and the formation of the Third National Government. As of 2023, this is the most recent election where a government was voted out after one term.

## Background

The incumbent Labour Party's decline in popularity during the previous term had as factors the death of its leader, Norman Kirk, economic decline triggered by the United Kingdom's accession to the European Communities—most importantly the European Economic Community (EEC)—and the 1973 oil crisis.
Following the sudden death of Labour leader Kirk, the party was led by Bill Rowling, a leader who was characterised as being weak and ineffectual by some political commentators. Labour's central campaign was the so-called "Citizens for Rowling" petition which attacked National leader Robert Muldoon's forthright leadership style. This campaign was largely seen as having backfired on Labour.
The National Party responded with the formation of "Rob's Mob". As former Minister of Finance in the previous National government, Muldoon focused on the economic impact of Labour's policies; National's campaign advertising suggested that Labour's recently introduced compulsory personal superannuation scheme would result in the government owning the New Zealand economy by using the worker's money, akin to a communist state. Muldoon argued that his New Zealand superannuation scheme could be funded from future taxes rather than an additional tax on current wages.
In July 1974, Muldoon as opposition leader had promised to cut immigration and to "get tough" on law and order issues. He criticised the Labour government's immigration policies for contributing to the economic recession and a housing shortage which undermined the New Zealand "way of life".
During the 1975 general elections, the National Party had also played an electoral advertisement that was later criticized for stoking negative racial sentiments about Polynesian migrants.
The campaign also achieved notoriety due to an infamous television commercial featuring "Dancing Cossacks", which was produced by Hanna Barbera on behalf of National's ad agency Colenso.
A consummate orator and a skilled television performer, Muldoon's powerful presence on screen increased his popularity with voters.

### MPs retiring in 1975

Four National MPs and Three Labour MPs intended to retire at the end of the 37th Parliament:
| Party | Name | Electorate | Term of office | Date announced |
| National | Percy Allen | Bay of Plenty | 1957–75 | before 20 August 1974 |
| National | Logan Sloane | Hobson | 1960–66 1969–75 | 22 April 1974 |
| National | Sir Jack Marshall | Karori | 1946–75 | 20 December 1974 |
| National | Douglas Carter | Raglan | 1957–75 | 5 August 1974 |
| Labour | Norman Douglas | Auckland Central | 1960–75 | 16 October 1974 |
| Labour | Ethel McMillan | Dunedin North | 1953–75 | 17 October 1974 |
| Labour | Hugh Watt | Onehunga | 1953–75 | 20 June 1975 |

## Opinion polling

| Poll | Date | National | Labour | Socred | Values | Lead |
| 1975 election result | 29 Nov 1975 | 47.59 | 39.56 | 7.43 | 5.19 | 8.03 |
| NRB | Nov 1975 | 46 | 44 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| TVNZ Heylen | Nov 1975 | 44 | 43 | 7 | 5 | 1 |
| NRB | Sep 1975 | 52 | 39 | 5 | 4 | 13 |
| TVNZ Heylen | Sep 1975 | 51 | 42 | 5 | 3 | 9 |
| TVNZ Heylen | Jul 1975 | 50 | 42 | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| NRB | Jul 1975 | 51 | 40 | 5 | 4 | 11 |
| TVNZ Heylen | May 1975 | 49 | 42 | 5 | 4 | 7 |
| NRB | Mar 1975 | 46 | 42 | 6 | 6 | 4 |
| TVNZ Heylen | Feb 1975 | 48 | 46 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| NRB | Nov 1974 | 44 | 44 | 7 | 4 | Tie |
| TVNZ Heylen | Sep 1974 | 45 | 47 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| NRB | Sep 1974 | 40 | 50 | 5 | 4 | 10 |
| N/A | 31 August 1974 | Death of Prime Minister Norman Kirk, Bill Rowling Becomes Prime Minister | Death of Prime Minister Norman Kirk, Bill Rowling Becomes Prime Minister | Death of Prime Minister Norman Kirk, Bill Rowling Becomes Prime Minister | Death of Prime Minister Norman Kirk, Bill Rowling Becomes Prime Minister | Death of Prime Minister Norman Kirk, Bill Rowling Becomes Prime Minister |
| NRB | May 1974 | 44 | 44 | 5 | 5 | Tie |
| NRB | Nov 1973 | 44 | 47 | 6 | 1 | 3 |
| NRB | May 1973 | 39 | 51 | 5 | 1 | 12 |
| 1972 election result | 25 Nov 1972 | 41.50 | 48.37 | 6.65 | 1.96 | 6.87 |

## Results

The final results saw National win 55 seats, and Labour 32 seats. The party seat numbers were an exact opposite of the 1972 election, when Labour won 55 seats to National's 32. This election also represented the biggest swing against a sitting government since 1935, outdoing the previous record set in 1972.
Robert Muldoon replaced Bill Rowling as Prime Minister, ending the term of the Third Labour government, and beginning the term of the Third National government. No minor parties won seats, though the election saw the best ever result for New Zealand's first green political party, Values. There were 1,953,050 electors on the roll, with 1,603,733 (82.11%) voting.
While Muldoon would be re-elected twice, this would be the only time between 1969 and 1990 that National polled more votes than Labour.
Notable electorate results included the election of two Māori MPs to general seats; the first time that any Māori had been elected to a non-Māori electorate since James Carroll in 1893. The MPs in question were Ben Couch in Wairarapa and Rex Austin in Awarua.
In Palmerston North and Western Hutt, Labour was first on election night but lost when special votes were counted.
Change :
| National | 87 | 763,136 | 47.59 | 55 | +23 |
| Labour | 87 | 634,453 | 39.56 | 32 | -23 |
| Social Credit | 87 | 119,147 | 7.43 | 0 | ±0 |
| Values | 87 | 83,241 | 5.19 | 0 | ±0 |
| Socialist Unity | 15 | 408 | 0.03 | 0 | ±0 |
| National Socialist | 1 | 19 | 0.00 | - | ±0 |
| Independent | 67 | 3,756 | 0.23 | 0 | ±0 |
| Total | 415 | 1,603,733 | | 87 | |

### Votes summary

Popular Vote
National
47.59%
Labour
39.56%
Social Credit
7.43%
Values
5.19%
Independents
0.23% :
Parliament seats
National
63.22%
Labour
36.78% :
The table below shows the results of the 1975 general election:
Key
National  Labour  Social Credit
Electorate results for the 1975 New Zealand general election :
| Electorate | Incumbent | Winner | Winner | Majority | Runner up |
| General electorates ||||||||
| Auckland Central | Norman Douglas | | Richard Prebble | 289 | Murray McCully |
| Avon | Mary Batchelor | Mary Batchelor | Mary Batchelor | 5,503 | Tom George |
| Awarua | Aubrey Begg | | Rex Austin | 2,150 | Aubrey Begg |
| Bay of Plenty | Percy Allen | | Duncan MacIntyre | 3,960 | Robert Frederick McKee |
| Birkenhead | Norman King | | Jim McLay | 2,816 | Norman King |
| Christchurch Central | Bruce Barclay | Bruce Barclay | Bruce Barclay | 2,973 | Tim Armitage |
| Clutha | Peter Gordon | Peter Gordon | Peter Gordon | 4,735 | F A O'Connell |
| Coromandel | Leo Schultz | Leo Schultz | Leo Schultz | 4,724 | Raymond C. Bradley |
| Dunedin Central | Brian MacDonell | Brian MacDonell | Brian MacDonell | 1,428 | Ian Bright |
| Dunedin North | Ethel McMillan | | Richard Walls | 958 | Brian Arnold |
| East Coast Bays | Frank Gill | Frank Gill | Frank Gill | 5,594 | Rex Stanton |
| Eden | Mike Moore | | Aussie Malcolm | 1,331 | Mike Moore |
| Egmont | Venn Young | Venn Young | Venn Young | 4,120 | Dennis Duggan |
| Franklin | Bill Birch | Bill Birch | Bill Birch | 7,605 | Ron Ng-Waishing |
| Gisborne | Trevor Davey | | Bob Bell | 1,321 | Trevor Davey |
| Grey Lynn | Eddie Isbey | Eddie Isbey | Eddie Isbey | 2,839 | Jens Meder |
| Hamilton East | Rufus Rogers | | Ian Shearer | 2,246 | Rufus Rogers |
| Hamilton West | Dorothy Jelicich | | Mike Minogue | 2,069 | Dorothy Jelicich |
| Hastings | Richard Mayson | | Bob Fenton | 491 | Richard Mayson |
| Hawkes Bay | Richard Harrison | Richard Harrison | Richard Harrison | 3,805 | David Butcher |
| Henderson | Martyn Finlay | Martyn Finlay | Martyn Finlay | 401 | Warren Adams |
| Heretaunga | Ron Bailey | Ron Bailey | Ron Bailey | 336 | Julie Cameron |
| Hobson | Logan Sloane | | Neill Austin | 4,101 | Howard Manning |
| Hutt | Trevor Young | Trevor Young | Trevor Young | 1,019 | Brett Newell |
| Invercargill | J. B. Munro | | Norman Jones | 2,533 | J. B. Munro |
| Island Bay | Gerald O'Brien | Gerald O'Brien | Gerald O'Brien | 1,274 | Bill Nathan |
| Kapiti | Frank O'Flynn | | Barry Brill | 2,222 | Frank O'Flynn |
| Karori | Jack Marshall | | Hugh Templeton | 4,830 | Margaret Shields |
| King Country | Jim Bolger | Jim Bolger | Jim Bolger | 4,316 | Thomas Varnam |
| Lyttelton | Tom McGuigan | | Colleen Dewe | 999 | Tom McGuigan |
| Manawatu | Allan McCready | Allan McCready | Allan McCready | 2,918 | Alan Charles Eyles |
| Mangere | Colin Moyle | Colin Moyle | Colin Moyle | 1,604 | Stanley Lawson |
| Manukau | Roger Douglas | Roger Douglas | Roger Douglas | 678 | Brian Leaming |
| Manurewa | Phil Amos | | Merv Wellington | 1,358 | Phil Amos |
| Marlborough | Ian Brooks | | Ed Latter | 3,010 | Ian Brooks |
| Miramar | Bill Young | Bill Young | Bill Young | 1,749 | John Wybrow |
| Mt Albert | Warren Freer | Warren Freer | Warren Freer | 247 | Frank Ryan |
| Napier | Gordon Christie | Gordon Christie | Gordon Christie | 931 | John Isles |
| Nelson | Stan Whitehead | Stan Whitehead | Stan Whitehead | 1,093 | Ian McWhannel |
| New Lynn | Jonathan Hunt | Jonathan Hunt | Jonathan Hunt | 890 | Barry O'Connor |
| New Plymouth | Ron Barclay | | Tony Friedlander | 1,935 | Ron Barclay |
| North Shore | George Gair | George Gair | George Gair | 5,247 | Wyn Hoadley |
| Oamaru | Bill Laney | | Jonathan Elworthy | 2,196 | Bill Laney |
| Onehunga | Hugh Watt | | Frank Rogers | 1,044 | Kevin O'Brien |
| Otago Central | Ian Quigley | | Warren Cooper | 2,371 | Ian Quigley |
| Otahuhu | Bob Tizard | Bob Tizard | Bob Tizard | 3,785 | Lois Morris |
| Pahiatua | Keith Holyoake | Keith Holyoake | Keith Holyoake | 6,769 | Paul Thornicroft |
| Pakuranga | Gavin Downie | Gavin Downie | Gavin Downie | 7,016 | Geoff Braybrooke |
| Palmerston North | Joe Walding | | John Lithgow | 142 | Joe Walding |
| Papanui | Bert Walker | Bert Walker | Bert Walker | 2,985 | Rod Garden |
| Petone | Fraser Colman | Fraser Colman | Fraser Colman | 2,834 | Brel Gluyas |
| Piako | Jack Luxton | Jack Luxton | Jack Luxton | 6,174 | Helen Clark |
| Porirua | Gerry Wall | Gerry Wall | Gerry Wall | 2,265 | Ross Doughty |
| Raglan | Douglas Carter | | Marilyn Waring | 3,756 | Bill Pickering |
| Rakaia | Colin McLachlan | Colin McLachlan | Colin McLachlan | 5,237 | Graeme Lowrie |
| Rangiora | Kerry Burke | | Derek Quigley | 1,386 | Kerry Burke |
| Rangitikei | Roy Jack | Roy Jack | Roy Jack | 1,756 | Bruce Beetham |
| Remuera | Allan Highet | Allan Highet | Allan Highet | 8,656 | G B Mead |
| Riccarton | Eric Holland | Eric Holland | Eric Holland | 4,766 | Don Johnson |
| Rodney | Peter Wilkinson | Peter Wilkinson | Peter Wilkinson | 7,817 | John Prebble |
| Roskill | Arthur Faulkner | Arthur Faulkner | Arthur Faulkner | 530 | John Maurice Priestley |
| Rotorua | Harry Lapwood | Harry Lapwood | Harry Lapwood | 3,605 | Peter Tapsell |
| Ruahine | Les Gandar | Les Gandar | Les Gandar | 2,763 | Rex Willing |
| St Albans | Roger Drayton | Roger Drayton | Roger Drayton | 1,570 | Prudence Rotherberg |
| St Kilda | Bill Fraser | Bill Fraser | Bill Fraser | 1,890 | Gordon Heslop |
| South Canterbury | Rob Talbot | Rob Talbot | Rob Talbot | 4,301 | Neville Lambert |
| Stratford | David Thomson | David Thomson | David Thomson | 5,667 | P P Hopkins |
| Sydenham | John Kirk | John Kirk | John Kirk | 3,817 | Paul Matheson |
| Tamaki | Robert Muldoon | Robert Muldoon | Robert Muldoon | 6,735 | Tim Kaye |
| Tasman | Bill Rowling | Bill Rowling | Bill Rowling | 529 | Peter Malone |
| Taupo | Jack Ridley | | Ray La Varis | 1,614 | Jack Ridley |
| Tauranga | Keith Allen | Keith Allen | Keith Allen | 4,843 | Richard Hendry |
| Timaru | Sir Basil Arthur | Sir Basil Arthur | Sir Basil Arthur | 1,011 | Dave Walker |
| Waikato | Lance Adams-Schneider | Lance Adams-Schneider | Lance Adams-Schneider | 7,073 | Brian West |
| Wairarapa | Jack Williams | | Ben Couch | 1,468 | Jack Williams |
| Waitemata | Michael Bassett | | Dail Jones | 1,385 | Michael Bassett |
| Wallace | Brian Talboys | Brian Talboys | Brian Talboys | 6,978 | Ian Lamont |
| Wanganui | Russell Marshall | Russell Marshall | Russell Marshall | 1,244 | John Rowan |
| Wellington Central | Ken Comber | Ken Comber | Ken Comber | 1,076 | David Shand |
| West Coast | Paddy Blanchfield | Paddy Blanchfield | Paddy Blanchfield | 2,401 | Barry Dallas |
| Western Hutt | Henry May | | Bill Lambert | 109 | Henry May |
| Whangarei | Murray Smith | | John Elliott | 2,710 | Murray Smith |
| Wigram | Mick Connelly | Mick Connelly | Mick Connelly | 1,967 | Neil Russell |
| Māori electorates ||||||||
| Eastern Maori | Paraone Reweti | Paraone Reweti | Paraone Reweti | 6,261 | Monty Searancke |
| Northern Maori | Matiu Rata | Matiu Rata | Matiu Rata | 4,151 | Winston Peters |
| Southern Maori | Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan | Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan | Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan | 6,452 | Willard Amaru |
| Western Maori | Koro Wētere | Koro Wētere | Koro Wētere | 8,925 | Emerson Studholme Rangi |
Table footnotes:
* ↑ These are the survey dates of the poll, or if the survey dates are not stated, the date the poll was released.
* ↑ David Lange came third for Labour in Hobson
* ↑ Henry May was first on election night, but lost when special votes were included

## Post-election events

A number of local by-elections were required due to the resignations of incumbent local body politicians following the general election:
* A by-election occurred for the Invercargill City Council after councillor Norman Jones resigned after being elected to parliament, prompting a by-election. Jones was replaced on the council by J. B. Munro, whom he defeated at the parliamentary election.
* There was a by-election for Mayor of Hamilton. Mayor Mike Minogue resigned after he was elected as MP for Hamilton West. The by-election was win by leader of the Social Credit Party, Bruce Beetham, who had contested Rangitikei in 1975.