# Party whip (New Zealand)

In the New Zealand Parliament, political parties appoint party whips to ensure party discipline and attendance, help manage legislative business, and carry out a variety of other functions on behalf of the party leadership. Whips also have an administrative role to prepare lists of members from their party to speak in debates and ask oral questions of ministers in the chamber.

## History

In New Zealand, the concept of a whip was inherited from British parliamentary politics. All political parties that have four or more members in Parliament have at least one party whip. Parties with 25 to 44 members are allowed two whips (one senior and one junior), and parties with 45 or more members are entitled to three whips (one senior and two junior). Only four parties (Liberal, Reform, Labour and National) have ever had more than one whip. A whip does not necessarily have to represent a single party and groups of MPs (of four of more) outside a party with a whip may appoint their own. This happened in 1983 when the Social Credit Party's two MPs (Bruce Beetham and Gary Knapp) combined with former Labour MPs turned independent (Brian MacDonell and John Kirk) to appoint their own whip (MacDonell) and boost their recognition in parliament.
Whips act in an administrative role, making sure members of their party are in the debating chamber when required and organising members of their party to speak during debates. Since the introduction of proportional representation in 1996, divisions that require all members in the chamber to vote by taking sides (termed a personal vote) are rarely used, except for conscience votes. Instead, one of the party's whips votes on behalf of all the members of their party, by declaring how many members are in favour and/or how many members are opposed. They also cast proxy votes for single-member parties whose member is not in the chamber at the time of the vote, and also cast proxy votes during personal votes for absent members of their parties and for absent members of associated single-member parties.
Some parties use an alternative title than whip, though the role is identical in all but name. The Alliance used the term 'parliamentary coordinator' rather than whip. The Green Party uses the term 'musterer'. Since 2020 Te Pāti Māori has referred to its whip as a 'mataura'.

## List of whips
### Current parties
#### Labour
##### Junior whip

The Labour Party is one of the parties that has qualified for second whip, known as a junior whip.
| No. | Name | Term of office | Term of office |
| 1 | Ted Howard | 10 March 1921 | 16 June 1926 |
| 2 | James McCombs | 16 June 1926 | 4 December 1928 |
| (1) | Ted Howard | 4 December 1928 | 5 December 1935 |
| 3 | Robert McKeen | 5 December 1935 | 11 June 1936 |
| 4 | Arthur Shapton Richards | 11 June 1936 | 13 September 1937 |
| 5 | James O'Brien | 13 September 1937 | 11 May 1939 |
| (4) | Arthur Shapton Richards | 11 May 1939 | 2 December 1942 |
| 6 | David Coleman | 2 December 1942 | 13 May 1947 |
| 7 | Robert Macfarlane | 13 May 1947 | 19 September 1947 |
| 8 | Phil Connolly | 19 September 1947 | 27 June 1951 |
| 9 | Joe Cotterill | 27 June 1951 | 10 July 1952 |
| 10 | John Mathison | 10 July 1952 | 9 January 1958 |
| 11 | Ritchie Macdonald | 9 January 1958 | 2 December 1966 |
| 12 | Ron Bailey | 2 December 1966 | 29 November 1972 |
| 13 | Jonathan Hunt | 29 November 1972 | 6 September 1974 |
| 14 | Trevor Young | 6 September 1974 | 5 May 1978 |
| 15 | Richard Prebble | 5 May 1978 | 13 February 1980 |
| 16 | Stan Rodger | 13 February 1980 | 19 July 1984 |
| 17 | Fran Wilde | 19 July 1984 | 18 August 1987 |
| 18 | Trevor Mallard | 18 August 1987 | 8 February 1990 |
| 19 | Judy Keall | 8 February 1990 | 31 October 1990 |
| 20 | Elizabeth Tennet | 31 October 1990 | 13 December 1993 |
| 21 | Larry Sutherland | 13 December 1993 | 20 December 1996 |
| 22 | Rick Barker | 20 December 1996 | 10 December 1999 |
| 23 | Chris Carter | 10 December 1999 | 27 July 2002 |
| 24 | Jill Pettis | 27 July 2002 | 26 February 2004 |
| 25 | Darren Hughes | 26 February 2004 | 5 November 2007 |
| 26 | Sue Moroney | 5 November 2007 | 11 November 2008 |
| 27 | Steve Chadwick | 11 November 2008 | 20 October 2011 |
| 28 | Darien Fenton | 20 December 2011 | 17 September 2013 |
| 29 | Iain Lees-Galloway | 23 September 2013 | 23 September 2014 |
| 30 | Carmel Sepuloni | 23 September 2014 | 27 September 2017 |
| 31 | Poto Williams | 27 September 2017 | 31 October 2017 |
| 32 | Kieran McAnulty | 7 November 2017 | 2 November 2020 |
| 33 | Duncan Webb | 2 November 2020 | 14 June 2022 |
| 34 | Tangi Utikere | 14 June 2022 | 31 January 2023 |
| 35 | Shanan Halbert | 31 January 2023 | 14 October 2023 |
| 36 | Tracey McLellan | 31 January 2023 | 14 October 2023 |
| 37 | Camilla Belich | 7 December 2023 | present |

#### National
##### Junior whip

The National Party is one of the parties that has qualified for second whip, known as a junior whip.
| No. | No. | Name | Term of office | Term of office |
| | 1 | Walter Broadfoot | 14 May 1936 | 12 March 1941 |
| 1941–1944: office not in use |||||
| | 2 | Tom Macdonald | 20 January 1944 | 4 March 1950 |
| | 3 | Geoff Gerard | 4 March 1950 | 24 November 1954 |
| | 4 | Ernest Aderman | 24 November 1954 | 8 February 1957 |
| | 5 | John Rae | 8 February 1957 | 26 September 1957 |
| | 6 | Jim Barnes | 26 September 1957 | 21 January 1958 |
| | 7 | Jack George | 21 January 1958 | 10 June 1964 |
| | 8 | Alf Allen | 10 June 1964 | 11 February 1967 |
| | 9 | Gordon Grieve | 11 February 1967 | 5 February 1970 |
| | 10 | Richard Harrison | 5 February 1970 | 25 February 1972 |
| | 11 | Venn Young | 25 February 1972 | 7 December 1972 |
| | 12 | Colin McLachlan | 7 December 1972 | 11 July 1974 |
| | 13 | Bill Birch | 11 July 1974 | 22 January 1976 |
| | 14 | Jack Luxton | 22 January 1976 | 1 February 1979 |
| | 15 | Dail Jones | 1 February 1979 | 24 October 1980 |
| | 16 | Don McKinnon | 24 October 1980 | 2 February 1982 |
| | 17 | Michael Cox | 2 February 1982 | 8 August 1985 |
| | 18 | Robin Gray | 8 August 1985 | 11 September 1987 |
| | 19 | Maurice McTigue | 11 September 1987 | 11 February 1990 |
| | 20 | Roger McClay | 11 February 1990 | 28 November 1990 |
| | 21 | John Carter | 28 November 1990 | 30 November 1993 |
| | 22 | Roger Sowry | 30 November 1993 | 3 April 1995 |
| | 23 | Eric Roy | 6 April 1995 | 19 December 1996 |
| | 24 | David Carter | 19 December 1996 | 8 September 1998 |
| | 25 | Gerry Brownlee | 8 September 1998 | 31 January 2001 |
| | 26 | Alec Neill | 31 January 2001 | 12 October 2001 |
| | 27 | Tony Steel | 12 October 2001 | 15 August 2002 |
| | 28 | Lindsay Tisch | 15 August 2002 | 17 September 2005 |
| | 29 | Anne Tolley | 11 October 2005 | 5 December 2006 |
| | 30 | Nathan Guy | 5 December 2006 | 13 February 2008 |
| | 31 | Chris Tremain | 13 February 2008 | 15 June 2009 |
| | 32 | Jo Goodhew | 16 June 2009 | 20 October 2011 |
| | 33 | Louise Upston | 20 December 2011 | 28 January 2013 |
| | 34 | Tim Macindoe | 29 January 2013 | 20 September 2014 |
| | 35 | Jami-Lee Ross | 20 September 2014 | 2 May 2017 |
| | 36 | Barbara Kuriger | 2 May 2017 | 20 March 2018 |
| | 37 | Matt Doocey | 20 March 2018 | 10 November 2020 |
| | 38 | Maureen Pugh | 10 November 2020 | 5 December 2023 |
| | 39 | Suze Redmayne | 5 December 2023 | present |

#### New Zealand First

| No. | No. | Name | Term of office | Term of office |
| | 1 | Ron Mark | 16 December 1996 | 28 August 2002 |
| | 2 | Peter Brown | 28 August 2002 | 8 November 2008 |
| 2008–2011: office not in use |||||
| | 3 | Barbara Stewart | 16 December 2011 | 23 September 2017 |
| | 4 | Clayton Mitchell | 31 October 2017 | 17 October 2020 |
| 2020–2023: office not in use |||||
| | 5 | Jamie Arbuckle | 12 December 2023 | present |

#### ACT New Zealand

| No. | No. | Name | Term of office | Term of office |
| | 1 | Ken Shirley | 1996 | 19 February 2002 |
| | 2 | Muriel Newman | 19 February 2002 | 14 June 2004 |
| | (1) | Ken Shirley | 14 June 2004 | 11 October 2005 |
| | 3 | Heather Roy | 11 October 2005 | 24 November 2009 |
| | 4 | David Garrett | 24 November 2009 | 21 September 2010 |
| | 5 | John Boscawen | 21 September 2010 | 2 May 2011 |
| | 6 | Hilary Calvert | 2 May 2011 | 26 November 2011 |
| 2011–2020: office not in use |||||
| | 7 | Brooke van Velden | 2020 | 24 November 2023 |
| | 8 | Todd Stephenson | 24 November 2023 | present |

#### Greens

| No. | Name | Term of office | Term of office |
| 1 | Ian Ewen-Street | 14 December 1999 | 22 August 2002 |
| 2 | Rod Donald | 22 August 2002 | 4 November 2005 |
| 3 | Metiria Turei | 4 November 2005 | 28 March 2009 |
| 4 | Kennedy Graham | 30 March 2009 | 20 October 2011 |
| 5 | Gareth Hughes | 14 December 2011 | 7 October 2014 |
| 6 | David Clendon | 7 October 2014 | 8 August 2017 |
| 7 | Eugenie Sage | 8 August 2017 | 24 October 2017 |
| (5) | Gareth Hughes | 24 October 2017 | 18 November 2019 |
| 8 | Chlöe Swarbrick | 18 November 2019 | 23 November 2020 |
| 9 | Jan Logie | 23 November 2020 | 14 October 2023 |
| 10 | Ricardo Menéndez March | 19 November 2023 | present |

#### Te Pāti Māori

| No. | No. | Name | Term of office | Term of office |
| | 1 | Te Ururoa Flavell | 7 November 2005 | 26 November 2011 |
| 2011–2020: office not in use |||||
| | 2 | Debbie Ngarewa-Packer | 16 November 2020 | 27 November 2023 |
| | 3 | Mariameno Kapa-Kingi | 4 December 2023 | present |

### Defunct parties
#### Liberal
##### Junior whip

The Liberal Party is one of the parties that has qualified for second whip, known as a junior whip.
| No. | No. | Name | Term of office | Term of office |
| | 1 | Frederick Fitchett | 19 June 1890 | 26 January 1891 |
| | 2 | William Cowper Smith | 26 January 1891 | 15 June 1891 |
| | 3 | William Hall-Jones | 15 June 1891 | 15 September 1891 |
| | 4 | Charles H. Mills | 15 September 1891 | 29 October 1894 |
| | 5 | Benjamin Harris | 29 October 1894 | 4 December 1896 |
| | 6 | James McGowan | 8 October 1897 | 25 June 1900 |
| | 7 | Arthur Morrison | 25 June 1900 | 23 October 1900 |
| | 8 | John Stevens | 25 June 1900 | 20 October 1900 |
| | 9 | Walter Carncross | 16 July 1901 | 30 June 1903 |
| | 10 | Frederick Flatman | 30 June 1903 | 3 July 1904 |
| | 12 | Alexander Hogg | 20 July 1904 | 24 June 1905 |
| | 13 | Alfred Kidd | 24 June 1905 | 3 September 1906 |
| | 14 | James Colvin | 3 September 1906 | 10 December 1909 |
| | 15 | William MacDonald | 10 December 1909 | 30 June 1910 |
| | 16 | Harry Ell | 30 June 1910 | 29 August 1912 |
| | 17 | Āpirana Ngata | 29 August 1912 | 2 July 1915 |
| | 18 | William Dickie | 2 July 1915 | 17 December 1919 |
| 1919–1923: office not in use |||||
| | 19 | James Horn | 7 February 1923 | 16 July 1924 |
| | 20 | Alfred Ransom | 16 July 1924 | 16 June 1926 |
| 1926–1928: office not in use |||||
| | 21 | George Black | 11 December 1928 | 17 May 1930 |
| | 22 | Edward Healy | 27 June 1930 | 1 November 1935 |

#### Reform
##### Senior whip

| No. | Name | Term of office | Term of office |
| 1 | Charles Hardy | 11 February 1909 | 15 February 1912 |
| 2 | Heaton Rhodes | 15 February 1912 | 10 July 1912 |
| 3 | David Guthrie | 10 July 1912 | 18 February 1918 |
| 4 | William Nosworthy | 27 February 1918 | 4 September 1919 |
| 5 | Richard Bollard | 10 September 1919 | 21 July 1923 |
| 6 | James Dickson | 21 July 1923 | 18 October 1928 |
| 7 | John Bitchener | 18 October 1928 | 22 September 1933 |
| 8 | Jimmy Nash | 22 September 1933 | 15 February 1935 |
| 9 | Bert Kyle | 15 February 1935 | 14 May 1936 |

##### Junior whip

The Reform Party is one of the parties that has qualified for second whip, known as a junior whip.
| No. | Name | Term of office | Term of office |
| 1 | Heaton Rhodes | 7 October 1909 | 15 February 1912 |
| 2 | David Guthrie | 15 February 1912 | 10 July 1912 |
| 3 | William Nosworthy | 6 August 1912 | 27 February 1918 |
| 4 | Richard Bollard | 27 February 1918 | 10 September 1919 |
| 5 | Robert Scott | 27 November 1919 | 17 December 1919 |
| 6 | James Dickson | 24 June 1920 | 21 July 1923 |
| 7 | Billy Glenn | 21 July 1923 | 29 June 1927 |
| 8 | John Bitchener | 20 July 1927 | 18 October 1928 |
| 9 | Jimmy Nash | 18 October 1928 | 22 September 1931 |

#### Alliance

| No. | No. | Name | Term of office | Term of office |
| | 1 | Grant Gillon | 1996 | 2002 |

#### Mauri Pacific

| No. | No. | Name | Term of office | Term of office |
| | 1 | Ann Batten | 1998 | 1999 |

#### United Future

| No. | No. | Name | Term of office | Term of office |
| | 1 | Gordon Copeland | 2002 | 2007 |
| | 2 | Judy Turner | 2007 | 2008 |

## Citations

* ↑ "People of Parliament". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
* ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 278.
* 1 2 "What is a party whip and what do they do?". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
* ↑ Wilson 1985, pp. 279–81.
* ↑ "MacDonell whip". The Evening Post. 22 October 1983. p. 2.
* ↑ "Parliament to be run 'to tight timeframe'". The Dominion. 17 February 1998. p. 2.
* ↑ "'Mustering' whips". The Press. 15 December 1999. p. 11.
* ↑ "Te Pāti Māori Portfolios List" (PDF). Waatea News. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
* ↑ Wilson 1985, pp. 280–81.
* ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 280.
* ↑ Wilson 1985, pp. 279–80.
* ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 279.