New Zealand History/Politics

&lsaquo; Back to Famous New Zealanders in the Twentieth Century

Politics in the Twentieth Century
Political Parties and Key Policies of the Twentieth Century

At the turn of the century, the Liberals, New Zealand's first modern political party, were in power as the Government. The Liberals created a 'family farm' economy, by subdividing large estates and buying more Maori land in the North Island. New Zealand gained strong economic ties with Britain, exporting farm produce and other goods. Under Liberal, New Zealand started to form its own identity, and due to this, New Zealand declined to join the Australian Federation of 1901.

The Liberals were defeated in the 1912 election by the Reform Party, and never fully recovered. William Massey, the leader of the Reform Party, had promised state leaseholders they could freehold their land, which proved to be a good promise in winning the election. Under the Reform Party, New Zealand entered World War I, aiding Britain.

New Zealand had prosperous years at the end of the 1920s, and so was hit hard by the Great Depression of the 1930s. The Conservative coalition government failed to get New Zealand out of the Depression, which led to the rise of the Labour Party in 1935.

Under Labour, New Zealand's economy slowly recovered. The Reserve Bank was taken over by the state in 1936, spending on public works increased, and the State Housing Programme began. The Social Security Act 1938 increased the state of welfare dramatically.

With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the New Zealand Government again chose to support Britain with troops. New Zealand also chose to fight in Korea in the early 1950s.

In 1945, Peter Fraser played a significant role in the conference that set up the United Nations, but the Labour Government was losing support. In 1949, the National Party became the Government of New Zealand. In the 1960s, the National Government sent troops to Vietnam to keep on side with the United States, despite protests, but this didn't hinder New Zealand's support of the National Party, and National ruled New Zealand until 1984 with only two exceptions.

New Zealand's culture remained based on Britain's through the 1960s, and the economy was still mainly made up of exporting farm produce to Britain. However, when Britain joined the European Economic Community in 1973, New Zealand no longer had an assured market for farm products.

After the second oil shock of 1978, the National Government tried to fix the problem with new industrial and energy initiatives and farm subsidies. The economy faltered in the 1980s when the fall of oil prices made these schemes unsound. Inflation and unemployment went up as a result.

The National Government of 1990-99 passed the controversial Employment Contracts Act which opened up the labour market, but diminished the power of trade unions.

In 1996, a new voting system was introduced, Mixed Member Proportional Representation, which allowed minority or coalition Governments to become the norm, but the National and Labour parties still remained dominant.

Prime Ministers of the Twentieth Century

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