1976 Nelson by-election

The Nelson by-election was a by-election in the New Zealand electorate of Nelson a predominantly urban seat at the top of the South Island.

1976 Nelson by-election

28 February 1976
Turnout	17,470 (79.03%)
Candidate Mel Courtney Peter Malone Party Labour National Popular vote 8,418 6,913 Percentage 48.18 39.57
Member before election Sir Stanley Whitehead Labour Elected Member Mel Courtney Labour

Background and campaign

The by-election occurred on 28 February 1976, and was precipitated by the death of sitting Labour Party member of parliament and Speaker of the House Sir Stanley Whitehead on 9 January 1976.

The by-election was contested by all major parties. It was won by Mel Courtney, the Labour Party candidate, with a majority of 1505 (Courtney increased the majority Whitehead had achieved in the 1975 general election by an impressive 50 per cent-only three months after the National Party's landslide victory). Wellington's Dominion newspaper reported that: "The defeat was a shock to the super-confident National Party organisers, including some of the party's top officials who were predicting a 2000-vote National majority".[1]

Mel Courtney, a 32-year-old supermarket proprietor, proved "an excellent choice" as a candidate, the victory at the polls vindicated the decision of the Labour Party's selection committee. Courtney stressed Nelson's needs as a community as the major theme of his campaign. He had "lived in Nelson for a number of years", was a Nelson City Councillor[2] and struck a chord with electors: "Nelson is a unique place to live and consequently a local person (Mr Courtney) can best serve local interests" (1976 Survey).

Results

The following table gives the election results:

1976 Nelson by-election[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Mel Courtney	8,418	48.18
	National	Peter Malone	6,913	39.57
	Values	Gwen Struik	1,583	9.06	+2.43
	Social Credit	Rudolph Muller	452	2.58
	Imperial British Conservative	C P Weallens	38	0.21
Informal votes			66	0.37
Majority			1,505	8.61
Turnout			17,470	79.03	-6.91
Registered electors			22,105
	Labour hold		Swing

References

1. The Dominion, 1 March 1976
2. The Evening Post, 14 February 1976
3. Norton 1988, p. 286.

References

• Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946-1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. ISBN 0-475-11200-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• "The Nelson By-Election: Politics in a New Zealand Community" by Levine, S (ed.) in Politics in New Zealand: A Reader (Sydney: George Allen and Unwin, Australia, 1978)
• "Spending the Allowance" p. 49 in Political People by Dreaver, A.J. (Auckland: Longman Paul, New Zealand, 1978)