Official Opposition (New Zealand)

Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition, commonly called the Official Opposition, in New Zealand is usually the largest political party or coalition which is not a member of the ruling government—it does not provide ministers. This is usually the second-largest party in the House of Representatives, although in certain unusual circumstances it may be the largest party (due to a larger government bloc, as is currently the case) or even a third or fourth party.

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Overview

The Opposition aims to hold the government accountable and to present itself to the national electorate as a credible government in waiting. For example, during Question Time, Opposition spokespersons will ask questions of ministers with the aim of highlighting a weakness or embarrassing the government. Oppositions also engage in parliamentary gestures such as refusal to grant confidence or voting down the budget.[1]

With the introduction of MMP in 1996 (after referendums in 1992 and 1993), there was consideration to remove the official role of the Opposition; with several parties outside the government, it was no longer clear which party, if any, was 'the' opposition.[2] This is complicated more by parties which occasionally act with the government and at other times vote against it. The unusual positioning that developed after the 2005 election – in which minor parties supported the government and received ministers but remained outside the Cabinet – further complicated the concept of 'opposition'. However, the continued dominance of the political scene by the National and Labour parties means that the official Opposition has been retained, and inevitably the official Opposition is whichever of the National and Labour parties is not leading a Government at the time. Parties and members of parliament outside the government which do not work with the official Opposition party are said to "sit on the cross-benches".[3]

Grand coalitions have been formed only twice in New Zealand, and on both occasions with the aim of forming a national response to a crisis. The first was the War Cabinet of 1915–1919, involving the Reform and Liberal Parties, under the leadership of Reform Prime Minister William Massey. The second was the Coalition Government of 1931–1935 to combat the Great Depression, between the United Party (successor to the Liberal Party) and the Reform Party, and led by United leader George Forbes. In both cases, Labour formed the official Opposition. (It is however anachronistic to speak of a Labour Party until 1916; in 1915, the handful of MPs who were to become part of the Labour Party had been elected as "independent" candidates on behalf of several different social-democratic organisations.)

The National Party currently form the Official Opposition.

Shadow Cabinet

List of Shadow Cabinets

Below is a list of the shadow cabinets of New Zealand from 1965 to the present date.

Date Leader of the Opposition Shadow Cabinet Government
1965 Norman Kirk Kirk Second National
1972 Jack Marshall Marshall Third Labour
1974 Robert Muldoon Muldoon I
1975 Bill Rowling Rowling Third National
1983 David Lange Lange
1984 Sir Robert Muldoon Muldoon II Fourth Labour
1984 Jim McLay McLay
1986 Jim Bolger Bolger
1990 Mike Moore Moore Fourth National
1993 Helen Clark Clark
1999 Jenny Shipley Shipley Fifth Labour
2001 Bill English English I
2003 Don Brash Brash
2006 John Key Key
2008 Phil Goff Goff Fifth National
2011 David Shearer Shearer
2013 David Cunliffe Cunliffe
2014 Andrew Little Little
2017 Jacinda Ardern Ardern
2017 Bill English English II Sixth Labour
2018 Simon Bridges Bridges
2020 Todd Muller Muller
2020 Judith Collins Collins
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References
  1. Schmitz, Gerald (December 1988). "The opposition in a Parliamentary system". Political and Social Affairs Division, Government of Canada. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  2. "Role of the Opposition in government". decisionmaker.co.nz. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  3. "John Armstrong: What does sitting on cross benches actually mean?". The New Zealand Herald. 2 September 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
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