The 43rd New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. Its composition was determined by the 1990 general election, held on 27 October 1990. The Parliament sat for four sessions from 1991 to 1993 and was dissolved on 12 October 1993 in preparation for the 1993 general election.
Government and Composition The 1990 election resulted in a landslide victory for the National Party, led by Jim Bolger, which won 67 of the 97 seats. The incumbent Labour Party, led by Mike Moore, was reduced to 29 seats. The remaining seat was won by NewLabour Party leader Jim Anderton (Sydenham). This parliament was the last to be elected solely under the First-Past-the-Post (FPP) electoral system before the adoption of Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) representation.
Key Office Holders
- Prime Minister: Jim Bolger (National)
- Leader of the Opposition: Mike Moore (Labour) until 1 December 1993; Helen Clark (Labour) from 1 December 1993 (after the dissolution but during the caretaker period).
- Speaker of the House: Robin Gray (National)
Major Legislation and Events
- Resource Management Act 1991: A significant piece of environmental legislation reforming land use and resource consent processes.
- Employment Contracts Act 1991: Controversial legislation deregulating the labour market, replacing the previous awards system with individual and collective employment contracts.
- Electoral Reform: Following a referendum held in 1992 (indicative) and a binding referendum held concurrently with the 1993 general election, this parliament passed the Electoral Act 1993, which introduced the MMP system for the 1996 election.
- By-elections: Two by-elections were held during this term: Tamaki (1992) and Wellington Central (1992), both retained by the National Party.
Membership Changes The parliament began with 97 members. Membership changes occurred due to the resignation of MPs (e.g., Richard Prebble, Fran Wilde) and the two by-elections in 1992. The party composition shifted slightly with the defection of some MPs, notably the formation of the Alliance party grouping involving NewLabour, the Greens, and others, though formal party registration rules were different under FPP.
