The 37th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1972 general election on 25 November of that year.
1972 general election
The 1972 general election was held on Saturday, 25 November. A total of 87 MPs were elected; 58 represented North Island electorates, 25 represented South Island electorates, and the remaining four represented Māori electorates; this was an increase in the number of MPs by three since the , and the gain was all for the North Island. 1,583,256 voters were enrolled and the official turnout at the election was 89.1%.
Sessions The 37th Parliament sat for three sessions, and was prorogued on 10 October 1975.
Session Opened Adjourned first 14 February 1973 23 November 1973 second 4 February 1974 8 November 1974 third 25 March 1975 10 October 1975
Ministries The National Party, which had come to power at the , was defeated by the Labour Party at the . Norman Kirk formed the third Labour Government and led the Kirk Ministry until his sudden death on 31 August 1974. After Hugh Watt had been acting Prime Minister for the first few days of September 1974, Kirk was succeeded by Bill Rowling on 6 September. The Rowling Ministry lasted until the end of the parliamentary term, when the Labour Government was defeated by National in the .
Overview of seats The table below shows the number of MPs in each party following the 1972 election and at dissolution:
Affiliation Members At 1972 election At dissolution Government 55 55 Opposition 32 32 Total 8787 Working Government majority 23 23
Notes The Working Government majority is calculated as all Government MPs less all other parties.
Initial composition of the 37th Parliament
Select committees For the 37th Parliament, elected from the 1972 general election, there were the following select committees in the House of Representatives, as follows (Ministers of relevant portfolios are in bold):
+ Select committees in the 37th New Zealand Parliament Select committee Portfolios/JurisdictionsMembers Defence Military affairs, defence matters, disarmament and arms control Aubrey Begg Arthur Faulkner Richard Harrison Allan McCready Ian Quigley David Thomson Jack Williams Education Education, education review, industry training, research Phil Amos Jim Bolger Ian Brooks George Gair Les Gandar Bill Laney Russell Marshall Foreign Affairs International relations, immigration, overseas trade Ron Bailey Roger Drayton Arthur Faulkner Frank Gill Sir Keith Holyoake Norman Kirk Harry Lapwood Allan McCready Mike Moore Joe Walding Peter Wilkinson House Ron Bailey Roger Douglas Richard Harrison Jonathan Hunt Colin McLachlan J. B. Munro Bert Walker Island Affairs Pacific Islands affairs Phil Amos Gavin Downie Eddie Isbey Leo Schultz Gerry Wall Venn Young Koro Wētere Labour Industrial relations and employment Norman Douglas Eric Holland Eddie Isbey Dorothy Jelicich Jack Luxton Frank O'Flynn Paraone Reweti David Thomson Bill Young Hugh Watt Lands and Agriculture Agriculture, biosecurity, fisheries, forestry, lands, and land information Bruce Barclay Aubrey Begg Jim Bolger Ian Brooks Kerry Burke Douglas Carter Colin Moyle Rob Talbot Jack Williams Venn Young Library Parliamentary library Lance Adams-Schneider Keith Allen Kerry Burke Norman Douglas Sir Roy Jack Ethel McMillan Stanley Whitehead Local Bills Keith Allen Ron Barclay Mary Batchelor Allan Highet Bill Laney Colin McLachlan Ethel McMillan Henry May Mike Moore Gerald O'Brien Logan Sloane Māori Affairs Māori affairs Percy Allen Bill Birch Jack Luxton Russell Marshall Allan McCready Matiu Rata Paraone Reweti Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan Leo Schultz Gerry Wall Koro Wētere Petitions Public submissions Bill Birch Kerry Burke Gordon Christie Ken Comber Bill Fraser Richard Mayson Bert Walker Privileges Parliamentary privilege Martyn Finlay Norman Kirk Jack Marshall Robert Muldoon Hugh Watt Public expenditure Finance, revenue, taxation, audit Roger Drayton George Gair Frank Gill Peter Gordon Jonathan Hunt Brian MacDonell Robert Muldoon Jack Ridley Bill Rowling Murray Smith Road safety Percy Allen Sir Basil Arthur Ron Bailey Ron Barclay Douglas Carter Trevor Davey Les Gandar Peter Gordon Richard Mayson Ian Quigley Selection Ron Bailey Norman Kirk Jack Marshall Robert Muldoon Hugh Watt Statutes Revision Michael Bassett Martyn Finlay Eric Holland Sir Roy Jack J. B. Munro Frank O'Flynn Rufus Rogers Rob Talbot Peter Wilkinson Trevor Young Trade and Industry Paddy Blanchfield Ken Comber Trevor Davey Warren Freer Brian MacDonell Brian Talboys Bill Young
By-elections during 37th Parliament There was one by-election held during the term of the 37th Parliament.
Electorate and by-election Date Incumbent Cause Winner
Notes
References