Cabinet selection 1960 to 1997: an overview of political process in New Zealand

Abstract

This thesis analyses the selection of the 141 members of the Cabinets of the five governments of New Zealand, between December 1960 and December 1997. The thesis examines who was selected to be Ministers and considers why they were chosen. In some cases the thesis considers those who were eligible and were not selected, and speculates as to why they were left out. The study also looks at the nature of the various cabinet selections over the thirty-seven years, and at the differing methods of selection of the National and Labour parties. 'The main conclusions of the study are, firstly, that Cabinet selection has changed over time, in tune with the development and strengthening of the party system. Cabinet selection has become far less of a 'guessing game', now that 'shadow' Cabinets are a matter of practice for opposition parties. 'Politics' has also played an increasing part in selections, as the size of the executive has grown while government is reduced. As former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer commented: 'you could probably run the [government] with twelve to fifteen ministers, anything more is just politics.' The increase of factionalism in both parties, although more particularly in Labour, has also had a consequent effect on later Cabinet selections. Secondly, the two party's methods of selection, while different, overall do not vary as much as others have argued. While, in the National party, the final choice still remains with the leader, the thesis has shown that they value the established practice of asking for their colleague's input, which has had an influence on the final selection. While the thesis seeks to be a contribution to the field of New Zealand political history more generally, it is not the first piece of work to deal specifically with the New Zealand Cabinet. However, it is the first specific 'history' of Cabinet Selection, and utilises a wide range of secondary sources. A major primary source is the newspaper. An extensive analysis was made of press reports relating to Cabinet selection over the 37-year period. They almost always provided plenty of material on speculation of Cabinets and analysis of Cabinet make-ups. They also provided the best indicator of contemporary opinion on individuals and events. Each section was written using material from newspapers as its base. Predictions that each paper made were analysed and then assessed against the eventual outcome. The central source material is, however, derived from interviews conducted with participants in the latter half of the period, 1972 to 1997. Guided by the methodology utilised by previous work, I have interviewed 22 former ministers to elicit their views about Cabinet Selection. Those interviewed included a member of the current Cabinet, the Speaker of the House, three Party Leaders, twelve Members of Parliament, three company chairmen, four former Deputy Prime Ministers (as well as the current one) and two former Prime Ministers. It speaks volumes about the continued accessibility of politicians in this country that the Acting Prime Minister could give up some of his time to be interviewed for this thesis. The number of people interviewed from each government worked on a sliding scale - starting with one Minister from Marshall Government of 1972 and working up to eleven Ministers from the last term of the National-New Zealand First Government, 1996 to 1999.