1992 Tamaki by-election

The Tamaki by-election 1992 was a by-election held in the Tāmaki electorate during the 43rd New Zealand Parliament, on 15 February 1992.[1] It was caused by the resignation of incumbent MP Sir Robert Muldoon and was won by Clem Simich with a majority of 1,252.[2] The by-election was also notable as the first contested by the recently formed Alliance Party, and for their success in coming second ahead of the Labour Party.

1992 Tamaki by-election
15 February 1992 (1992-02-15)
Turnout17,383 (71.97%)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Candidate Clem Simich Chris Leitch Verna Smith
Party National Alliance Labour
Popular vote 7,901 6,649 2,121
Percentage 45.45% 38.25% 12.20%
Tamaki electorate boundaries used for the by-election
Member before election

Sir Robert Muldoon
National

 Elected Member

Clem Simich
National

Background

Sir Robert Muldoon had held the seat of Tamaki since 1960. Following National's win at the 1990 election Prime Minister Jim Bolger did not appoint Muldoon to a cabinet posting and he quickly became dissatisfied with his backbench role. Following the Mother of all Budgets in 1991, which marked a radical turn to the right in economic policy, Muldoon felt that National had moved too far from its position under his leadership. These factors combined to lead him to resign from parliament and quit politics altogether.

David Kirk, a former All Blacks captain and Rhodes Scholar who had just returned from Oxford, launched a high-profile bid for the seat. He had the support of the National Party head office and endorsement from Bolger.[3] The other main candidate was National's Tamaki electorate chairman Clem Simich, a former policeman, who was backed by Muldoon. Simich won the selection ballot among local members as he had a far better connection to the electorate than Kirk.[4]

Previous election
1990 general election: Tamaki[5][6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
National Robert Muldoon 12,191 58.93 +6.90
Labour Malcolm Johnston 4,599 22.23
Green Richard Green 2,633 12.73
NewLabour Bill Logue 789 3.81
McGillicuddy Serious Craig Thomas Young 183 0.88
Democrats Craig Douglas Thomas 134 0.65
Social Credit Charles Thomas Willoughby 67 0.32
Independent Matthew Ford Elliot 49 0.23
Independent Victor Bryers 44 0.21
Majority 7,592 36.70 +27.03
Turnout 20,689 85.65 -0.86
Registered electors 24,154

Results

The following table gives the election results:

1992 Tamaki by-election[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
National Clem Simich 7,901 45.45 -13.47
Alliance Chris Leitch 6,649 38.25 +21.061
Labour Verna Smith 2,121 12.20 -10.03
Christian Heritage Clive Thomson 199 1.14
United NZ Tania Harris 118 0.67
Independent Dean Lonergan 105 0.60
McGillicuddy Serious Adrian Holroyd 73 0.42
Defence Movement Bevan Skelton 57 0.33
Voters Voice Cliff Emeny 47 0.27
Blokes Liberation Front Frank Barker 46 0.26
Social Credit Colin Maloney 34 0.20
Independent Andrew Aitkenhead 19 0.11
Independent Victor Bryers 7 0.04 -0.17
Communist League James Robb 7 0.04
Majority 1,252 7.20
Turnout 17,383 71.972 -13.682
National hold Swing -29.49

1 Alliance vote increase over 3,556 combined vote for Green Party, New Labour and Democrats in 1990 election.
2 Based on 1990 election figures.

References
  1. "Byelection date set for Tamaki". The New Zealand Herald. 6 December 1991. p. 5.
  2. Gustafson, Barry (2000), His way: a biography of Rob Muldoon, Auckland University Press, pp. 464–465, retrieved 31 May 2013
  3. Hubbard, Anthony (29 May 2011). "David Kirk tells of life after rugby". Stuff.co.nz. Fairfax. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  4. Cooke, Henry (4 November 2019). "Christopher Luxon faces Botany selection race on Monday". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  5. Part 1: Votes recorded at each polling place (Technical report). New Zealand Chief Electoral Office. 1990.
  6. Gustafson, Barry (2000), His way: a biography of Robert Muldoon, Auckland University Press, pp. 464–465, retrieved 8 March 2014
  7. Voting Statistics for the Electoral Referendum Held on 19 September 1992, The Tamaki By-Election Held on 15 February 1992. Electoral Commission (New Zealand).


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