By Ana Kailis
AUCKLAND — New Zealanders have sent a clear message to the two major parties that neither is trusted to govern in its own right. The November 6 election has resulted in neither Labour nor National having a majority in the new parliament; the two smaller parties, the Alliance and New Zealand First, will hold the balance of power.
At the close of counting, National has 49 seats (35.2% of the vote), Labour 46 seats (34.7%) Alliance 2 seats (18.3%) and New Zealand First 2 seats (8.3%).
Despite winning only two seats, with almost one-fifth of the vote, the Alliance has placed itself in a firm position for the 1996 election. Its policies of free health care and education, progressive taxation and no asset sales are now firmly on the political agenda.
Alliance leader Jim Anderton was re-elected with an increased majority, polling 3500 more votes than in 1990. Sandra Lee, Alliance co-deputy leader and Mana Motuhake leader, was also elected.
Lee took the seat of Auckland Central from Labour's Richard Prebble, a key architect of "Rogernomics" — the hardline monetarist policy of the Lange Labour government. As a minister, Prebble oversaw the sale of 1300 post offices and NZ Rail to private enterprise at give-away prices.
Lee's election is particularly significant. She is the first Maori woman elected to parliament in a non-Maori seat. This coincides with the centenary of New Zealand women's suffrage.
The strong Alliance support developed, despite a barrage of abuse from Labour, in the last week of the campaign. Several other Alliance candidates narrowly missed election.
The most significant victory on November 6 was the endorsement of Multi Member Proportional (MMP) representation to replace the existing first past the post system. Despite a concerted campaign led, in part, by the Business Roundtable and costing millions of dollars, MMP won 53% support.
Media advertisements funded by the "Campaign for Better Government" had consistently misrepresented the referendum on electoral reform. False claims that the South Island would have less representation and that parliamentarians would be less accountable swayed some people.
Business Roundtable support for the first past the post system is no surprise. Had this election been conducted under MMP, National would have won 44 seats, Labour 43, Alliance 23, and New Zealand First 10 seats. (MMP will also increase the number of members from 99 to 120.)
Support for MMP came from a wide range of people. One person, Ian Upton, walked from the Bluff in the southern part of the South Island to Wellington for MMP. Pro-MMP marches and festivals coincided with Guy Fawkes celebrations on election eve.
The election has left the two major parties treading water rapidly. Prime Minister Jim Bolger's speech to the nation has sent mixed messages to the electorate and the Business Roundtable: on the one hand insinuating that the swing against National will now necessitate consultations with other parties on policy; but on the other following National's theme of "Don't mess with success".
Bolger emphasised the need for stability of government and for foreign capital to remain in New Zealand; this is not a constitutional crisis, he reiterated.
When asked how his government would incorporate the radically different policies of the Alliance, Bolger had no answer. Labour leader Mike Moore was left to appeal to his "true believers".
New Zealand politics look set for a roller coaster ride between now and the next election — odds are that this parliament won't go a full term.