New Zealand Labour Party in Parliament

The New Zealand Labour Party was established in 1916 and first entered Parliament in 1919. The party has been in five Governments: 1935-1949, 1957-1960, 1972-1975, 1984-1990, and 1999-2008.

The party is represented by 43 members in the 49th Parliament — 21 represent electorates and 22 are drawn from the party list.

The party leader is Hon Phil Goff, member for Mt Roskill.

New Zealand Labour message

’The Labour Party stands for the ordinary hard working family. Our party has a strong commitment to policies promoting social justice and security and equality of opportunity. Labour cares for the well-being of all New Zealanders. New Zealand had become increasingly divided and the gap between rich and poor was getting wider after a decade of ideological "free-market" economic policies had hit many people hard. Labour is implementing policies aimed at addressing these issues as it recognises that New Zealand needs a skilled, confident and employed population to meet the challenges of the 21st Century. We are restoring a sense of balance in our society.’

Source: New Zealand Labour Party, http://www.labour.org.nz/learning_centre/freqnetly_asked_questions/faq1/index.html, last accessed 4 April 2006.