The United–Reform coalition government of New Zealand was the
ministry
Ministry may refer to:
Government
* Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister
* Ministry (government department), a department of a government
Religion
* Christian ...
that
governed New Zealand from 1931 to 1935. It was a coalition between two of the three major parties of the time, the
United
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
and
Reform
Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill#The Yorkshire Associati ...
, formed to deal with the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
which began in 1929. The
Labour Party refused to join the coalition, as it believed that the only solution to the depression was
socialism
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
, which United and Reform did not support. Rather, they attempted to solve the country's economic problems by cutting public spending. This, the policy of making the unemployed do relief work for the unemployment benefit, and other cost-cutting policies, made the government the most unpopular of its era, and it was defeated in the
1935 election.
Significant policies
Economic
* Cut government spending in order to balance the budget.
* The
Reserve Bank of New Zealand
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ, mi, Te Pūtea Matua) is the central bank of New Zealand. It was established in 1934 and is constituted under the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989. The governor of the Reserve Bank is responsible for N ...
was established in 1934, beginning the first issue of banknotes for the
New Zealand Pound
The pound (symbol £, £NZ. for distinction) was the currency of New Zealand from 1840 until 1967, when it was replaced by the New Zealand dollar. Like the pound sterling, it was subdivided into 20 shillings (abbreviation s or /) each of 12 pen ...
.
* Created the Mortgage Corporation of New Zealand in 1935
Transport
* Introduced the
Transport Licensing Act 1931
The Transport Licensing Act 1931 was a New Zealand Act of Parliament regulating land transport. It was introduced following a Royal Commission on road and rail competition in 1930. The Act also regulated aspects such as safety and insurance req ...
to regulate land transport; goods transported further than would require a permit from the
New Zealand Railways Department
The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR (New Zealand Government Railways) and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway ...
;
Welfare
* Compelled the unemployed to labour on public works and other activities in exchange for an unemployment benefit.
Education
* Raised school starting age to six in order to save money.
* Closed teachers' colleges as cost-cutting measure.
Formation
The initial coalition between the United and Reform had formed earlier in 1931, following the collapse of an earlier coalition between the United and Labour. Fearing that splitting the anti-Labour vote would result in a Labour government even if it received fewer votes than United and Reform combined, the two parties
formed a coalition and an election agreement. In the subsequent election, the coalition won 55.4% of the popular vote, compared to 34.3% for Labour.
Defeat
The government focussed primarily on getting New Zealand out of the depression by cutting government spending and thus balancing the national budget. It dealt with widespread unemployment by initiating relief work, which involved compelling the unemployed to work on a range of projects ranging from useful public works to pointless activity. The government was widely seen as heartless, encapsulated by the commonly believed but probably untrue story that Prime Minister
George Forbes had told a delegation of unemployed men to go and eat grass. In the 1935 election, Labour won 46.1% of the popular vote, while the coalition won only 32.9%. However the result in terms of seats was much more overwhelming, with Labour winning 53 seats to the coalition's 16. A further eleven seats were won by minor parties and independents. Following their defeats, the Liberal and Reform parties merged to become the
National Party.
Election results
Prime ministers
The government was led by
George Forbes of the United Party, with Gordon Coates of Reform as
Minister of Finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
.
File:George William Forbes.jpg, George Forbes
served 1930–1935
Cabinet Ministers
In 1934 the
Minister of Native Affairs Sir
Āpirana Ngata
Sir Āpirana Turupa Ngata (3 July 1874 – 14 July 1950) was a prominent New Zealand statesman. He has often been described as the foremost Māori politician to have served in Parliament in the mid-20th century, and is also known for his work ...
resigned as minister after accusations of departmental maladministration and favouritism were supported by a Royal Commission.
See also
*
Governments of New Zealand
*
New Zealand Liberal Party
The New Zealand Liberal Party was the first organised political party in New Zealand. It governed from 1891 until 1912. The Liberal strategy was to create a large class of small land-owning farmers who supported Liberal ideals, by buying larg ...
*
Reform Party (New Zealand)
The Reform Party, formally the New Zealand Political Reform League, was New Zealand's second major political party, having been founded as a conservative response to the original Liberal Party. It was in government between 1912 and 1928, and lat ...
References and notes
Notes
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:United-Reform Coalition Government of New Zealand
Ministries of George V
United-Reform coalition
New Zealand Liberal Party
Reform Party (New Zealand)
20th century in New Zealand
Cabinets established in 1931
Cabinets disestablished in 1935
Coalition governments