23rd New Zealand Parliament
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— Reform Government until 10 December 1928
| 23rd Parliament of New Zealand | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
.JPG) | |||||
| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | New Zealand Parliament | ||||
| Term | 4 December 1928 – 11 November 1931 | ||||
| Election | 1928 New Zealand general election | ||||
| Government | United Government — Reform Government until 10 December 1928 | ||||
| House of Representatives | |||||
 | |||||
| Members | 80 | ||||
| Speaker of the House | Charles Statham | ||||
| Prime Minister | George Forbes — Joseph Ward until 28 May 1930 — Gordon Coates until 10 December 1928 | ||||
| Leader of the Opposition | Harry Holland — Gordon Coates until 22 September 1931 — Joseph Ward until 10 December 1928 | ||||
| Legislative Council | |||||
| Members | 41 (at start) 35 (at end) | ||||
| Speaker of the Council | Sir Walter Carncross | ||||
| Leader of the Council | Sir Thomas Sidey — Sir Francis Bell until 10 December 1928 | ||||
| Sovereign | |||||
| Monarch | HM George V | ||||
| Governor-General | HE Rt. Hon. THe Lord Bledisloe from 19 March 1930 — HE Gen. Sir Charles Fergusson until 8 February 1930 | ||||
The 23rd New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1928 general election in November of that year.
The 1928 general election was held on Tuesday, 13 November in the Māori electorates and on Wednesday, 14 November in the general electorates, respectively.[1] A total of 80 MPs were elected; 47 represented North Island electorates, 29 represented South Island electorates, and the remaining four represented Māori electorates.[2] 844,633 voters were enrolled and the official turnout at the election was 88.1%.[1]
Electoral boundaries
Sessions
The 23rd Parliament sat for five sessions (there were two sessions in 1931), and was prorogued on 12 November 1931.[3]
| Session | Opened | Adjourned |
|---|---|---|
| first | 4 December 1928 | 14 December 1928 |
| second | 27 June 1929 | 9 November 1929 |
| third | 26 June 1930 | 25 October 1930 |
| fourth | 11 March 1931 | 28 April 1931 |
| fifth | 25 June 1931 | 11 November 1931 |
Party standings
Start of Parliament
| Party | Leader(s) | Seats at start | |
| United Party | Sir Joseph Ward | 27 | |
| Reform Party | Gordon Coates | 27 | |
| Labour Party | Harry Holland | 19 | |
| Country Party | Harold Rushworth | 1 | |
| Independents | 6 | ||
End of Parliament
| Party | Leader(s) | Seats at end | |
| Reform Party | Gordon Coates | 27 | |
| United Party | George Forbes | 26 | |
| Labour Party | Harry Holland | 20 | |
| Country Party | Harold Rushworth | 1 | |
| Independents | 6 | ||
Ministries
The Coates Ministry led by Gordon Coates of the Reform Party had come to power in May 1925.[4] The Reform Party lost the 1928 election, suffering a humiliating defeat, dropping from 55 seats in 1925 to 28 only three years later. Parliament was called shortly after the election, Coates lost a no confidence vote and resigned as Prime Minister.[5]
Joseph Ward formed the second Ward Ministry on 10 December 1928 as leader of the United Party, a successor of the Liberal Party.[6][7] Ward was an unwell man at this stage in life and suffered several heart attacks. In May 1930, he was pressured by his colleagues to resign as Prime Minister.[7]
Ward was succeeded by George Forbes, again of the United Party. The Forbes Ministry was in place until September 1931. During the difficult times of the Great Depression, Forbes wanted to form a grand coalition with the Labour Party and the Reform Party. Labour refused, but Reform went into a coalition government with United from September 1931.[8]
