Background The founding of the New Zealand Labour Party, on 7 July 1916 in Wellington, brought together a number of earlier socialist groups advocating
proportional representation, the abolition of the
country quota, the
recall of
members of Parliament, as well as the
nationalisation of
production and
exchange. Despite the Labour Party's Wellington origins, the
West Coast town of
Blackball is regarded as the "spiritual home" of the party, because it was the site of a
miners' strike in 1908 that led to the founding of the first nationwide federation of trade unions (the "
Red Federation"). The Labour Party was established by trade unions, among other groups, and the party identifies itself as part of the wider
labour movement in New Zealand. The Labour Party has long been identified with red, a
political colour traditionally affiliated with socialism and the labour movement.
Formation (1901–1916) At the turn of the 20th century, the radical side of New Zealand
working class politics was represented by the
Socialist Party, founded in 1901. The more moderate leftists generally supported the
Liberal Party. In 1905 a group of working-class politicians who were dissatisfied with the Liberal approach established the
Independent Political Labour League (IPLL), which managed to win a seat in Parliament in the . At the same time, moderates contested as "
Lib-Lab" candidates, aligning with the Liberal Party while enjoying the endorsement of the labour movement. This established the basic dividing line in New Zealand's left-wing politics – the Socialists/IPLL tended to be revolutionary and militant, while the moderates focused instead on progressive reform. Soon afterward, the labour movement went through the 1912
Waihi miners' strike, a major industrial disturbance prompted by radicals in the union movement. The movement split over supporting or opposing the radicals, and in the end, the conservative
Reform Party government of
William Massey suppressed the strike by force. In the strike's aftermath, there was a major drive to end the divisions in the labour movement and to establish a united front. Accordingly,
Walter Thomas Mills organised another
Unity Conference, and this time the Socialists attended. A year later yet another gathering took place. This time, all major factions of the labour movement agreed to unite, forming the Labour Party as it is today.
Electoral record of constituent parties pre–1916 Labour Early years (1916–1935) Almost immediately, the new Labour Party became involved in the acrimonious debate about
conscription which arose during
World War I. The party strongly opposed conscription, and several leading members –
Peter Fraser,
Harry Holland,
Bob Semple and
Paddy Webb – were jailed and expelled from Parliament for their stand against the war. The loss of leadership threatened to seriously destabilise the party, but the party survived. Workers also benefited from the introduction of the forty-hour week, and legislation making it easier for unions to negotiate on their behalf. Savage himself was highly popular with the working classes, and his portrait could be found on walls in many houses around the country. At this time the Labour Party pursued an alliance with the
Māori Rātana movement. The parliamentary opposition, meanwhile, attacked the Labour Party's more left-wing policies and accused it of undermining free enterprise and hard work. In May 1936, months after Labour's first general election win, the Reform Party and the United Party took their coalition to the next step, agreeing to merge with each other. The combined organisation, named the
National Party, would be Labour's main rival in future years. on the steps of the
Parliamentary Library in Wellington, 1935 Labour also faced opposition within its own ranks. While the Labour Party had been explicitly socialist at its inception, it had gradually drifted away from its earlier radicalism. The death of the party's former leader, the "doctrinaire" Harry Holland, had marked a significant turning-point in the party's history. Some within the party, however, were displeased about the changing focus of the party. Most notably,
John A. Lee. Lee, whose views were a mixture of socialism and
social credit theory, emerged as a vocal critic of the party's leadership, accusing it of behaving autocratically and of betraying the party's rank and file. After a long and bitter dispute, the party executive
expelled Lee from the party, who then established his own breakaway
Democratic Labour Party. Savage died in 1940 and
Peter Fraser, who became Labour's longest-serving prime minister, replaced him. Fraser became best-known as New Zealand's head of government for most of
World War II. In the
post-war period, however, ongoing shortages and industrial problems cost Labour considerable popularity, and the National Party, under
Sidney Holland, gained ground, although Labour was able to win the 1943 and 1946 elections. Eventually, in the , Labour suffered electoral defeat. Fraser died shortly afterward, and was replaced by
Walter Nash, the long-serving
minister of finance. It would be some time before Labour would return to power; Nash lacked the charisma of his predecessors, and National won considerable support for opposing the "industrial anarchy" of the
1951 waterfront dispute. In the , however, Labour won a narrow majority of two seats, and returned to office.
Second Government (1957–1960) Nash, Labour's third prime minister, took office in late 1957. Upon coming to power, Labour decided that drastic measures were needed to address
balance-of-payments concerns. This resulted in the highly unpopular 1958
"Black Budget" of
Arnold Nordmeyer, the new minister of finance, which raised taxes on alcohol, cigarettes, cars, and petrol. It is widely thought to have doomed the party to defeat despite the economy rejuvenating less than a year after the adoption of the Black Budget. In the , the National Party returned to power. opening Labour's election campaign in 1966 The elderly Nash retired in 1963, suffering from ill health. Nordmeyer replaced him, but the taint of the Black Budget ensured that Nordmeyer did not have any appreciable success in reversing the party's fortunes. In 1965 the leadership went to the younger
Norman Kirk, who many believed would revitalise the party. Labour suffered defeat again in the next two elections, but in the , the party gained a significant majority over its rival.
Third Government (1972–1975) Kirk proved an energetic prime minister and introduced a number of new policies. His
foreign-policy stances included strong criticism of
nuclear-weapons testing and of
South Africa's
apartheid system. However, Kirk suffered from poor health, worsened by his refusal to slow the pace of his work. In 1974 Kirk was taken ill and
died.
Bill Rowling replaced him, but did not have the same electoral appeal – in the , Labour was heavily defeated by the National Party, then led by
Robert Muldoon. Rowling remained the leader of the Labour Party for some time after his defeat. In the and the Labour won a larger share of the vote than National but failed to win an equivalent number of seats. This led to a very heated debate on New Zealand's electoral system, and precipitated the introduction of
mixed-member proportional representation (MMP)
fifteen years later. Rowling himself was compared by media unfavourably to Muldoon, and did not cope well with Muldoon's aggressive style. In 1983 Rowling was replaced as parliamentary leader by
David Lange, whom the parliamentary caucus perceived as more charismatic. In the
snap election of , Labour decisively defeated the National Party.
Fourth Government (1984–1990) 's government deviated sharply from those of previous Labour governments. When the Fourth Labour Government came into power it uncovered a fiscal crisis that had been largely hidden by the outgoing
Third National Government. Government debt was skyrocketing, due largely to the costs of borrowing to maintain a
fixed exchange-rate. When the result of the election became clear, Lange asked Muldoon to devalue the
New Zealand dollar, which Muldoon refused to do, resulting in
a constitutional crisis and precipitating some of the changes in the
Constitution Act 1986. The economic-policy agenda of the Fourth Labour Government differed significantly from previous Labour governments. The minister of finance,
Roger Douglas, supported
neoliberal theories, and sought to implement sweeping
free-market reforms (dubbed "
Rogernomics") to the economy and to the tax system. This involved floating the New Zealand dollar, cutting government spending, reducing taxes and removing almost all industry subsidies. Labour liberalised
immigration policy and promoted migration from Asia. Other innovations during the term of the Fourth Labour Government included extending the jurisdiction of the
Waitangi Tribunal back to 1840 (the date of the signing of the
Treaty of Waitangi); the
Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986, which legalised homosexual relations; and the
Bill of Rights Act, which enumerated civil and political rights. Throughout its first term (1984–1987), the Labour government remained largely unified behind the enacted radical financial, economic and social policy reforms, but early signs of dissension began to appear before the 1987 election. In Labour won another considerable election victory against the National Party, while ruptures over the direction of policy remained concealed. Labour took votes in affluent seats where it had never come remotely close to winning even at high-tide elections. In the biggest shock of all, it came within 400 votes of taking the
blue-ribbon seat of
Remuera off National. At the same time, Labour suffered negative swings in more traditional seats. The government's second term (1987–1990), with an increased Labour majority won on the back of Lange's
anti-nuclear stance, saw emerging divisions over economic policy arising within Cabinet. Ministers debated the extent and pace of further reforms, and there was disillusion among party members and supporters loyal to Labour's left-wing tradition. The
Council of Trade Unions criticised the Labour Party. One vocal member of Parliament critical of government policy, former Party President
Jim Anderton, departed to establish the
NewLabour Party, which later became a part of the left-wing
Alliance Party.
Geoffrey Palmer became the new prime minister. Moore himself, despite recovering sixteen seats at the 1993 election, was replaced by
Helen Clark in December 1993. Clark led the party in opposition to the National government for six years under the administrations of
Jim Bolger (1993–1997) and
Jenny Shipley (1997–1999). During this period in opposition, the party made a measured repudiation of Rogernomics, although it has never returned to its original leftist roots (Labour's contemporary position is left-of-centre). This government, while undertaking a number of reforms, was not particularly radical when compared to previous Labour governments, and maintained a high level of popularity. The Alliance, however, fell in popularity and split internally. Clark cited the Alliance split as one of the reasons for calling the several months early; Labour won comfortably. Policies of the Fifth Labour Government included the
KiwiSaver scheme, the
Working for Families package, increasing the
minimum wage 5% a year, interest-free student loans, the establishment of
district health boards, the introduction of a number of
tax credits, overhauling the secondary-school qualifications system by introducing the
NCEA, and the introduction of fourteen weeks' parental leave. Labour also supported the
Civil Union Act 2004, which legalised
civil unions for same-sex and opposite-sex couples. The foreign policy of the Fifth Labour Government strongly reflected
liberal internationalist doctrine, with a particular emphasis on promoting democracy and human rights, advocating for antimilitarism and
disarmament, and encouragement of free trade. In 2003, the government opposed New Zealand military action in the
Iraq War. In early 2004 Labour came under attack in the
foreshore and seabed controversy. Significant internal tensions within the party eventually culminated in the resignation of junior minister
Tariana Turia and her establishment of the new
Māori Party. Following the , Labour formed a minority coalition with the
Progressive Party (breakaway party of the old Alliance), and entered into complex
confidence and supply agreements with the centrist
United Future and populist
New Zealand First parties, which gave each party's leader a ministerial portfolio, while the support parties remained outside the Cabinet. A limited support agreement also linked Labour with the
Green Party, giving certain policy concessions to the Greens in return for abstention on
confidence-and-supply votes. Labour lost power when the National Party soundly defeated it in the .
In opposition (2008–2017) with future leader
Jacinda Ardern and
Carol Beaumont at a 2010 anti-mining march in Auckland Following the loss to the National Party in the November 2008 election, Helen Clark stood down as leader of the party –
Phil Goff succeeded her (serving from 2008–2011). Labour had a relatively high turnover of four leaders during its most recent term in opposition; journalist
Nicky Hager has attributed this to Labour's reaction to changes within public media and the political environment. Goff led Labour into a second electoral defeat in and was succeeded by
David Shearer, who led the Labour parliamentary from 2011 to 2013. Shearer resigned after losing the confidence of caucus.
David Cunliffe (2013–2014) assumed the leadership after the
2013 leadership election in which, under new rules, members and unions held 60% of the vote. Most of the Labour caucus disliked Cunliffe, but he had strong support from the party membership. In the leadership contest he won first-preference votes from only one-third of Labour MPs. The caucus confirmed Ardern as the new Labour leader (2017–2023). After Ardern's election to its parliamentary leadership Labour rose dramatically in opinion polls. By late August they had risen to 43% in one poll (having been 24% under Little's leadership), as well as managing to overtake National in opinion polls for the first time in over a decade.
Sixth Government (2017–2023) , Labour Prime Minister from 2017 to 2023 , Labour Prime Minister in 2023 During the , Labour gained 36.6% of the party vote and increased its presence in the House of Representatives to 46 seats, making it the second-largest party in Parliament. citing changing international and internal economic circumstances as the reasoning behind his decision, coupled with a belief that a Labour government was best-placed to handle the social and economic welfare of New Zealanders in a global environment that was undergoing rapid and "seismic" change. This coalition, combined with
confidence and supply from the Green Party, saw Labour return to government for the first time since 2008. Ardern became prime minister, with Peters as her deputy. The Labour government pledged to eliminate child poverty, make tertiary education free, reduce immigration by 20,000 to 30,000,
decriminalise abortion, and make all rivers swimmable within 10 years. The Labour Government also adopted an elimination approach towards the
COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, instituting lockdowns and closing the border. Both Labour and Prime Minister Ardern attracted high domestic poll ratings due to their initial COVID-19 responses in 2020. In mid-July 2020, the
Serious Fraud Office announced that it was investigating donations made to the Labour Party by two Chinese businessmen during the 2017 general election. Labour Party President
Claire Szabó announced that the party would co-operate with the investigation. The 2017–2020 term saw several ministerial resignations for various indiscretions, notably
Phil Twyford,
Clare Curran,
Meka Whaitiri and
David Clark. In the , Labour gained 50% of the
party vote and increased its presence in the House of Representatives to 65 seats, marking the first time that a party has won enough seats to govern alone since the introduction of the MMP system in 1996. Described as a "landslide" victory On 20 October,
Newshub reported that Ardern was not intending to forge a formal coalition with the Green Party but was exploring the possibility of a lower-level support arrangement due to Labour's large parliamentary majority. Following prolonged negotiations, the Green Party agreed to enter into a cooperation agreement with the Labour Party on 31 October and received two
ministerial portfolios in return. Despite this landslide victory Labour faced criticism from economists due to the government's lack of action on
New Zealand's housing affordability crisis, despite it being a key feature of Labour's 2017 election campaign. Notable policies, programmes and legislations during the
2020–2023 term included the
Clean Car rebate programme,
making the Māori New Year
Matariki a public holiday,
banning conversion therapy, replacing the
district health boards with a national health service called
Te Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand), passing
smokefree legislation banning the sale of tobacco to anyone born after 1 January 2009,
repealing "three strikes" legislation, and banning live animal exports. In terms of foreign policy, the Labour Government supported
Ukraine following the 2022
Russian invasion of Ukraine,
sanctioned Russia, signed
free trade agreements with both the
United Kingdom and
European Union, and advocated restraint in response to the
Gaza war. The Government also implemented several
co-governance arrangements in the public sector including entrenching
Māori wards and constituencies in
local government, the
Three Waters reform programme, and creating
Te Aka Whai Ora (the Māori Health Authority). Following a major COVID-19 outbreak in August 2021, the Labour Government abandoned its elimination strategy and gradually eased lockdown, border restrictions, vaccine mandates and masking requirements between 2021 and 2022. During that period, growing opposition to lockdowns and vaccine mandates led to the emergence of several anti-vaccination protest groups including
Voices for Freedom and
Brian Tamaki's
The Freedoms and Rights Coalition, culminating in the
2022 occupation of Parliament's grounds. On 19 January 2023, Ardern announced her resignation as party leader and therefore prime minister. In the resultant
leadership election Chris Hipkins was the only candidate and was confirmed as the new Labour leader on 22 January. Hipkins' premiership saw a shift in focus to "cost of living issues" and a "policy bonfire" that saw the scrapping or revision of several Government policies and initiatives including the
planned merger of public broadcasters
RNZ and
TVNZ, a
biofuel mandate, lowering the voting age to 16 years and the Clean Car Upgrade programme. Hipkins' government also responded to two natural disasters, the
2023 Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods and
Cyclone Gabrielle, which devastated Auckland and the east coast of the
North Island. Prior to the
dissolution of Parliament, the Labour Government passed
two laws as part of efforts to replace the
Resource Management Act 1991. The 2020–2023 term saw the expulsion of Labour MP
Gaurav Sharma, the resignations of ministers
Stuart Nash and
Kiri Allan, and ministers
Michael Wood and
Jan Tinetti being disciplined by Parliament's privileges committee. The 2023 general election, held on 14 October 2023, saw the Labour government lose its majority to the opposition National Party.
In opposition, 2023–present In early November 2023, caretaker Prime Minister Chris Hipkins was re-elected as leader of the Labour Party and
Carmel Sepuloni was elected as deputy leader. In early 2024, three veteran Labour MPs
Kelvin Davis,
Rino Tirikatene and
Grant Robertson resigned from Parliament, allowing
Shanan Halbert,
Tracey McLellan and
Glen Bennett to re-enter Parliament via the party list. In April 2024, Labour called for New Zealand to
recognise Palestinian statehood. In February 2024, two Labour MPs questioned whether New Zealand should be entering the non-nuclear component of the
AUKUS, with foreign affairs spokesperson
Phil Twyford describing it as an "offensive warfighting alliance against China." At the Labour Party's annual conference in 2024, held between 29 November and 1 December, Chris Hipkins announced that under a Labour government, New Zealand would not be a part of AUKUS, saying that any government he leads would "restore New Zealand's proudly
independent foreign policy." During the
54th New Zealand parliamentary term, several private member's bills by Labour MPs were passed with majority support. On 11 October 2024,
Deborah Russell's bill exempting victims of domestic violence from waiting a mandatory two years to seek a divorce was passed into law. On 12 March 2025,
Camilla Belich's bill designating the withholding of employees' wages as theft was passed into law with the support of the Green, Māori and New Zealand First parties (63 votes). On 20 August 2025, Belich's bill banning employers from imposing gag orders on workers talking about their salaries passed into law with the support of the Green, Māori, and National parties. That same day,
Tracey McLellan's bill extending the range of protections for those giving evidence of sexual assaults or family harm in the
Family Court passed into law with the support of all parties. On 20 October 2025, Hipkins and finance spokesperson
Barbara Edmonds unveiled the party's "NZ Future Fund" policy, which would complement the
New Zealand Superannuation Fund established by the
Fifth Labour Government. The NZ Future Fund seeks to stimulate economic investment in New Zealand and is modelled after Singapore's
Temasek fund. On 28 October, Hipkins announced that Labour, if elected into government, would introduce a
capital gains tax to subsidise three free doctors' visits a year. The proposed capital gains tax would tax 28% of property transactions excluding the family home and farms. On 6 November, Hipkins and health spokesperson
Ayesha Verrall announced a policy proposing free
cervical cancer screenings for all women aged between 25 and 69 years. The proposed cervical screening scheme would cost NZ$21.6 million and be funded through health baselines. On 29 January 2026, Labour and the governing National party agreed to co-sponsor new legislation targeting
modern slavery despite opposition from the
ACT party. == Ideology ==