Editing New Zealand Labour Party (section)

== Ideology ==
The New Zealand Labour Party's founding 1916 policy objectives called for "the socialisation of the means of production, distribution and exchange", including [[state ownership]] of major parts of the economy, and increased rights for workers.<ref name="Aimer">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Aimer|first=Peter|title=Labour Party: Ideology and the role of unions|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/labour-party/page-5|encyclopedia=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]]|date=1 June 2015|access-date=13 December 2016}}</ref> While the socialist objective attracted support from some members, it also became a target for opponents who portrayed Labour as an extremist party. In the aftermath of World War II, Labour prioritised national unity over societal divisions, but after their defeat in {{NZ election link year|1949}}, many party members perceived the socialist objective as outdated and a hindrance to electoral success, leading to its abolition in 1951.<ref name="Aimer"/> The party transformed into a moderate [[social-democratic]] party, focusing on [[Reformism|reform]] within the democratic framework while maintaining ties with [[trade union]]s.<ref name="Aimer"/><ref name="Bean2009">{{cite book|author=Clive Bean|contribution=New Zealand|editor1=Mark N. Franklin|editor2=Thomas T. Mackie|editor3=Henry Valen|title=Electoral Change: Responses to Evolving Social and Attitudinal Structures in Western Countries|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HcNMAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA285|year=2009|publisher=ECPR Press|isbn=978-0-9558203-1-1|page=285}}</ref><ref name="SmithVromen2006">{{cite book|author1=Rodney Smith|author2=Ariadne Vromen|author3=Ian Cook|title=Keywords in Australian Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pMSTxLmZaw0C&pg=PA177|year=2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-67283-2|page=177}}</ref> 

By the late 1980s, the Labour Party had undergone significant ideological changes, leading to policies that frequently conflicted with the goals and interests of the union movement.<ref name="Aimer"/> The Labour Government of the 1980s deviated sharply from a social-democratic path; in a [[Rogernomics|series of economic reforms]], the government removed a swathe of regulations and subsidies, [[Privatisation|privatised]] state assets, and introduced [[Corporatization|corporate]] practices to state services.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Labour Party: Fourth and fifth Labour governments|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/labour-party/page-4|encyclopedia=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] |access-date=13 December 2016}}</ref>

The party's constitution and platform programme maintains its founding principle as [[democratic socialism]],<ref name="Party_constitution">{{cite web|url=https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/nzlabour/pages/3956/attachments/original/1576012198/NZLP_Inc_-_Constitution___Rules_-_2019.pdf|title=New Zealand Labour Party Constitution and Rules 2019|author=New Zealand Labour Party|date=30 November 2019|quote=The Party accepts the following democratic socialist principles [...].|access-date=7 January 2020}}</ref><ref name="platform"/> while observers describe Labour's policies as social-democratic and pragmatic in practice.<ref name="Bean2009"/><ref name="Aimer"/> From the 1990s onwards, Labour has again aimed to use the power of the state to try to achieve a "fairer and more equal society", based on a [[mixed economy]] in which both the state and private enterprise play a part.<ref name="Aimer"/> Subsequently, the party has also been described as embracing certain [[social liberalism|social-liberal]] policies.<ref name="polsci">{{cite book|title=Political Science|volume=49–50|page=98|year=1997|first=Jack|last=Vowles}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|pages=34, 56|publisher=Routledge|year=2016|first=Michael|last=Scott|title=Making New Zealand's Pop Renaissance: State, Markets, Musicians}}</ref>

=== Principles ===
According to its current constitution, the party accepts democratic socialist principles, including:<ref name="Constitution">{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714150844/https://www.labourparty.org.nz/sites/default/files/2014%20Constitution.pdf |url= https://www.labourparty.org.nz/sites/default/files/2014%20Constitution.pdf |title = Labour: Constitution and Rules |year = 2014 |website = NZ Labour Party |page = 4 |archive-date=14 July 2014 |access-date = 11 June 2014 |quote = The Party accepts the following democratic socialist principles – <br /> g. All political authority comes from the people by democratic means, including universal suffrage, regular and free elections with a secret ballot.<br /> h. The natural resources of New Zealand belong to all the people and these resources, and in particular non-renewable resources, should be managed for the benefit of all, including future generations.<br /> i. All people should have equal access to all social, economic, cultural, political and legal spheres, regardless of wealth or social position, and continuing participation in the democratic process.<br /> j. Co-operation, rather than competition, should be the main governing factor in economic relations, in order that a greater amount and a just distribution of wealth can be ensured.<br /> k. All people are entitled to dignity, self-respect and the opportunity to work.<br /> l. All people, either individually or in groups, may own wealth or property for their own use, but in any conflict of interest people are always more important than property, and the state must ensure a just distribution of wealth.<br /> m. Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi is the founding document of New Zealand, and that the Treaty should be honoured in the Party, government, society and the whanau.<br /> n. Peace and social justice should be promoted throughout the world by international co-operation and mutual respect.<br /> o. The same basic human rights, protected by the State, apply to all people, regardless of race, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, religious faith, political belief or disability.}}</ref>
* The management of New Zealand's [[natural resources]] for the benefit of all, including future generations.
* Equal access to all social, economic, cultural, political, and legal spheres, regardless of wealth or social position.
* Co-operation as the main governing factor in economic relations, to ensure a [[Redistribution of income and wealth|just distribution of wealth]].
* Universal rights to dignity, self-respect, and the opportunity to work.
* The right to wealth and property, subject to the provisos of regarding people as always more important than property and the [[state interventionism|obligations of the state]] to ensure a just distribution of wealth.
* Honouring {{lang|mi|Te Tiriti o Waitangi}} / the [[Treaty of Waitangi]] as the founding document of New Zealand.
* The promotion of peace and [[social justice]] throughout the world by international co-operation.
* Equality in human rights regardless of race, sex, [[marital status]], [[sexual orientation]], [[gender identity]], age, religious faith, political belief or disability.

=== Voter base ===
Historically, the party drew upon a stable sectional voter [[base (politics)|base]] comprising the urban [[working class]], predominantly [[manual labour]]ers and trade unionists. From the 1930s onwards, Labour has increasingly positioned itself as a broad-based party by responding and adapting to different social and economic problems and changing demographics (appealing to an expanding migrant population and a diversified ethnic, social make-up).<ref name="Aimer"/> Beginning in the 1980s, there was a shift away from class-issues and towards the promotion of individual freedoms, particularly for members of disadvantaged groups such as women and Māori. The modern party's core support base lies among young people, urban workers, civil servants, and minorities (particularly the Māori and [[Pasifika New Zealanders|Pasifika]] communities).<ref>{{cite news|last1=Bracewell-Worrall|first1=Anna|title=What the data tells us: Māori and Pacific voters throw support behind Labour|url=http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/election/2017/10/what-the-data-tells-us-m-ori-and-pacific-voters-throw-support-behind-labour.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171005045300/http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/election/2017/10/what-the-data-tells-us-m-ori-and-pacific-voters-throw-support-behind-labour.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 October 2017|access-date=6 May 2018|work=[[Newshub]]|date=10 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Vowles|first1=Jack|title=Towards Consensus?: The 1993 Election and Referendum in New Zealand and the Transition to Proportional Representation|date=2013|publisher=Auckland University Press|isbn=978-1869407162|pages=20–23|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G0JeAwAAQBAJ}}</ref>