Editing New Zealand Labour Party (section)

=== Fourth Government (1984–1990) ===
{{main|Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand}}
[[File:David Lange (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|The free-market policies of [[David Lange]]'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 of New Zealand|Third National Government]].{{sfn|Miller|2005|pp=38–39}} Government debt was skyrocketing, due largely to the costs of borrowing to maintain a [[Fixed exchange rate system|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 [[1984 New Zealand constitutional crisis|a constitutional crisis]] and precipitating some of the changes in the [[Constitution Act 1986]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Patriated – History of the Governor-General|url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/history-of-the-governor-general/patriated|publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage|access-date=19 June 2017|language= en}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Gray|first1=Tim|last2=Reardon|first2=John|title=About Turn: An Analysis of the Causes of the New Zealand Labour Party's Adoption of Neo-Liberal Policies 1984–1990|journal= Political Quarterly|year=2007|volume=78|issue=3|page=447 455|doi=10.1111/j.1467-923X.2007.00872.x |url= http://eprint.ncl.ac.uk/file_store/production/28177/3E59BD56-D5F3-4E4B-A565-9C7078145D81.pdf}}</ref><ref name="Easton">{{cite encyclopedia |author1-link=Brian Easton (economist) |last1=Easton |first1=Brian |title=Economic history – Government and market liberalisation |url= https://teara.govt.nz/en/economic-history/page-11 |encyclopedia=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] | date=11 March 2010 |access-date=17 July 2020}}</ref> This involved floating the New Zealand dollar, cutting government spending, reducing taxes and removing almost all industry subsidies.<ref name="Easton"/> The government also revolutionised New Zealand's foreign policy, making the country a [[New Zealand nuclear-free zone|nuclear-free zone]], which resulted in suspension from the [[ANZUS]] alliance.<ref name="Lange1990">{{cite book| last =  Lange| first =  David| author-link = David Lange| title = Nuclear Free: The New Zealand Way| publisher = Penguin Books| year =  1990| location =  New Zealand}}</ref> Labour liberalised [[Immigration to New Zealand|immigration policy]] and promoted migration from Asia.<ref>{{cite journal|last1= Brawley|first1= Sean|title='No White Policy in NZ': Fact and Fiction in New Zealand's Asian Immigration Record, 1946–1978|journal=New Zealand Journal of History|date=1993|volume=27|issue=1|pages=33–36|url= http://www.nzjh.auckland.ac.nz/docs/1993/NZJH_27_1_03.pdf}}</ref>

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 [[New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990|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.{{sfn|Holland-Boston|1988|p=?}}

In {{NZ election link year|1987}} 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|blue-ribbon]] seat of [[Remuera (New Zealand electorate)|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.{{sfn|Miller|2005|p=40}} 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Social welfare & the state: Labour wins the 1987 election |url=http://sites.tepapa.govt.nz/sliceofheaven/web/html/rogernomicsobject8767.html?irn=2590 |website=sites.tepapa.govt.nz |publisher=Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Vowles 2013">{{cite book|last1=Vowles|first1=Jack|title=Voters' Vengeance: 1990 Election in New Zealand and the Fate of the Fourth Labour Government|date= 2013|publisher=Auckland University Press|isbn=978-1869407124|pages=14–15|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=0UFeAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT14|language=en}}</ref> The [[New Zealand Council of Trade Unions|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 (New Zealand)|NewLabour Party]], which later became a part of the left-wing [[Alliance (New Zealand political party)|Alliance Party]].{{sfn|Miller|2005|p=40}}<ref name="Vowles 2013"/> At the same time Roger Douglas and Lange fought intermittent battles inside Cabinet, with Douglas wanting to expand his economic programme dramatically. Lange strongly opposed a [[flat-tax]] proposal from Douglas and moved to sack him, resulting in political clashes throughout 1988 and the departure of Douglas from the Cabinet in December 1988. After the Labour Caucus re-elected Douglas to Cabinet on 3 August 1989, Lange resigned from office himself (8 August 1989), interpreting Douglas's reappointment as a vote of no confidence in his leadership.<ref name="Hubbard">{{cite news|last= Hubbard|first=Anthony|title=The Reluctant Prime Minister|url= http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9433705/The-Reluctant-Prime-Minister|access-date=24 December 2017 |work=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]]|date=23 November 2013}}</ref>

[[Geoffrey Palmer (politician)|Geoffrey Palmer]] became the new prime minister.<ref name="Hubbard"/> However, Palmer failed to rebuild the shattered remnants of Lange's government and in September 1990, [[Mike Moore (New Zealand politician)|Mike Moore]] replaced him. Despite Moore's ascension somewhat salvaging poll-ratings, Labour suffered its worst defeat since it first took office in 1935 (losing twenty-eight seats) as voters flung it into the political wilderness in a massive landslide.<ref name="Vowles 2013"/> National swept to power, seemingly repudiating the Lange/Douglas program, but then engaged in even more radical policies than Labour had contemplated. Political disillusionment caused by both governments was to be instrumental in the later adoption of [[mixed-member proportional representation]] (MMP) in 1993 (implemented in 1996).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Vowles |first1=Jack |title=The Politics of Electoral Reform in New Zealand |journal=International Political Science Review |date=1995 |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=95–115 |doi=10.1177/019251219501600107 |jstor=1601171 |s2cid=144488147 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1601171 |issn=0192-5121}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The road to MMP – The Royal Commission |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/fpp-to-mmp/royal-commission |publisher=[[Ministry for Culture and Heritage]] |language=en |date=18 June 2018 |access-date=11 February 2023}}</ref>

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).<ref name="boston"/><ref name="centre-left"/> When the {{NZ election link|1996}}, the first conducted under the MMP electoral system, gave the [[Balance of power (parliament)|balance of power]] to the centrist [[New Zealand First]] party, many believed that Labour would return to power, but in the end New Zealand First formed a coalition arrangement with the National Party. Despite initially appearing coherent, the coalition became increasingly unstable and eventually collapsed, leaving the National Party to govern as a [[minority government]] from 1998 to 1999.