THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY PROTECTION OF AUTHOR ’S COPYRIGHT This copy has been supplied by the Library of the University of Otago on the understanding that the following conditions will be observed: 1. To comply with s56 of the Copyright Act 1994 [NZ], this thesis copy must only be used for the purposes of research or private study. 2. The author's permission must be obtained before any material in the thesis is reproduced, unless such reproduction falls within the fair dealing guidelines of the Copyright Act 1994. Due acknowledgement must be made to the author in any citation. 3. No further copies may be made without the permission of the Librarian of the University of Otago. August 2010 I ORGANISATIONAL CHllliGE IN THE NEW ZEJ>..LAND LABOUR PARTY, 1974-81 DAVID J. STRACHAN A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Arts at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. September 1982 ii This thesis is dedicated to the memory of John A. Lee 1891 - 1982 "Champion of the Poor" iii ABSTRACT This thesis is an examination of the organisational changes that have occurred in the extra-parliamentary wing of the New Zealand Labour Party between the Annual Conferences of May 1974 and May 1981. Changes in the Party structure during the period are a major component of the study, with particular reference to the effects of these changes in the major metropolitan centres. The thesis attempts to examine the reasons for the major structural changes approved in 1974, the irmnediate impact of the new structures and the increased empha:sis given to implementing the 1974 blueprint, in the aftermath of Labour's election defeat in J.975. A central focus of the study in the post 1975 period is the activity of the N.Z. Council at the highest level of the Party and the Councils attempts to restructure the Party organisation. The thesis attempts to explain the reasons for the emergence of a more assertive N.Z. Council and for the consequential reduct.ion of the influence of the Parliarnenta,ry Labour Party in organisational matters. The first chapter is a prelude to the changes which occurred within the Party in the mid 1970's. It covers the 1967.:..73 period and traces the early attempts at constitutional change, the initial resistance to reform of the Party structure and gives reasons for the gradual acceptance of the need for change within the Party. iv Chapter two focuses on reasons for the major structural changes that were approved at the 1974 Annual Conference and examines the implications of these changes in the dominant organisational units of the Party at the national and local levels. Chapter three is devoted to a study of the internal reappraisal of Labour's organisation, in the wake of the disastrous 1975 election campaign, while chapter four deals with the attempts by the N.Z. Council, duri_ng the 1976-78 period, to respond to the serious organ­ isational problems facing the Party. A feature of this chapter is the build up in Party membership, which was intended to diminish the Party's conununications problems, and to establish a basis for the restructuring of the Party organisation. Chapter five is an account of the .tevival of the Labour Party at the local level during the 1976-78 period and explains how differ·· ent. forms of regional organisation evolved in the main centres. The long term consequences of the massive increase in branch membership are dealt with in chapter six. This chapter, which covers the first two years of Jim And.erton's Presidency, deals with the reasons for Anderton's victory, with the drive towards further modernisation of the Party machine (by means of a new look Executive) and with the effect of the increased assertiveness of the N.Z. Council in the internal Party arena.. 1 Chapter seven concentrates on the ' new breed" of Regional Organiser employed by the Party during the 1979-81 period and on attempts of these o_rganisers to upgrade the Party at tha regional level. V PREFACE In the course of this thesis, I have concentrated on the activi­ ties of the New Zealand Council at the highest administrative level of the Labour Party since 1974, and on the revival of the Party in the major metropolitan centres during the post 1975 period. Two areas which have not been dealt with - candidate recruitment and selection and Labour's Parliamentary Research Unit - have both under­ gone considerable change during the period under study. Both are worthy of further in depth research. Owing to the comparatively recent nature of the subject matter and to the relative lack of docun1entat.ion of the Labour Party gener­ ally, much of the primary research consisted of interviews with people prominent in Labour Party organisation over the period under study. In order to conduct these interviews it was necessary to travel to Auckland on one occasion, Wellington on four, and to Christchurch twice. A tape recorder was used on 28 occasions, and written accounts were taken during the 14 other interviews. All interviews dealing with the topic in d~t~ were conducted with the aid of a tape recorder. Authorities in the interviewing field strongly advocate the use of tape recorders. L.A. Dexter claims that it enables a much closer analysis of the interviewer vi 1 interviewee situation , while R.L. Gorden offers a rather more lengthy but substantive justification of the method: Wi th~ut ~ tape recorde~ he cannot be fully aware of where he accepted inadequate information without prob­ ing, where he missed specific opportunities to probe, and where he failed to note important nonverbal cues from the respondent. All of these can be recorded on tape and heard more accurately by the interviewer later when he is free from the strain of listening, recording and deciding what to say next. • The more we wish to explore for unanticipated types of response and the less sure we are of what categories of information are relevant to the problem, the more we should use a tape recorder, which admits nothing and allows the relevance of responses to be decided later. The greater the significance of the precise words used a11d the order in which ideas are expressed, the more necessary it is to use a tape recorder. The more important_it is for the interviewer to devote full attention to the respondent to obtain optimal inter­ personal relat~ons, the more important it is to use the tape recorder. On no occasion during the interviews conducted for this thesis did the interviewee have prior knowledge of the questions posed. I was considerably advantaged in my research generally, and by gaini.ng access to primary sources by my personal experience with­ in the New Zealand Labour Party. I have been an active member of the Party since 1974 and have been involved at branch, Labour Elect- orate Committee and Regional Council level. I was fortunate in hav­ ing been a delegate to all Annual Conferences since 1977, as well as " to all Regional Conferences in the Otago-Southland region since that date. 1. L.A. Dexter, Elite and ~ecialised lnterviewin~.r, Evanston, Northwestern University Press, 1970, P.59. 2. R. L. Gorden, Interviewing: Str~gy, ~L'echni_92.1es and Tact_ics, Homewood, Illonis, The Dorsey Press, 1975, P.274. vii I would like to thank all those interviewed for their co-oper- ation and willingness to speak openly about their activity within the Labour Party. In particular, I would like to thank Nick Barnett, Michael Bassett, Helen Clark, Allan Levett, J.B. Munro and Gerald O'Brien for their valuable assistance in allowing me access to personal papers and Party documents which formed an important part of my primary sources. Special thanks also to John Wybrow and Murdo MacMillan at Head Office, who went out their way to assist me in my research and who allowed me free access to Head Office files. I would like to note my sincere gratitude also to Linda Boock for her typing and to Claire Matthewson for her valuable assistance in the stylistic presentation of this thesis. Above all I am in­ debted to my supervisor, Associate Professor Antony Wood for his consistent willingness to offer assistance, advice and constructive criticism throughout the last two years. His time, understanding and tolerarice have been greatly appreciated. Finally, I would like to ex.press my appreciation to the Univer­ sity of Otago for its financial assistance, which enabled me to conduct valuable and ex.tensive research in Wellington and Auckland during May 1981. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS - . Pfil~FACE ..• " .... e •••••• ~ • ~ •• " ••• Cl e •••••••••••• " ••••••••••••••••••• ~ V INTRODUCTION ••••••••••••••••••••• , ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 1 1. PRELUDE TO CHANGE, 196 7-7 3 •.•..••••••••.••••.•••••..•..•..•• 9 2. BLUEPRINT FOR S'.rRUCTURAL REFORM ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 30 3. ELECTION DEFEAT EXPOSES ORGANISA'I'IONAL "WEAKNESSES ••••••••••• 52 4. RECONS'.rRUCTION BEGINS AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL, l976-78 ...•.•.• 68 5. REVIVAL IN 'l'HE LJ.""IBOUR HEARTLAND, 1976-78 .••.•..••...•..•.•.• 92 6. NEW IMPETUS FOR CHANGE AT 'l'HE NATIONAL LEVEL, 1979-:81 ••••••• 109 7. WINDS OF CJ.-rn.NGE AT '.rHE REGIONAL LEVEL, 1979-81 ••••.•..•••.•• 141 CONCLUSION ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 150 APPENDIX I. NEW ZEALAND LABOUR PARTY PRINCIPAL OFFICERS, 1916··82. • •. ·• .••••.•••••••..•.•.•••••.•••.•.•...•.• 158 APPENDIX II. FJ.ANAGE.MEN'.l' - a 10 POINT GUIDE ••••••••••••••••••••• 159 APPENDIX III. NEW ZEALAND LA.BOUR PARTY STRUCTURE AS AT .MAY 1 1981 ••.•••••••••••.••••.•.••••.••.•••..••...•••••• 163 BIBLIOGRJ.I.PHY ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 164 \ ix ABBREVIZ\ TIONS D.A.C. Divisional Area Council I.B.C. Inter-·Branch Council L.E.C. Labour Electorate Committee L.M.R.C. Labour Metropolitan Representation Committee L.R.C. Labour Representation Coromittee R.A.C. Regional Advisory Council 1 INTRODUCTION - " The period under study was a period of profound structural and organisational change within the New Zealand Labour Party.