1967 Eastern Maori by-election

New Zealand by-election

← 1966 general

12 August 1967 (1967-08-12)

1969 general →

Turnout

9,012 (60.70%)


Candidate	Paraone Reweti	Arnold Reedy	Maanu Paul
Party	Labour	National	Social Credit
Popular vote	4,460	2,416	1,219
Percentage	49.49	26.81	13.53

MP before election

Puti Tipene Watene
Labour

Elected MP

Paraone Reweti
Labour

The 1967 Eastern Māori by-election was a by-election for the electorate of Eastern Maori on 12 August 1967 during the 35th New Zealand Parliament.

Background

The by-election resulted from the death of the previous member Puti Tipene Watene on 14 June 1967.

Candidates

Labour

Labour selected Paraone Brown Reweti, a waterfront worker from Tauranga, as their candidate. He was selected from a large field of nominees at a meeting in Rotorua. The party did not disclose the exact amount, but indicated the number was about 15.^[1]

Two days after the selection meeting another meeting was held by supporters of unsuccessful nominees alleging irregularities in the selection and claiming that a member of the selection panel was biased as they had nominated one of the candidates. The rift group later sent a telegram to Labour Party head office to Allan McDonald, the general secretary of the party. The telegram contained details of the allegations and stated Reweti's selection was an "indictment against the Labour Party” and threatened to stand an independent candidate in protest.^[2]

The selection dispute resulted in an independent candidate, Donald Mairangi Bennett, being selected by the rift group. Bennett, a car salesman, was a son of Bishop Frederick Bennett. The group said they were standing not as a protest not against Reweti, but against a protest against the method by which he was selected.^[3]

National

The National Party had two candidates for nomination:^[4]

Hanara Tangiwha (Arnold) Reedy, a farmer from Ruatoria who had stood in the seat for National in 1963 and 1966
Monty Searancke, an employee of the Waterfront Industry Commission and former member of the Gisborne Native Affairs Department

Reedy was selected in a members ballot after which Searancke pledged his support for Reedy and undertook to accompany him on an electoral tour.^[4]

Results

The following table gives the election results:

1967 Eastern Maori by-election^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paraone Reweti	4,460	49.49
	National	Arnold Reedy	2,416	26.81	-3.93
	Social Credit	Maanu Paul	1,219	13.53	+3.11
	Independent Maori	Don Bennett	671	7.45
	Independent	Te Okanga Huata	246	2.73
Majority			2,044	22.68
Turnout			9,012	60.70	-15.58
Registered electors			14,849
	Labour hold		Swing

The by-election was won by Paraone Reweti, also of the Labour Party.

Notes

^ "Labour Party Candidate". The Press. Vol. CVII, no. 31417. 10 July 1967. p. 24.
^ "Protest Made - Choice of Candidate". The Press. Vol. CVII, no. 31419. 12 July 1967. p. 28.
^ "Eastern Maori - Independent Chosen". The Press. Vol. CVII, no. 31422. 15 July 1967. p. 14.
^ ^a ^b "National Choice - Eastern Maori Electorate". The Press. Vol. CVII, no. 31423. 17 July 1967. p. 12.
^ Norton 1988, p. 395.

References

Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946–1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. p. 395. ISBN 0-475-11200-8.
Wood, G. A. (1996) [1987]. Ministers and Members in the New Zealand Parliament (2 ed.). Dunedin: University of Otago Press. p. 113. ISBN 1-877133-00-0.