1938: Labour 1.2

October 23, 2020

By AHNZ

The first Labour Government (Labour 1.0) came to power in 1935 and they were not a one-term thing. Michael Joseph Savage’s party was re-elected in a great landslide on 15 October 1938 which New Zealand would see again only in 2020 with the re-election of Labour 6.0 under Jacinda Ardern on 17 October 2020.

In 1938, as in 2020, National Party Members were cut down like grass. This included future Prime Minister Keith Holyoake whose Motueka had been gerrymandered as to be un-winnable except by Labour. Holyoake re-located to another electorate he was connected to (Pahiatua) to be an MP again and rebuild the shattered Opposition.

The way Holyoake and his supporters viewed Labour’s landslide back then also fits the repeated story these days. At the Holyoake family farewell from Motueka to the new home at Dannevirke, ‘Kiwi Keith’ had this to say of the political situation…

“…It will be seen that the great struggle of the future will be between those who believe that the state can and should control our every action on the one hand and those who believe in true democracy on the other hand…If the present public policy is continued, New Zealand is in for a time of long trouble. Sooner or later industry will face a tremendous crisis. When that time arrives the socialists will claim that industry has broken down and we must set up a completely socialist state…”- The Holyoake Years, Doughty (1977)

Holyoake was right to say this, as we would be right to say it now in 2020. However, New Zealanders have as much to fear from slippery socialist slope when National is running the hydroslide as Labour. History has shown that the ‘status quo seekers,’ National, are just as bad even if their founding idea was to combat the big slide.

Labour 1.0

Anarchist History of New Zealand prefers to refer to Governments as software iterations. Using numbers rather than names strips away a little of the false gravity while also demonstrating that each change in personnel and time period is nothing more than a re-iteration of what has come before. Thus, Labour 1.0 is the name for what others call “The First Labour Government.”

Labour 0.0– The early form of what would become the party and the Government, rising out of Blackball on the West Coast

Labour 1.0– Elected in 1935 under Michael Joseph Savage. A Cult of Personality. Pretended to build the first State House.

Labour 1.2– Re-elected in 1938 in a landslide. Savage’s death under a cloud of “psychopathology” ended the era that helped National form up and set (on paper at least) anti-socialist policies.

Labour 1.4– Peter Fraser took charge: Social Security Act. Harsh censorship. Cruel administrators. Ship thieves. Delayed elections. Maori exploitation.

Labour 1.6– Re-elected in 1943 but running out of steam and mandate now.  Orphan exploitation. Removed the Country Quota to tilt the electoral system their way and hold on just a bit longer.

Labour 1.8– Very narrow victory in 1946, Labour 1.0’s last gasp. Socialised Dentistry. Extinguished British Citizenship. Creation of NAC- a socialist airline. Incorporating Ratana into Labour. It wasn’t enough.

When the election came on 30 November 1949 it was an easy election win for National. If history repeats then Labour 6.0 will remain in office until 2031! And, so far, history is.

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Image ref. Holyoake; Alexander Turnbull Library

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