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TheOfficial Opposition (formallyHis Majesty's Loyal Opposition) inNew Zealand is usually the largest political party or coalition that is not a member of the rulinggovernment—it does not provideministers. This is usually the second-largest party in theHouse of Representatives, although in certain unusual circumstances it may be the largest party (due to a larger government bloc), or even a third or fourth party.
The Official Opposition forms ashadow cabinet headed by theleader of the Opposition and comprising seniorMPs with the sameportfolio interests as the government's ministers. Unlike in theUnited Kingdom, where members of the shadow cabinet are called "shadow ministers," the members of New Zealand's shadow cabinet are called "opposition spokespeople."
The Opposition aims to hold the government accountable and to present itself to the national electorate as a credible government in waiting. For example, duringQuestion Time, Opposition spokespersons will ask questions of ministers with the aim of highlighting a weakness or embarrassing the government. Oppositions also engage in parliamentary gestures such asrefusal to grant confidence or voting down thebudget.[1]
With the introduction ofMMP in 1996 (afterreferendums in 1992 and 1993), there was consideration to remove the official role of the Opposition; with several parties outside the government, it was no longer clear which party, if any, wasthe Official Opposition.[2] This is complicated more by parties that occasionally act with the government and at other times vote against it. The unusual positioning that developed after the2005 election – in which minor partiessupported the government and received ministers but remained outside the Cabinet – further complicated the concept of 'opposition'. However, the continued dominance of the political scene by theNational andLabour parties means that the Official Opposition has been retained, and inevitably the Official Opposition is whichever of the National and Labour parties is not leading a government at the time. Parties and members of parliament outside the government that do not work with the Official Opposition party are said to "sit on thecross-benches".[3]
Grand coalitions have been formed only twice in New Zealand, on both occasions with the aim of forming a national response to a crisis. The first was the War Cabinet of 1915–1919, involving theReform andLiberal Parties, under the leadership of Reform Prime MinisterWilliam Massey.[4] The second was the Coalition Government of 1931–1935 to combat theGreat Depression, between the United Party (successor to the Liberal Party) and the Reform Party, and led by United leaderGeorge Forbes.[5] In both cases, Labour formed the official Opposition against these governments.[6] Before the Labour Party was formed in July 1916 there was a combined caucus of two parties (theUnited Labour Party andSocial Democratic Party) as well as several labour-aligned independents. The Labour caucus decided to maintain its independence by not joining the national ministry and its leader,Alfred Hindmarsh, declined a seat in the cabinet.[7]
TheLabour Party currently form the Official Opposition.
Below is a list of the shadow cabinets of New Zealand from 1965 to the present.
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