| 21st Parliament of New Zealand | |
| Body: | New Zealand Parliament |
| Election: | 1922 New Zealand general election |
| Government: | Reform Government |
| Term Start: | 7 February 1923 |
| Term End: | 1 October 1925 |
| Before: | 20th Parliament |
| After: | 22nd Parliament |
| Chamber1: | House of Representatives |
| Chamber1 Image: | File:21st New Zealand Parliament Seating.png |
| Membership1: | 80 |
| Chamber1 Leader1 Type: | Speaker of the House |
| Chamber1 Leader1: | Charles Statham |
| Chamber1 Leader2 Type: | Prime Minister |
| Chamber1 Leader2: | Gordon Coates from 30 May 1925 — William Massey until 14 May 1925 † |
| Chamber1 Leader3 Type: | Leader of the Opposition |
| Chamber1 Leader3: | George Forbes — Thomas Wilford until 13 August 1925 |
| Chamber2: | Legislative Council |
| Membership2: | 38 |
| Chamber2 Leader1 Type: | Speaker of the Council |
| Chamber2 Leader1: | Sir Walter Carncross |
| Chamber2 Leader2 Type: | Leader of the Council |
| Chamber2 Leader2: | Sir Francis Bell also as Prime Minister 14–30 May 1925 |
| Chamber3: | Sovereign |
| Chamber3 Leader1 Type: | Monarch |
| Chamber3 Leader1: | HM George V |
| Chamber3 Leader2 Type: | Governor-General |
| Chamber3 Leader2: | HE Gen. Sir Charles Fergusson |
The 21st New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1922 general election in December of that year.
See main article: 1922 New Zealand general election. The 1922 general election was held on Monday, 6 December in the Māori electorates and on Tuesday, 7 December in the general electorates, respectively.[1] A total of 80 MPs were elected; 45 represented North Island electorates, 31 represented South Island electorates, and the remaining four represented Māori electorates. 700,111 voters were enrolled and the official turnout at the election was 88.7%.
The 21st Parliament sat for four sessions (there were two sessions in 1923), and was prorogued on 14 October 1925.
| Session | Opened | Adjourned | |
|---|---|---|---|
| first | 7 February 1923 | 17 February 1923 | |
| second | 14 June 1923 | 29 August 1923 | |
| third | 26 June 1924 | 6 November 1924 | |
| fourth | 25 June 1925 | 1 October 1925 |
| width=30% colspan=2 align=center | Party | width=55% align=center | Leader(s) | width=15% align=center | Seats at start |
| Reform Party | William Massey | 37 | |||
| Liberal Party | Thomas Wilford | 22 | |||
| Labour Party | Harry Holland | 17 | |||
| Independents | 4 | ||||
| width=30% colspan=2 align=center | Party | width=55% align=center | Leader(s) | width=15% align=center | Seats at end |
| Reform Party | Gordon Coates | 37 | |||
| Liberal Party | George Forbes | 22 | |||
| Labour Party | Harry Holland | 17 | |||
| Independents | 4 | ||||
The second Massey Ministry led by William Massey of the Reform Party had come to power in August 1919. Massey ruled until his death on 10 May 1925. Francis Bell had been acting Prime Minister during Massey's illness and took on the temporary leadership following Massey's death. Bell led the Bell Ministry from 14 to 30 May 1925, when the Reform Party elected Gordon Coates as its leader. The Coates Ministry was in place for the remainder of the parliamentary term and for the duration of the 22nd Parliament.
Reform had a narrow margin of three votes in the house if Liberal and Labour combined as they did when the house resumed in February 1923 (but Bell, Witty and Isitt voted with Massey). Hence the Government could not introduce any controversial legislation, and Massey said it was "hell most of the time".
There were a number of changes during the term of the 21st Parliament.