| 29th Parliament of New Zealand | |
| Body: | New Zealand Parliament |
| Election: | 1949 New Zealand general election |
| Government: | First National Government |
| Term Start: | 27 June 1950 |
| Term End: | 31 July 1951 |
| Before: | 28th Parliament |
| After: | 30th Parliament |
| Chamber1: | House of Representatives |
| Chamber1 Image: | File:33rd & 29th New Zealand Parliament Seating.png |
| Membership1: | 80 |
| Chamber1 Leader1 Type: | Speaker of the House |
| Chamber1 Leader1: | Matthew Oram |
| Chamber1 Leader2 Type: | Prime Minister |
| Chamber1 Leader2: | Sidney Holland |
| Chamber1 Leader3 Type: | Leader of the Opposition |
| Chamber1 Leader3: | Walter Nash from 17 January 1951 — Peter Fraser until 12 December 1950 † |
| Chamber2: | Legislative Council Abolished: 1 December 1950 |
| Membership2: | 54 |
| Chamber2 Leader1 Type: | Speaker of the Council |
| Chamber2 Leader1: | Thomas Bishop |
| Chamber2 Leader2 Type: | Leader of the Council |
| Chamber2 Leader2: | William Polson |
| Chamber3: | Sovereign |
| Chamber3 Leader1 Type: | Monarch |
| Chamber3 Leader1: | HM George VI |
| Chamber3 Leader2 Type: | Governor-General |
| Chamber3 Leader2: | HE Lt. Gen. The Lord Freyberg |
The 29th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. It opened in 1950, following the 1949 general election. It was dissolved in 1951 in preparation for the 1951 general election. The governing Labour Party had been defeated in the election by the National Party. This marked the end of the First Labour government and the beginning of the First National government.
Additionally, this Parliament saw the final meeting of the Upper House; the Legislative Council, which was abolished on 1 December 1950, making the New Zealand Parliament a unicameral legislative body.
See main article: 1949 New Zealand general election. The 1949 general election was held on Tuesday, 29 November in the Māori electorates and on Wednesday, 30 November in the general electorates, respectively.[1] A total of 80 MPs were elected; 49 represented North Island electorates, 27 represented South Island electorates, and the remaining four represented Māori electorates; this was the same distribution used since the . 1,113,852 voters were enrolled and the official turnout at the election was 93.5%.
The 29th Parliament sat for two sessions, and was prorogued on 18 July 1951.
| Session | Opened | Adjourned | |
|---|---|---|---|
| first | 27 June 1950 | 1 December 1950 | |
| second | 26 June 1951 | 13 July 1951 |
The National Party under Sidney Holland won the 1949 election, defeating Labour's second Fraser Ministry. Holland remained in power until 1957, when he stepped down due to ill health.
The National Government appointed 25 new members to the New Zealand Legislative Council (the so-called Suicide Squad), so that the Legislative Council Abolition Bill could be passed. With that legislation, the Legislative Council voted itself out of existence, and New Zealand has been unicameral since the last meeting of the Upper House on 1 December 1950.[2]
The table below shows the number of MPs in each party following the 1949 election and at dissolution:
| Affiliation | Members | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| At 1949 election | At dissolution | |||
| Government | 46 | 46 | ||
| Opposition | 34 | 34 | ||
| Total | 80 | 80 | ||
| Working Government majority | 12 | 12 | ||
Notes
There was one by-election during the term of the 29th Parliament.