| 42nd Parliament of New Zealand | |
| Body: | New Zealand Parliament |
| Election: | 1987 New Zealand general election |
| Government: | Fourth Labour Government |
| Term Start: | 16 September 1987 |
| Term End: | 6 September 1990 |
| Before: | 41st Parliament |
| After: | 43rd Parliament |
| Chamber1: | House of Representatives |
| Chamber1 Image: | File:42nd New Zealand Parliament Seating.png |
| Membership1: | 97 |
| Chamber1 Leader1 Type: | Speaker of the House |
| Chamber1 Leader1: | Kerry Burke |
| Chamber1 Leader2 Type: | Leader of the House |
| Chamber1 Leader2: | Jonathan Hunt |
| Chamber1 Leader3 Type: | Prime Minister |
| Chamber1 Leader3: | Mike Moore — Geoffrey Palmer until 3 September 1990 — David Lange until 8 August 1989 |
| Chamber1 Leader4 Type: | Leader of the Opposition |
| Chamber1 Leader4: | Jim Bolger |
| Chamber2: | Sovereign |
| Chamber2 Leader1 Type: | Monarch |
| Chamber2 Leader1: | Elizabeth II |
| Chamber2 Leader2 Type: | Governor-General |
| Chamber2 Leader2: | Paul Reeves |
| Session1 Start: | 16 September 1987 |
| Session1 End: | 12 December 1989 |
| Session2 Start: | 14 February 1990 |
| Session2 End: | 6 September 1990 |
The 42nd New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. Its composition was determined by the 1987 election, and it sat until the 1990 election.
The 42nd Parliament was the second (and final) term of the controversial fourth Labour Party government. Initially, the only other party in the 42nd Parliament was the National Party, with the Democratic Party having lost the two seats it held in the 41st Parliament. Later, a dissident Labour MP, Jim Anderton, would found the NewLabour Party in 1989.[1] Due to internal disputes within the Labour Party, there were three Prime Ministers during the 42nd Parliament: David Lange, Geoffrey Palmer, and Mike Moore.
The 42nd Parliament consisted of ninety-seven representatives. At the time, this was the highest number of representatives that Parliament had had, although it would later be exceeded. All of these representatives were chosen by single-member geographical electorates, including four Māori electorates.
The table below shows the number of MPs in each party following the 1987 election and at dissolution:
| Affiliation | Members | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| At 1987 election | At dissolution | |||
| 57 | 56 | |||
| Government total | ||||
| 40 | 40 | |||
| Not yet founded | 1 | |||
| Opposition total | 40 | 41 | ||
| Total | 97 | 97 | ||
| Working Government majority | 17 | 15 | ||
Notes
There were no by-elections held during the term of the 42nd Parliament.