Robert Muldoon
Encyclopedia
Sir Robert David "Rob" Muldoon, GCMG, CH
(25 September 19215 August 1992) served as the 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand
from 1975 to 1984, as leader of the governing National Party
. Muldoon had been a prominent member of the National party and MP for the Tamaki electorate for some years prior to becoming leader of the party. During his time as a member of parliament and as Prime Minister, Muldoon was responsible for a number of major changes to the New Zealand economy, including the introduction of decimal currency and the Think Big
policies of the third National Government. Despite being something of a polarising figure during his time as Prime Minister, Muldoon's impact on New Zealand society faded after his retirement.
in 1921.
At age five Muldoon slipped while playing on the front gate, damaging his cheek and resulting in a distinctive scar. At age eight, Muldoon's father was admitted to hospital, where he died nearly 20 years later. This left Muldoon's mother to raise him on her own. During this time Muldoon came under the strong formative influence of his fiercely intelligent, iron-willed maternal grandmother, Jerusha, a committed socialist. Though Muldoon never accepted her creed, he did develop under her influence a potent ambition, a consuming interest in politics, and an abiding respect for New Zealand's welfare state
. A brilliant student at school, Muldoon won a scholarship to attend Mount Albert Grammar School
from 1933 to 1936. He left school at age 15, finding work at Fletcher Construction
as an arrears clerk.
during the Second World War, and served in the South Pacific and in Italy. While in Italy he served in the same battalion (Divisional Cavalry) as two other future National Party colleagues, Duncan MacIntyre and Jack Marshall
. He completed his training as an accountant, sitting his final exams to become an accountant while in Italy. He returned to New Zealand after the war as the country's first fully qualified cost accountant.
In March 1947 Muldoon joined a newly founded branch of the Junior Nationals
, the youth wing of the conservative New Zealand National Party
. He quickly became active in the party, making two sacrificial-lamb bids for Parliament against entrenched but vulnerable Labour
incumbents in 1954
(Mount Albert
) and 1957
(Waitemata
). But in 1960
he won election as MP for the suburban Auckland electorate of Tamaki
, winning against Bob Tizard, who had taken the former National seat in 1957. In 1960
, an electoral swing brought Keith Holyoake
to power as Prime Minister of the Second National Government
. Muldoon would represent the Tamaki constituency for the next 32 years.
, Harry Lake
. While holding this office, he took responsibility for the successful introduction of decimal currency into New Zealand in July 1967.
When Lake died in 1967, Muldoon seemed the natural (and only obvious) choice to replace him; at 45, he became the youngest Minister of Finance since the 1890s. However, because Holyoake saw Muldoon as too arrogant and ambitious for his own good, he ranked him only eighth in Cabinet. Traditionally Ministers of Finance rank second or third in seniority lists within Westminster-style Cabinets, although his predecessor Harry Lake
was ranked at sixth because of his short service in Parliament.
Muldoon opposed both abortion and capital punishment. In 1961 he was one of ten National MPs to cross the floor and vote with the Opposition to remove capital punishment
for murder from the Crimes Bill that the Second National Government
had introduced. Later, in 1977, he voted against abortion when the issue also came up as a conscience vote.
From his early years as a Member of Parliament, Muldoon became known as Piggy; the epithet that would remain with him throughout his life even amongst those who were his supporters. Muldoon himself seemed to relish his controversial public profile and later claimed that he thought that satirical critics were not hard enough on him.
Muldoon established a considerable national profile rapidly; many historians credit his image, rather than that of the Prime Minister, Holyoake, or of his deputy, Jack Marshall
, for the National Party's surprise victory in the 1969 election
. He also displayed a flair – lacking in his senior colleagues – for the newly introduced medium of television; commentators still consider him one of New Zealand's most artful practitioners of media manipulation
.
.
on a slogan of "Man For Man, The Strongest Team" – an allusion to Marshall's own low-key style, particularly compared to his deputy. Muldoon commented on Labour's election promises with "They can’t promise anything because I’ve
spent it all". The party lost control of the House, ending 12 years in power
. In the aftermath, Marshall resigned, and Muldoon took over, becoming Leader of the Opposition
on 4 July 1974. Many members of the party caucus regarded Marshall as not up to the task of taking on the formidable Labour
Prime Minister, Norman Kirk
.
Muldoon, on the other hand, relished the opportunity – but had it for only a short time, until Kirk's sudden death on 31 August 1974. In the 1975 election
, Muldoon overwhelmed Kirk's more lacklustre successor, Bill Rowling, reversing the 32–55 Labour majority into a 55–32 National majority. His platform offered "New Zealand – The Way You Want It", promising a generous national superannuation
scheme to replace Kirk and Rowling's employer-contribution superannuation scheme (which the famous "Dancing Cossack" television advertisement implied would turn New Zealand into a communist state), and undertaking to fix New Zealand's "shattered economy". Economics correspondent Brian Gaynor has claimed that Muldoon's policy of reversing Labour's saving-scheme lost New Zealand the chance of transforming the New Zealand economy.
Labour responded with a campaign called Citizens for Rowling
, described by Muldoon as "not even a thinly disguised" attack on himself.
Muldoon led National to victory in 1978
and 1981
; however, in both elections, the Labour opposition received more popular votes across the country as a whole. This ambiguous mandate did not dilute Muldoon's agenda, and he became more emphatic and autocratic as his time in power continued.
The "Muldoon Years" featured Muldoon's obstinate and resourceful attempts to maintain New Zealand's "cradle to the grave" welfare state
, dating from 1935, in the face of a changing world. The country's economy suffered the aftermath of the 1973 energy crisis, the loss of New Zealand's biggest export market upon Britain's entry to the European Economic Community
, and rampant inflation.
Concerned about the use of foreign exchange
during the 1970s' oil crises, Muldoon supported a scheme whereby natural gas or a dual-fuel gas–petrol system could power cars. Muldoon's 1979 budget introduced incentives to encourage the conversions, and New Zealand emerged as possibly the first country to have dual-fuel cars as a commonplace sight. However, the projection that oil prices would become ever-higher did not happen during this period.
In 1980 an abortive attempt, known as the Colonels' Coup, took place to replace Muldoon with his more economically liberal deputy, Brian Talboys
. However, Talboys proved a somewhat reluctant draftee, and Muldoon saw the plotters off with relative ease. No other serious challenge to Muldoon's authority occurred in his years as Prime Minister.
Muldoon became a Companion of Honour
in the 1970s, and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
in 1983, only the second New Zealand Prime Minister (after Sir Keith Holyoake
) to receive a knighthood while still in office.
leadership: a reduction in the tax rate against an agreement not to press for further rounds of wage increases. When this strategy proved unsuccessful, as a last resort, Muldoon imposed a total freeze on wages, prices, interest rates and dividends across the country, against a "sweetener" of a tax cut which cost the New Zealand treasury approximately a billion New Zealand dollars and held the country in that state against the hope that his "Think Big" strategy, in which the government borrowed heavily and pumped the funds into large-scale industrial projects, would create trickle-down benefits in the form of jobs and revenue.
That never happened: most of the Think Big projects yielded minimal profit while Muldoon was still Prime Minister and many were hampered by industrial disputes. With a fiscal deficit and with a billion dollars not now coming into treasury coffers, Muldoon was also obliged to borrow to fund the welfare state and New Zealand's agricultural subsidies. Ultimately the Wage and Price Freeze, which had been intended only to last for a year, remained in force for nearly two years. Years later, Muldoon admitted that the freeze was a political mistake.
squad of apartheid-era South Africa. By allowing "the Tour", Muldoon was accused of breaking the 1977 Gleneagles Agreement
(to form a common policy on sporting with South Africa amongst the Commonwealth, signed after the boycott of the Montreal Olympics in 1976). Muldoon noted, however, that the Gleneagles Agreement had been amended and, in an article in The Times
, that he had not broken the Gleneagles Agreement because "New Zealand and subsequently other countries made it clear that they could not subscribe to an agreement which required them to abrogate the freedoms of their sportsmen and prohibit sporting contacts". "The Tour", as it has become known, provoked massive public demonstrations, the formation of public pressure group Halt All Racist Tours
(HART) and some of the worst social schisms New Zealand has ever seen. Muldoon came down firmly on the pro-Tour side, arguing that sport and politics should be kept separate. He argued that his refusal to ban the Springboks was anti-authoritarian, leaving it up to individual consciences whether to play sports with representatives of apartheid. He also argued that allowing their rugby team to tour did not mean supporting apartheid any more than playing a Soviet Union
team meant supporting Communism. Despite the turmoil over "The Tour" created within New Zealand, Muldoon's New Zealand National Party
won the subsequent election held later that year.
. While New Zealand did not directly participate in the conflict, Muldoon undertook to send the frigates HMNZS Canterbury and HMNZS Waikato
to the Indian Ocean to relieve Royal Navy frigates, so that they could in their turn deploy in the conflict. New Zealand also broke off its diplomatic relations with Argentina. In defence of his support for the war, Muldoon wrote an article that was published in The Times
, entitled "Why we Stand by our Mother Country". According to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
, Muldoon said of his stance towards the Falklands: "With the Falkland Islanders it is family" and that he had reminded her: "Don't forget. In New Zealand, we are still a member of the same family."
(CER) free-trade programme with Australia to liberalise trade, which came into effect from New Year's Day 1982. The aim of total free trade between the two countries was achieved in 1990, five years ahead of schedule.
over highly contentious Opposition-sponsored nuclear-free New Zealand
legislation, in which Waring told him she would cross the floor
(giving the Opposition a victory). On 14 June 1984, a visibly drunk
Muldoon called a snap election
for 14 July that same year. (Historians noted the unfortunate coincidence with Bastille Day
). A journalist commented that this did not give him much time to campaign. Muldoon replied "It doesn't give my opponents much time". He was heavily defeated by David Lange's
resurgent Labour Party, which won 56 seats to National's 37 with a massive vote splitting
caused by the New Zealand Party
in particular. Muldoon's drunkenness when announcing the election date led to it being known as the schnapps election.
It is a strong convention in New Zealand politics that a prime minister does not ask for an early election
unless he or she cannot govern, or unless they need to seek the electorate's endorsement on a matter of national importance (as was the case in 1951
). Muldoon justified the snap election because he felt Waring's revolt impeded his ability to govern. Indeed, it was obvious that Muldoon was finding it hard to pass financial measures with neo-liberal rebels like Ruth Richardson
and Derek Quigley
voting against the Government on certain issues; however, some historians have been critical of this excuse, as Waring said that she would not have denied Muldoon confidence or supply
, and would not have prevented him from governing, as the government still had the constitutional means to govern.
, then Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand
, became concerned that the New Zealand dollar
(which had a fixed exchange-rate to the US Dollar) had become significantly overvalued and was vulnerable to currency speculation on the financial markets in the event of a "significant political event". This was exacerbated by media speculation following a leak that an incoming Labour administration would be likely to significantly devalue the NZ dollar upon election. The Reserve Bank counselled Muldoon that the dollar should be devalued. Muldoon ignored the advice, owing to his belief that it would hurt poor New Zealanders in the medium term, and in June 1984 announced the snap election mentioned above which, as predicted, caused an immediate run on the dollar.
Following the election the controversy became a constitutional crisis
: Muldoon refused to do as the incoming government instructed, causing the currency crisis to worsen. Eventually he relented however, after his position as leader of the National party was threatened by members of his caucus.
After nine years, Muldoon's stewardship of the nation and its economy ceased. The newly elected radically neo-liberal and unexpectedly pro-free market Fourth Labour Government embarked on a series of fundamental free-market reforms known (after Labour's finance minister Roger Douglas
) as Rogernomics
, and which were then continued from 1990 to 1994 by the succeeding National government's policies known as (after National's finance minister Ruth Richardson
) as Ruthanasia
. These policies marked a fundamental break with the more interventionist policies of Muldoon's era.
, deposed him as National Party leader shortly after the election. McLay lasted two years in the role, with Muldoon and others actively undermining his leadership. In 1986, he was ousted in turn by his own deputy (and Muldoon's preferred candidate), Jim Bolger
, who had served as Minister of Labour for the latter half of Muldoon's term as Prime Minister. Bolger made Muldoon spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, pitting him directly against Prime Minister David Lange.
Muldoon remained in Parliament as the MP for Tamaki until shortly before his death. He lived through the Fourth Labour Government
's neo-liberal reforms, known as Rogernomics
, and to his horror – to see a National government (led by his own man, Bolger, after winning the landslide of 1990
) take up the same baton with Ruthanasia
, named after Finance Minister Ruth Richardson. Muldoon's conscience tormented him; he could not bring himself to vote with the Labour Party against the Bolger government's benefit cuts, and, looking miserable, abstained.
Muldoon also opposed the legalisation of homosexual behaviour when Labour MP Fran Wilde
introduced the Homosexual Law Reform Bill
in 1985. The Bill passed as the Homosexual Law Reform Act in 1986.
Although he remained iconic to particular segments of society, particularly the elderly, Muldoon faded quickly as a force on the political scene. His biographer, Barry Gustafson
– who described himself as not a Muldoon supporter – wrote that he still served as an active MP for his Tamaki electorate, dealing immediately with matters from all walks of life. He continued to write in international economic journals, arguing that the unemployment that had arisen as a result of the free-market reforms was worse than the gains that were made, a view that came to be popular by the time of the Fifth Labour Government in 1999.
Muldoon had a short stage career in a New Zealand production of The Rocky Horror Show
, held at Auckland's His Majesty's Theatre (demolished soon after the production ended), starring as the narrator. He also had minor television appearances on commercials for Panasonic
(when it changed its brand name in New Zealand from "National") and in the television series Terry and the Gunrunners (as Arnos Grove) and in The Friday Frights (as the host); he also hosted a talkback radio show entitled Lilies and Other Things, referencing his favourite flower on Radio Pacific
.
On this show, on 17 November 1991, Muldoon announced he would stand down from Parliament; he formally retired one month later, on 17 December. His retirement party featured taped speeches from Ronald Reagan
(commenting that at Muldoon's age, he was only getting started) and Margaret Thatcher
. He fell seriously ill almost immediately, and died in hospital on 5 August 1992, aged 70.
He is buried at Purewa Cemetery, Meadowbank, Auckland, in a plot that faces Auckland City.
Curiously, he also became patron of the Black Power gang for whom he had created work schemes and advised on the better treatment of women and children associated with the gang. Members paid him solemn respect by performing two haka
during his funeral in 1992.
Historians like Gustafson and Brian Easton
criticise Muldoon because, according to them, he pursued an ultimately unsustainable line of policy.
Some argue that he was responsible for much of the pain caused by the free-market reforms of 1984–1993, because by holding on for as long as he did he forced the inevitable reforms to be implemented with unusual speed and severity. However, this view is not universal, and many also argue that the free market reformers of the 1980s and 1990s used Muldoon as an excuse to embark on radical ideological programs.
Muldoon famously declared upon becoming Prime Minister that he hoped to leave New Zealand "no worse off than I found it". He dominated New Zealand politics for over a decade, and still influences the conduct of government . Gustafson gives him the following epitaph: "By 1992 New Zealand had not become what Muldoon or many other New Zealanders wanted it to be but he was not prepared to take the blame for that. Muldoon died unrepentant and still convinced that his way, even if never perfect, had been a better way."
on Muldoon leaving office.
Order of the Companions of Honour
The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V in June 1917, as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry or religion....
(25 September 19215 August 1992) served as the 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand
Prime Minister of New Zealand
The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...
from 1975 to 1984, as leader of the governing National Party
New Zealand National Party
The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...
. Muldoon had been a prominent member of the National party and MP for the Tamaki electorate for some years prior to becoming leader of the party. During his time as a member of parliament and as Prime Minister, Muldoon was responsible for a number of major changes to the New Zealand economy, including the introduction of decimal currency and the Think Big
Think Big
The New Zealand Prime Minister Robert Muldoon and his New Zealand National Party government in the early 1980s sponsored Think Big as an interventionist state economic strategy. The Think Big schemes saw the government borrow heavily overseas, running up a large external deficit, and using the...
policies of the third National Government. Despite being something of a polarising figure during his time as Prime Minister, Muldoon's impact on New Zealand society faded after his retirement.
Youth
Robert David Muldoon was born to parents Jim and Amie Muldoon in AucklandAuckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
in 1921.
At age five Muldoon slipped while playing on the front gate, damaging his cheek and resulting in a distinctive scar. At age eight, Muldoon's father was admitted to hospital, where he died nearly 20 years later. This left Muldoon's mother to raise him on her own. During this time Muldoon came under the strong formative influence of his fiercely intelligent, iron-willed maternal grandmother, Jerusha, a committed socialist. Though Muldoon never accepted her creed, he did develop under her influence a potent ambition, a consuming interest in politics, and an abiding respect for New Zealand's welfare state
Welfare state
A welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...
. A brilliant student at school, Muldoon won a scholarship to attend Mount Albert Grammar School
Mount Albert Grammar School
Mount Albert Grammar School, or MAGS, is a co-educational secondary school in Central Auckland, New Zealand. It teaches from year 9 to year 13. Mount Albert Grammar is one of the largest secondary schools in the country...
from 1933 to 1936. He left school at age 15, finding work at Fletcher Construction
Fletcher Construction
Fletcher Construction Limited is a leading New Zealand construction company. It is owned by Fletcher Building Limited and has three main divisions:*Building and interiors *South Pacific...
as an arrears clerk.
Early career
In 1939 Muldoon joined the New Zealand ArmyNew Zealand Army
The New Zealand Army , is the land component of the New Zealand Defence Force and comprises around 4,500 Regular Force personnel, 2,000 Territorial Force personnel and 500 civilians. Formerly the New Zealand Military Forces, the current name was adopted around 1946...
during the Second World War, and served in the South Pacific and in Italy. While in Italy he served in the same battalion (Divisional Cavalry) as two other future National Party colleagues, Duncan MacIntyre and Jack Marshall
Jack Marshall
Sir John Ross Marshall, GBE, CH, , generally known as Jack Marshall, was a New Zealand politician. After spending twelve years as Deputy Prime Minister, he served as the 28th Prime Minister for most of 1972....
. He completed his training as an accountant, sitting his final exams to become an accountant while in Italy. He returned to New Zealand after the war as the country's first fully qualified cost accountant.
In March 1947 Muldoon joined a newly founded branch of the Junior Nationals
New Zealand Young Nationals
The New Zealand Young Nationals are the youth wing of the New Zealand National Party a centre-right political party in New Zealand. It is a member of the International Young Democrat Union.-History:...
, the youth wing of the conservative New Zealand National Party
New Zealand National Party
The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...
. He quickly became active in the party, making two sacrificial-lamb bids for Parliament against entrenched but vulnerable Labour
New Zealand Labour Party
The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....
incumbents in 1954
New Zealand general election, 1954
The 1954 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 31st term. It saw the governing National Party remain in office, but with a slightly reduced majority...
(Mount Albert
Mount Albert (New Zealand electorate)
Mount Albert is a Parliamentary electorate in Auckland, New Zealand, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. It has been represented by David Shearer since a by-election on 13 June 2009. It was represented by Helen Clark from the 1981 general election until...
) and 1957
New Zealand general election, 1957
The 1957 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 32nd term. It saw the governing National Party narrowly defeated by the Labour Party...
(Waitemata
Waitemata (New Zealand electorate)
Waitemata was a New Zealand parliamentary electorate, from 1871 to 1946, and then from 1954 to 1978.-Population centres:This electorate is in the suburbs of Auckland.-History:The electorate existed from 1871 to 1946, and from 1954 to 1978...
). But in 1960
New Zealand general election, 1960
The 1960 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 33rd term. It saw the governing Labour Party defeated by the National Party, putting an end to the short second Labour government.-Background:...
he won election as MP for the suburban Auckland electorate of Tamaki
Tamaki (New Zealand electorate)
Tāmaki is a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The electorate is named after the Tamaki River that runs immediately east of the seat...
, winning against Bob Tizard, who had taken the former National seat in 1957. In 1960
New Zealand general election, 1960
The 1960 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 33rd term. It saw the governing Labour Party defeated by the National Party, putting an end to the short second Labour government.-Background:...
, an electoral swing brought Keith Holyoake
Keith Holyoake
Sir Keith Jacka Holyoake, KG, GCMG, CH, QSO, KStJ was a New Zealand politician. The only person to have been both Prime Minister and Governor-General of New Zealand, Holyoake was National Party Prime Minister from 20 September 1957 to 12 December 1957, then again from 12 December 1960 to 7...
to power as Prime Minister of the Second National Government
Second National Government of New Zealand
The Second National Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 1960 to 1972. It was a conservative government which sought mainly to preserve the economic prosperity and general stability of the early 1960s...
. Muldoon would represent the Tamaki constituency for the next 32 years.
Entry into Cabinet
Muldoon displayed a flair for debate and a diligence in his backbench work, and in 1963 he became Under-Secretary to the Minister of FinanceMinister of Finance (New Zealand)
The Minister of Finance is a senior figure within the government of New Zealand. The position is often considered to be the most important Cabinet role after that of the Prime Minister....
, Harry Lake
Harry Lake
Harry Robson Lake , a New Zealand politician, served as Minister of Finance for six years in the second National government, in the 1960s...
. While holding this office, he took responsibility for the successful introduction of decimal currency into New Zealand in July 1967.
Minister of Finance
Harry Lake
Harry Robson Lake , a New Zealand politician, served as Minister of Finance for six years in the second National government, in the 1960s...
was ranked at sixth because of his short service in Parliament.
Muldoon opposed both abortion and capital punishment. In 1961 he was one of ten National MPs to cross the floor and vote with the Opposition to remove capital punishment
Capital punishment in New Zealand
Capital punishment in New Zealand first appeared in a codified form when New Zealand became a British territory in 1840, and was first employed in 1842. It was last used in 1957, abolished for murder in 1961, and abolished altogether, including for treason, in 1989. During the period that it was in...
for murder from the Crimes Bill that the Second National Government
Second National Government of New Zealand
The Second National Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 1960 to 1972. It was a conservative government which sought mainly to preserve the economic prosperity and general stability of the early 1960s...
had introduced. Later, in 1977, he voted against abortion when the issue also came up as a conscience vote.
From his early years as a Member of Parliament, Muldoon became known as Piggy; the epithet that would remain with him throughout his life even amongst those who were his supporters. Muldoon himself seemed to relish his controversial public profile and later claimed that he thought that satirical critics were not hard enough on him.
Muldoon established a considerable national profile rapidly; many historians credit his image, rather than that of the Prime Minister, Holyoake, or of his deputy, Jack Marshall
Jack Marshall
Sir John Ross Marshall, GBE, CH, , generally known as Jack Marshall, was a New Zealand politician. After spending twelve years as Deputy Prime Minister, he served as the 28th Prime Minister for most of 1972....
, for the National Party's surprise victory in the 1969 election
New Zealand general election, 1969
The 1969 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 36th term. It saw the governing National Party win a fourth consecutive term, under Prime Minister Keith Holyoake.-The Election:...
. He also displayed a flair – lacking in his senior colleagues – for the newly introduced medium of television; commentators still consider him one of New Zealand's most artful practitioners of media manipulation
Media manipulation
Media manipulation is an aspect of public relations in which partisans create an image or argument that favours their particular interests. Such tactics may include the use of logical fallacies and propaganda techniques, and often involve the suppression of information or points of view by crowding...
.
Deputy Prime Minister
When Holyoake stood down in 1971, Muldoon challenged Marshall for the top job; he lost by a narrow margin, but won unanimous election as deputy leader of the National Party and hence Deputy Prime MinisterDeputy Prime Minister of New Zealand
The Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand is second most senior officer in the Government of New Zealand, although this seniority does not necessarily translate into power....
.
Leader of the Opposition
Marshall fought the 1972 electionNew Zealand general election, 1972
The New Zealand general election of 1972 was held to elect MPs to the 37th session of the New Zealand Parliament. The Labour Party, led by Norman Kirk, defeated the governing National Party.-Background:...
on a slogan of "Man For Man, The Strongest Team" – an allusion to Marshall's own low-key style, particularly compared to his deputy. Muldoon commented on Labour's election promises with "They can’t promise anything because I’ve
spent it all". The party lost control of the House, ending 12 years in power
Political power
Political power is a type of power held by a group in a society which allows administration of some or all of public resources, including labour, and wealth. There are many ways to obtain possession of such power. At the nation-state level political legitimacy for political power is held by the...
. In the aftermath, Marshall resigned, and Muldoon took over, becoming Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition (New Zealand)
The Leader of the Opposition in New Zealand is the politician who, at least in theory, commands the support of the non-government bloc of members in the New Zealand Parliament. In the debating chamber the Leader of the Opposition sits directly opposite the Prime Minister...
on 4 July 1974. Many members of the party caucus regarded Marshall as not up to the task of taking on the formidable Labour
New Zealand Labour Party
The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....
Prime Minister, Norman Kirk
Norman Kirk
Norman Eric Kirk was the 29th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1972 until his sudden death in 1974. He led the Parliamentary wing of the New Zealand Labour Party from 1965 to 1974. He was the fourth Labour Prime Minister of New Zealand, but the first to be born in New Zealand...
.
Muldoon, on the other hand, relished the opportunity – but had it for only a short time, until Kirk's sudden death on 31 August 1974. In the 1975 election
New Zealand general election, 1975
The 1975 New Zealand general election was held to elect MPs to the 38th session of the New Zealand Parliament. It was the first election in New Zealand where 18-20 year olds and all permanent residents of New Zealand were eligible to vote, although only citizens were able to be...
, Muldoon overwhelmed Kirk's more lacklustre successor, Bill Rowling, reversing the 32–55 Labour majority into a 55–32 National majority. His platform offered "New Zealand – The Way You Want It", promising a generous national superannuation
Social security
Social security is primarily a social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. Social security may refer to:...
scheme to replace Kirk and Rowling's employer-contribution superannuation scheme (which the famous "Dancing Cossack" television advertisement implied would turn New Zealand into a communist state), and undertaking to fix New Zealand's "shattered economy". Economics correspondent Brian Gaynor has claimed that Muldoon's policy of reversing Labour's saving-scheme lost New Zealand the chance of transforming the New Zealand economy.
Labour responded with a campaign called Citizens for Rowling
Citizens for Rowling
The Citizens for Rowling campaign was a campaign named after then Labour Prime Minister of New Zealand Bill Rowling in the lead up to the 1975 general election. Members of the campaign publicly signed the "Citizens for Rowling" petition warning against a National government led by Robert Muldoon...
, described by Muldoon as "not even a thinly disguised" attack on himself.
Prime minister
Muldoon had remained National's Finance spokesman when he became party leader, and as a result became Minister of Finance as well as Prime Minister – the last to hold both posts . He had a reputation as combative, and many people in political positions and the media feared openly confronting him.New Zealand general election, 1978
The 1978 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to elect the 39th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the governing National Party, led by Robert Muldoon, retain office, although the opposition Labour Party managed to win the largest share of the vote...
and 1981
New Zealand general election, 1981
The 1981 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 40th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the governing National Party, led by Robert Muldoon, win a third term in office, although the opposition Labour Party, led by Bill Rowling, actually won the largest share of...
; however, in both elections, the Labour opposition received more popular votes across the country as a whole. This ambiguous mandate did not dilute Muldoon's agenda, and he became more emphatic and autocratic as his time in power continued.
The "Muldoon Years" featured Muldoon's obstinate and resourceful attempts to maintain New Zealand's "cradle to the grave" welfare state
Welfare state
A welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...
, dating from 1935, in the face of a changing world. The country's economy suffered the aftermath of the 1973 energy crisis, the loss of New Zealand's biggest export market upon Britain's entry to the European Economic Community
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) The European Economic Community (EEC) (also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world, renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993The information in this article primarily covers the EEC's time as an independent...
, and rampant inflation.
Concerned about the use of foreign exchange
Foreign exchange market
The foreign exchange market is a global, worldwide decentralized financial market for trading currencies. Financial centers around the world function as anchors of trading between a wide range of different types of buyers and sellers around the clock, with the exception of weekends...
during the 1970s' oil crises, Muldoon supported a scheme whereby natural gas or a dual-fuel gas–petrol system could power cars. Muldoon's 1979 budget introduced incentives to encourage the conversions, and New Zealand emerged as possibly the first country to have dual-fuel cars as a commonplace sight. However, the projection that oil prices would become ever-higher did not happen during this period.
In 1980 an abortive attempt, known as the Colonels' Coup, took place to replace Muldoon with his more economically liberal deputy, Brian Talboys
Brian Talboys
Sir Brian Edward Talboys, CH, KCB, AC, is a former New Zealand politician. He served as Deputy Prime Minister for the first two terms of Robert Muldoon's premiership. If the abortive "Colonels' Coup" against Muldoon had been successful, Talboys would have become Prime Minister himself.-Early...
. However, Talboys proved a somewhat reluctant draftee, and Muldoon saw the plotters off with relative ease. No other serious challenge to Muldoon's authority occurred in his years as Prime Minister.
Muldoon became a Companion of Honour
Order of the Companions of Honour
The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V in June 1917, as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry or religion....
in the 1970s, and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
in 1983, only the second New Zealand Prime Minister (after Sir Keith Holyoake
Keith Holyoake
Sir Keith Jacka Holyoake, KG, GCMG, CH, QSO, KStJ was a New Zealand politician. The only person to have been both Prime Minister and Governor-General of New Zealand, Holyoake was National Party Prime Minister from 20 September 1957 to 12 December 1957, then again from 12 December 1960 to 7...
) to receive a knighthood while still in office.
Think Big
As economic pressures continued to build, Muldoon tried to control spiralling wages through a trade-off with the trade-unionTrade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
leadership: a reduction in the tax rate against an agreement not to press for further rounds of wage increases. When this strategy proved unsuccessful, as a last resort, Muldoon imposed a total freeze on wages, prices, interest rates and dividends across the country, against a "sweetener" of a tax cut which cost the New Zealand treasury approximately a billion New Zealand dollars and held the country in that state against the hope that his "Think Big" strategy, in which the government borrowed heavily and pumped the funds into large-scale industrial projects, would create trickle-down benefits in the form of jobs and revenue.
That never happened: most of the Think Big projects yielded minimal profit while Muldoon was still Prime Minister and many were hampered by industrial disputes. With a fiscal deficit and with a billion dollars not now coming into treasury coffers, Muldoon was also obliged to borrow to fund the welfare state and New Zealand's agricultural subsidies. Ultimately the Wage and Price Freeze, which had been intended only to last for a year, remained in force for nearly two years. Years later, Muldoon admitted that the freeze was a political mistake.
Springbok tour of 1981
Professing a belief that politics should not interfere with sport, Muldoon resisted pressure to bar the 1981 Springbok Tour by the Springboks, the national rugbyRugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
squad of apartheid-era South Africa. By allowing "the Tour", Muldoon was accused of breaking the 1977 Gleneagles Agreement
Gleneagles Agreement
The Gleneagles Agreement was unanimously approved by the Commonwealth of Nations at a meeting at Gleneagles, Auchterarder, Scotland. In 1977, Commonwealth Presidents and Prime Ministers agreed, as part of their support for the international campaign against apartheid, to discourage contact and...
(to form a common policy on sporting with South Africa amongst the Commonwealth, signed after the boycott of the Montreal Olympics in 1976). Muldoon noted, however, that the Gleneagles Agreement had been amended and, in an article in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, that he had not broken the Gleneagles Agreement because "New Zealand and subsequently other countries made it clear that they could not subscribe to an agreement which required them to abrogate the freedoms of their sportsmen and prohibit sporting contacts". "The Tour", as it has become known, provoked massive public demonstrations, the formation of public pressure group Halt All Racist Tours
Halt All Racist Tours
Halt All Racist Tours was a protest group set up in New Zealand in 1969 to protest against rugby union tours to and from South Africa.-Chronology:...
(HART) and some of the worst social schisms New Zealand has ever seen. Muldoon came down firmly on the pro-Tour side, arguing that sport and politics should be kept separate. He argued that his refusal to ban the Springboks was anti-authoritarian, leaving it up to individual consciences whether to play sports with representatives of apartheid. He also argued that allowing their rugby team to tour did not mean supporting apartheid any more than playing a Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
team meant supporting Communism. Despite the turmoil over "The Tour" created within New Zealand, Muldoon's New Zealand National Party
New Zealand National Party
The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...
won the subsequent election held later that year.
Falklands War
In 1982, Muldoon's government supported the British in the Falklands WarFalklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
. While New Zealand did not directly participate in the conflict, Muldoon undertook to send the frigates HMNZS Canterbury and HMNZS Waikato
HMNZS Waikato (F-55)
HMNZS Waikato was a Leander Batch 2TA frigate of the Royal New Zealand Navy . She was one of two Leanders built for the RNZN, the other being the Batch 3 HMNZS Canterbury...
to the Indian Ocean to relieve Royal Navy frigates, so that they could in their turn deploy in the conflict. New Zealand also broke off its diplomatic relations with Argentina. In defence of his support for the war, Muldoon wrote an article that was published in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, entitled "Why we Stand by our Mother Country". According to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
, Muldoon said of his stance towards the Falklands: "With the Falkland Islanders it is family" and that he had reminded her: "Don't forget. In New Zealand, we are still a member of the same family."
Closer Economic Relations
Muldoon initiated a Closer Economic RelationsCloser Economic Relations
Closer Economic Relations is a free trade agreement between the governments of New Zealand and Australia. It is also known as the Australia New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement and sometimes shortened to...
(CER) free-trade programme with Australia to liberalise trade, which came into effect from New Year's Day 1982. The aim of total free trade between the two countries was achieved in 1990, five years ahead of schedule.
Nuclear ships policy and the snap election of 1984
Ultimately, the end of Muldoon's government came following a late-night clash with National backbencher Marilyn WaringMarilyn Waring
Marilyn Waring, CNZM, D.Phil., D.Litt. is a New Zealand feminist, a politician, an activist for female human rights and environmental issues, an author and an academic, known for her contributions to feminist economics....
over highly contentious Opposition-sponsored nuclear-free New Zealand
Nuclear proliferation
Nuclear proliferation is a term now used to describe the spread of nuclear weapons, fissile material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information, to nations which are not recognized as "Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also known as the...
legislation, in which Waring told him she would cross the floor
Crossing the floor
In politics, crossing the floor has two meanings referring to a change of allegiance in a Westminster system parliament.The term originates from the British House of Commons, which is configured with the Government and Opposition facing each other on rows of benches...
(giving the Opposition a victory). On 14 June 1984, a visibly drunk
Muldoon called a snap election
New Zealand general election, 1984
The 1984 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 41st New Zealand Parliament. It marked the beginning of the Fourth Labour Government, with David Lange's Labour Party defeating long-serving Prime Minister Robert Muldoon of the National Party. It was also the...
for 14 July that same year. (Historians noted the unfortunate coincidence with Bastille Day
Bastille Day
Bastille Day is the name given in English-speaking countries to the French National Day, which is celebrated on 14 July of each year. In France, it is formally called La Fête Nationale and commonly le quatorze juillet...
). A journalist commented that this did not give him much time to campaign. Muldoon replied "It doesn't give my opponents much time". He was heavily defeated by David Lange's
David Lange
David Russell Lange, ONZ, CH , served as the 32nd Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1984 to 1989. He headed New Zealand's fourth Labour Government, one of the most reforming administrations in his country's history, but one which did not always conform to traditional expectations of a...
resurgent Labour Party, which won 56 seats to National's 37 with a massive vote splitting
Vote splitting
Vote splitting is an electoral effect in which the distribution of votes among multiple similar candidates reduces the chance of winning for any of the similar candidates, and increases the chance of winning for a dissimilar candidate....
caused by the New Zealand Party
New Zealand Party
width=300|thumb|Party logoThe New Zealand Party was a political party operating in New Zealand. It was established by millionaire property tycoon Bob Jones, and promoted both social and economic liberalization. The New Zealand Party's motto was "Freedom and Prosperity", and it has sometimes been...
in particular. Muldoon's drunkenness when announcing the election date led to it being known as the schnapps election.
It is a strong convention in New Zealand politics that a prime minister does not ask for an early election
Dropping the writ
Dropping the writ is the informal term for a procedure in some parliamentary government systems, where the head of government goes to the head of state and formally advises him or her to dissolve parliament...
unless he or she cannot govern, or unless they need to seek the electorate's endorsement on a matter of national importance (as was the case in 1951
New Zealand general election, 1951
The 1951 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 30th term. It saw the governing National Party remain in office, increasing its lead over the opposition Labour Party.-Background:...
). Muldoon justified the snap election because he felt Waring's revolt impeded his ability to govern. Indeed, it was obvious that Muldoon was finding it hard to pass financial measures with neo-liberal rebels like Ruth Richardson
Ruth Richardson
Ruth Richardson served as New Zealand's Minister of Finance from 1990 to 1993, and is known for her strong pursuit of free-market economic reforms .-Early life:...
and Derek Quigley
Derek Quigley
Derek Francis Quigley, QSO is a former New Zealand politician. He was a prominent member of the National Party during the late 1970s and early 1980s, and was known for his support of free market economics and trade liberalization...
voting against the Government on certain issues; however, some historians have been critical of this excuse, as Waring said that she would not have denied Muldoon confidence or supply
Loss of Supply
Loss of supply occurs where a government in a parliamentary democracy using the Westminster System or a system derived from it is denied a supply of treasury or exchequer funds, by whichever house or houses of parliament or head of state is constitutionally entitled to grant and deny supply. A...
, and would not have prevented him from governing, as the government still had the constitutional means to govern.
Foreign exchange and constitutional crises
A final controversy occurred during the course of the election and transfer of government: during early 1984 Roderick DeaneRoderick Deane
Roderick Sheldon "Rod" Deane is a New Zealand economist, public sector reformer, and businessman. He has served as Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, and as CEO and chairman of the country's largest telecommunications company, Telecom New Zealand.-Education:Deane grew up in...
, then Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand
Reserve Bank of New Zealand
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is the central bank of New Zealand and is constituted under the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989. The Governor of the Reserve Bank is responsible for New Zealand's currency and operating monetary policy. The Bank's current Governor is Dr. Alan Bollard...
, became concerned that the New Zealand dollar
New Zealand dollar
The New Zealand dollar is the currency of New Zealand. It also circulates in the Cook Islands , Niue, Tokelau, and the Pitcairn Islands. It is divided into 100 cents....
(which had a fixed exchange-rate to the US Dollar) had become significantly overvalued and was vulnerable to currency speculation on the financial markets in the event of a "significant political event". This was exacerbated by media speculation following a leak that an incoming Labour administration would be likely to significantly devalue the NZ dollar upon election. The Reserve Bank counselled Muldoon that the dollar should be devalued. Muldoon ignored the advice, owing to his belief that it would hurt poor New Zealanders in the medium term, and in June 1984 announced the snap election mentioned above which, as predicted, caused an immediate run on the dollar.
Following the election the controversy became a constitutional crisis
Constitutional crisis
A constitutional crisis is a situation that the legal system's constitution or other basic principles of operation appear unable to resolve; it often results in a breakdown in the orderly operation of government...
: Muldoon refused to do as the incoming government instructed, causing the currency crisis to worsen. Eventually he relented however, after his position as leader of the National party was threatened by members of his caucus.
After nine years, Muldoon's stewardship of the nation and its economy ceased. The newly elected radically neo-liberal and unexpectedly pro-free market Fourth Labour Government embarked on a series of fundamental free-market reforms known (after Labour's finance minister Roger Douglas
Roger Douglas
Sir Roger Owen Douglas , is a New Zealand politician who formerly served as a senior New Zealand Labour Party Cabinet minister. He became arguably best-known for his prominent role in the radical economic restructuring undertaken by the Fourth Labour Government during the 1980s...
) as Rogernomics
Rogernomics
The term Rogernomics, a portmanteau of "Roger" and "economics", was coined by journalists at the New Zealand Listener by analogy with Reaganomics to describe the economic policies followed by Roger Douglas after his appointment in 1984 as Minister of Finance in the Fourth Labour Government...
, and which were then continued from 1990 to 1994 by the succeeding National government's policies known as (after National's finance minister Ruth Richardson
Ruth Richardson
Ruth Richardson served as New Zealand's Minister of Finance from 1990 to 1993, and is known for her strong pursuit of free-market economic reforms .-Early life:...
) as Ruthanasia
Ruthanasia
Ruthanasia, a portmanteau of "Ruth" and "euthanasia", is the pejorative name given to the period of free-market economic reform conducted during the first term of the fourth National government in New Zealand, from 1990 to 1993...
. These policies marked a fundamental break with the more interventionist policies of Muldoon's era.
Later life
Muldoon's deputy leader, Jim McLayJim McLay
James Kenneth McLay, CNZM, QSO , generally known as Jim McLay, is a former New Zealand politician. He was Deputy Prime Minister, leader of the National Party and Leader of the Opposition for a short time. McLay is currently New Zealand's Permanent Representative to the United Nations.-Early...
, deposed him as National Party leader shortly after the election. McLay lasted two years in the role, with Muldoon and others actively undermining his leadership. In 1986, he was ousted in turn by his own deputy (and Muldoon's preferred candidate), Jim Bolger
Jim Bolger
James Brendan "Jim" Bolger, ONZ was the 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1990 to 1997. Bolger was elected on the promise of delivering a "Decent Society" following the previous Labour government's economic reforms, known as Rogernomics...
, who had served as Minister of Labour for the latter half of Muldoon's term as Prime Minister. Bolger made Muldoon spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, pitting him directly against Prime Minister David Lange.
Muldoon remained in Parliament as the MP for Tamaki until shortly before his death. He lived through the Fourth Labour Government
Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand
The Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 26 July 1984 to 2 November 1990. It enacted major social and economic reforms, including reformation of the tax system. The economic reforms were known as Rogernomics after Finance Minister Roger Douglas...
's neo-liberal reforms, known as Rogernomics
Rogernomics
The term Rogernomics, a portmanteau of "Roger" and "economics", was coined by journalists at the New Zealand Listener by analogy with Reaganomics to describe the economic policies followed by Roger Douglas after his appointment in 1984 as Minister of Finance in the Fourth Labour Government...
, and to his horror – to see a National government (led by his own man, Bolger, after winning the landslide of 1990
New Zealand general election, 1990
The 1990 New Zealand general election was held on 27 October to determine the composition of the 43rd New Zealand parliament. The governing Labour Party was defeated, ending its controversial two terms in office...
) take up the same baton with Ruthanasia
Ruthanasia
Ruthanasia, a portmanteau of "Ruth" and "euthanasia", is the pejorative name given to the period of free-market economic reform conducted during the first term of the fourth National government in New Zealand, from 1990 to 1993...
, named after Finance Minister Ruth Richardson. Muldoon's conscience tormented him; he could not bring himself to vote with the Labour Party against the Bolger government's benefit cuts, and, looking miserable, abstained.
Muldoon also opposed the legalisation of homosexual behaviour when Labour MP Fran Wilde
Fran Wilde
The Honorable Fran Wilde QSO , is a New Zealand politician, and former Wellington Labour MP, Minister of Tourism and 31st Mayor of Wellington...
introduced the Homosexual Law Reform Bill
Homosexual Law Reform Act
The New Zealand Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986 is a law that legalised consensual sex between men aged 16 and older. It removed the provisions of the Crimes Act 1961 that criminalised this behaviour.-Background:...
in 1985. The Bill passed as the Homosexual Law Reform Act in 1986.
Although he remained iconic to particular segments of society, particularly the elderly, Muldoon faded quickly as a force on the political scene. His biographer, Barry Gustafson
Barry Gustafson
Barry Gustafson is a New Zealand political scientist and historian, and a leading political biographer. He served for nearly four decades as Professor of Political Studies at the University of Auckland, and as Acting Director of the New Zealand Asia Institute from 2004 to 2006.-Politics and...
– who described himself as not a Muldoon supporter – wrote that he still served as an active MP for his Tamaki electorate, dealing immediately with matters from all walks of life. He continued to write in international economic journals, arguing that the unemployment that had arisen as a result of the free-market reforms was worse than the gains that were made, a view that came to be popular by the time of the Fifth Labour Government in 1999.
Muldoon had a short stage career in a New Zealand production of The Rocky Horror Show
The Rocky Horror Show
The Rocky Horror Show is a long-running British horror comedy stage musical, which opened in London on 19 June 1973. It was written by Richard O'Brien, produced and directed by Jim Sharman. It came eighth in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the "Nation's Number One Essential Musicals"...
, held at Auckland's His Majesty's Theatre (demolished soon after the production ended), starring as the narrator. He also had minor television appearances on commercials for Panasonic
Panasonic
Panasonic is an international brand name for Japanese electric products manufacturer Panasonic Corporation, which was formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd...
(when it changed its brand name in New Zealand from "National") and in the television series Terry and the Gunrunners (as Arnos Grove) and in The Friday Frights (as the host); he also hosted a talkback radio show entitled Lilies and Other Things, referencing his favourite flower on Radio Pacific
Radio Pacific
Radio Pacific was a New Zealand talkback radio station. The station also broadcast an extensive selection of horse racing commentary.-History:The station was originally started in Auckland in 1978 on 1593am...
.
On this show, on 17 November 1991, Muldoon announced he would stand down from Parliament; he formally retired one month later, on 17 December. His retirement party featured taped speeches from Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
(commenting that at Muldoon's age, he was only getting started) and Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
. He fell seriously ill almost immediately, and died in hospital on 5 August 1992, aged 70.
He is buried at Purewa Cemetery, Meadowbank, Auckland, in a plot that faces Auckland City.
Legacy
Muldoon remains one of the most complex, fascinating, and polarising figures in New Zealand history. He divided people into camps of those who loved him and those who hated him; very few people, except those born after his fall, remained neutral. To his enemies, "Piggy" Muldoon was a dictatorial Prime Minister who nearly destroyed both New Zealand's economy and New Zealand society through his arrogance. To those, known as "Rob's Mob", who revered him, he represented an icon of the New Zealand national character, a supporter of the "ordinary bloke" (his own description of himself) and an international statesman.Curiously, he also became patron of the Black Power gang for whom he had created work schemes and advised on the better treatment of women and children associated with the gang. Members paid him solemn respect by performing two haka
Haka
Haka is a traditional ancestral war cry, dance or challenge from the Māori people of New Zealand. It is a posture dance performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment...
during his funeral in 1992.
Historians like Gustafson and Brian Easton
Brian Easton
Brian Easton is an economist from New Zealand. He has been economics columnist for the New Zealand Listener magazine for more than 20 years, giving him a high public profile. He has held a number of university teaching posts but currently works as an independent scholar...
criticise Muldoon because, according to them, he pursued an ultimately unsustainable line of policy.
Some argue that he was responsible for much of the pain caused by the free-market reforms of 1984–1993, because by holding on for as long as he did he forced the inevitable reforms to be implemented with unusual speed and severity. However, this view is not universal, and many also argue that the free market reformers of the 1980s and 1990s used Muldoon as an excuse to embark on radical ideological programs.
Muldoon famously declared upon becoming Prime Minister that he hoped to leave New Zealand "no worse off than I found it". He dominated New Zealand politics for over a decade, and still influences the conduct of government . Gustafson gives him the following epitaph: "By 1992 New Zealand had not become what Muldoon or many other New Zealanders wanted it to be but he was not prepared to take the blame for that. Muldoon died unrepentant and still convinced that his way, even if never perfect, had been a better way."
Thea Muldoon
In 1951 Muldoon married Thea Dale Flyger, by whom he would have three children, and who survives him. Lady Muldoon was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1993) and awarded the Queen's Service OrderQueen's Service Order
The Queen's Service Order was established by Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, awarded by the government of New Zealand "for valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the public sector, whether in elected or...
on Muldoon leaving office.
Trivia
- When questioned about increased levels of emigration from New Zealand to Australia, Muldoon responded that these migrants "raised the average IQ of both countries". It appears this line was taken from a Tom ScottTom Scott (cartoonist)Tom Scott is a New Zealand cartoonist, and is regarded by some as one of the best New Zealand cartoonists since the 1970s.Scott has been the regular cartoonist, initially for the New Zealand Listener magazine and then for the Evening Post newspaper and its successor the Dominion Post, for most of...
article published in the New Zealand ListenerNew Zealand ListenerThe New Zealand Listener is a New Zealand magazine. First published in 1939 and edited by Oliver Duff and the Monte Holcroft it originally had a monopoly on the publication of of upcoming television and radio programmes. In the 1980s it lost its monopoly on the publication of upcoming television...
some months earlier. However the origin of the line goes back even further, to American humorist and actor Will RogersWill RogersWilliam "Will" Penn Adair Rogers was an American cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer, film actor, and one of the world's best-known celebrities in the 1920s and 1930s....
, see Will Rogers phenomenonWill Rogers phenomenonThe Will Rogers phenomenon is obtained when moving an element from one set to another set raises the average values of both sets. It is based on the following quote, attributed to comedian Will Rogers:...
. - In April 1980, in the face of efforts to remove a 40% sales tax on music-sales in New Zealand, Muldoon refused to have the tax lifted remarking that "[t]he records that are sold in this country are not Kiri Te KanawaKiri Te KanawaDame Kiri Jeanette Te Kanawa, ONZ, DBE, AC is a New Zealand / Māori soprano who has had a highly successful international opera career since 1968. Acclaimed as one of the most beloved sopranos in both the United States and Britain she possesses a warm full lyric soprano voice, singing a wide array...
's: they are about 50 to one these horrible pop groups and I'm not going to take the tax off them". This remark was followed a couple of days afterwards with "If you use the word 'cultural' in its normal sense, I don't think Split EnzSplit EnzSplit Enz were a New Zealand band of the 1970s and early 1980s featuring Phil Judd and brothers Tim Finn and Neil Finn. They achieved chart success in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada during the early 1980s ‒ most notably with the single "I Got You", and built a cult following elsewhere...
and Mi-SexMi-SexMi-Sex was a New Zealand new wave rock band active from 1978 to 1984. Led by Steve Gilpin as vocalist, they were best known for their singles "Computer Games" in 1979 and "People" in 1980.-History:...
are cultural". Several New Zealand bands answered Muldoon, notably Mi-Sex, who invited him to a Wellington concert (which he attended), and The KnobzThe KnobzThe Knobz were a New Zealand pop band, originally based in Dunedin, but not considered part of that city's main wave of "Dunedin Sound" bands. They became famous in 1980 with their political song "Culture?" criticising Robert Muldoon, who was Prime Minister at the time and had stated that New...
, who recorded a song "Culture?", which parodied Muldoon – complete with a Rob Muldoon soundalike. - In 1979, Muldoon imposed a controversial 20-percent surcharge on boats and caravans. Instead of generating extra revenue, this tax virtually brought the caravan and boating industry including Cavalier YachtsCavalier YachtsCavalier Yachts was a yacht manufacturer in New Zealand, with production in New Zealand and designs also licensed to Australia and Japan. In the 1970s Cavalier were the largest production boat builders in the Southern Hemisphere.-History:...
(then the largest production boat builder in AustralasiaAustralasiaAustralasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
) to its knees as customers could not afford the new tax and thus cancelled their orders. Despite evidence showing clearly that this tax had resulted in a detrimental effect to the industry, Muldoon refused to repeal it on the grounds that such an admission of error on his part would be regarded as an opposition victory. This tax led to a popular bumper-sticker which read "I'd rather be sailing, but I voted National". The Lange Government's first budget repealed this tax. - Muldoon had a reputation for the variety of the ties he wore (in contrast to subsequent Labour Prime Minister David LangeDavid LangeDavid Russell Lange, ONZ, CH , served as the 32nd Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1984 to 1989. He headed New Zealand's fourth Labour Government, one of the most reforming administrations in his country's history, but one which did not always conform to traditional expectations of a...
who did not necessarily want to wear ties in the debating chamber). This was so well known that some of his ties were made available for sale to the public following his death. - In his 1980 book titled "My Way" Muldoon states on the back cover, "Shortly after I entered Parliament, it became clear to me that I had too many friends. What I needed was some enemies."
- According to Hugh Templeton in his book "All Honourable Men", page 85, Muldoon spoke brilliantly to his caucus after the Moyle affair and stated: "You have to remember the House is an intimate chamber. Its unwritten rule is that if someone boots you, boot back then or later."
- In 1995, actor Ian MuneIan MuneIan Barry Mune, OBE is a New Zealand character actor and director. He co-wrote and starred in Roger Donaldson's first film, Sleeping Dogs. He also directed Came a Hot Friday, which featured comedian Billy T. James as the Tainui Kid, and What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?, the sequel to Once Were...
played Sir Robert Muldoon in the made-for-television mini-series Fallout, depicting the end of the Muldoon National Government. - Two further documentaries about Muldoon were Magic Kiwis: Muldoon and The Grim Face of Power, both produced by Neil Roberts.
- A corner on the Rimutaka Hill Road section of State Highway 2New Zealand State Highway 2State Highway 2 is one of New Zealand's eight national highways. With the exception of State Highway 1, which runs the length of both of the country's main islands, SH 2 is the longest highway in the North Island...
has been named after the former prime minister. Muldoon's Corner is the antepenultimate (third-to-last) right-hander heading northbound before the summit, located at km 931.5, and is notorious for the fact that trucks often have to cross the centre line, and two trucks cannot take the corner in opposite directions at the same time. The corner has said to got its name in relation to Muldoon's budgets: "tightMiserA miser, cheapskate, snipe-snout, penny pincher, piker, scrooge, skinflint or tightwad is a person who is reluctant to spend money, sometimes to the point of forgoing even basic comforts and some necessities...
and [when heading northbound] to the rightRight-wing politicsIn politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
". As of October 2009, works is underway to ease the corner. - Commenting on what made him a successful leader, Muldoon stated in the NZ Listener 30 June 1984, page 20: "I can shuffle papers, rapidly, more rapidly than anyone in this building. I'm a very quick reader, and I know how to get the essence out of a document very quickly."
- During his time as Finance Minister, New Zealand National Radio banned the comedy song "Spotty Muldoon" by Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, for fear of offending him – even though the song had been released years previously, was not about him (Spotty Muldoon was a fictional character created by Cook) and was unlikely to be selected by any of its presenters.
- The hill separating Orewa Beach from Hatfields Beach is often referred to as "Muldoon's Hill". For several decades, the Muldoon family owned a holiday home, adjacent to State Highway One, and spent many summer holidays there.
- A popular catch phrase in the 1970s was "Rob Muldoon before he robs you".
Further reading
- Clark, Margaret. (ed.) Muldoon Revisited. Palmerston North: Dunmore Press, ISBN 0-86469-465-2 (2004). [The revised proceedings of a conference on Muldoon held at Victoria University of WellingtonVictoria University of WellingtonVictoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
during 2002.] - Gustafson, BarryBarry GustafsonBarry Gustafson is a New Zealand political scientist and historian, and a leading political biographer. He served for nearly four decades as Professor of Political Studies at the University of Auckland, and as Acting Director of the New Zealand Asia Institute from 2004 to 2006.-Politics and...
, His Way, a biography of Robert Muldoon, Auckland University Press, 2000, ISBN 1-86940-236-7 - Jones, BobBob Jones (New Zealand)Sir Robert 'Bob' Jones is a property tycoon, author and former politician in New Zealand. Growing up in the City of Lower Hutt suburb of Naenae, he attended Naenae College and then Victoria University of Wellington...
. Memories of Muldoon. Christchurch: Canterbury University Press, ISBN 0-908812-69-8 (1997). - Moon, Paul. Muldoon: A Study in Public Leadership, Wellington, Pacific Press, 1999, ISBN 0-9583418-7-7
- Muldoon, R. D. [Muldoon's autobiographical writings, while inevitably self-serving, provide a candid expression of his thinking and of his desires for New Zealand.]
- The Rise and Fall of a Young Turk. Wellington: A.H. & A.W. Reed, (1974).
- Muldoon. Wellington: Reed, ISBN 0-589-01087-5 (1977).
- My Way. Wellington: Reed, ISBN 0-589-01385-8 (1981).
- The New Zealand Economy: A Personal View. Auckland: Endeavour Press, ISBN 0-86481-105-5 (1985).
- Number
38. Auckland: Reed Methuen, ISBN 0-474-00220-9 (1986).
- Russell, Marcia. Revolution:New Zealand from Fortress to Free Market Hodder Moa Beckett, 1996
- Zavos, SpiroSpiro ZavosSpiro Zavos is an Australasian historian, philosopher, journalist and writer...
. The Real Muldoon. Wellington: Fourth Estate Books (1978).
External links
- Biography of Sir Robert Muldoon from New Zealand Prime Minister's official website. from the Dictionary of New Zealand BiographyDictionary of New Zealand BiographyThe Dictionary of New Zealand Biography contains biographies for over 3,000 New Zealanders. It is available in both English and Maori. All volumes of the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography are available online....
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