1968 Hutt by-election

New Zealand by-election April 2024 July 2019 1968 Hutt by-election New Zealand 1968 presidential 1966 New Zealand general election 1966 general 1969 New Zealand general election 1969 general 1968 08 03 y 12,488 (68.04%) 150x150px Trevor Young New Zealand Labour Party 5,968 47.79 150x150px John Kennedy-Good New Zealand National Party 4,576 36.64 MP Sir Walter Nash New Zealand Labour Party Trevor Young New Zealand Labour Party The Hutt by-election of 1968 was a by-election for the electorate of Hutt on 3 August 1968 during the 35th New Zealand Parliament. The by-election resulted from the death of the previous member and former prime minister Sir Walter Nash on 4 June 1968. The contest was won by Trevor Young, also of the Labour Party. The National candidate was John Kennedy-Good, a future Mayor of Lower Hutt, who had stood for National in the previous general election. Background Sir Walter Nash had represented the electorate since 1929 and was still MP at the age of 86 before dying after suffering a heart attack on 4 June 1968.Gustafson Barry 4n2 Nash, Walter 26 August 2013 Barry Gustafson Nash had already announced he intended to retire at the end of the parliamentary term and Trevor Young had already been selected as his successor in the seat to contest 1969 general election.By-election is Necessitated The Evening Post 5 June 1968 Candidates Labour The Labour Party chose Trevor Young as their candidate. Young, a longtime Labour member, had been a Lower Hutt City Councillor since 1947. As Nash was intending to retire at the upcoming general election in 1969 Labour had already selected Young as the candidate to replace him several months earlier.https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19680418.2.242 Labour's Choice - Candidate For Hutt The Press 18 April 1968 CVIII 31657 30 National John Kennedy-Good was selected as the candidate of the National Party. He had been a member of the Lower Hutt City Council since 1962 and had stood in Hutt for National at the previous election in 1966.https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19680622.2.181 National Party Candidate The Press 22 June 1968 CVIII 31712 36 Social Credit The Social Credit Party selected Tom Weal, a teacher at St Peter's College, Auckland, as their candidate. He contested the Mount Albert seat in 1966.https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19680625.2.209 Social Credit Candidate The Press 25 June 1968 CVIII 31714 26 Others Nick Ursin, a local insurance officer, stood as an independent.https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19680712.2.114 Independent To Stand The Press 12 July 1968 CVIII 31729 12 Campaign There were allegations made of bias in television coverage of the election. John Mathison, Labour MP for Avon, made a speech in parliament where he criticised the state-owned and operated New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC) running a nationwide news programme featuring coverage of Prime Minister Keith Holyoake and the National candidate John Kennedy-Good. However, the programme did not feature any footage of Leader of the Opposition Norman Kirk and Labour candidate Trevor Young who held a meeting on that same day. Holyoake rejected the criticism and stated that the NZBC were under time constraints, which led them to omit filming the Labour meeting. Social Credit leader Vernon Cracknell was critical of the failure of the media to cover the Social Credit campaign, stating he believed they should be allotted the same attention that the two main parties were.TV Bias over Hutt Election Alleged The Evening Post 2 August 1968 By-election Cover by Television Not Unfair - PM The Evening Post 2 August 1968 11 Results The following table gives the election results: Aftermath Young held the seat until its abolition in 1978. He then represented the seat of Eastern Hutt until 1990 when he retired.Rosemary McLennan http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/local-papers/hutt-news/6947891/Hundreds-farewell-Hutt-MP-Trevor-Young Hundreds farewell Hutt MP Trevor Young The Hutt News 18 May 2012 27 May 2012 Notes References Norton Clifford New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946–1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science 1988 Victoria University of Wellington Wellington 0-475-11200-8 251 Wood G. A. Ministers and Members in the New Zealand Parliament 2 1987 1996 University of Otago Press Dunedin 1 877133 00 0 113 Hutt 1968 Category:1968 elections in New Zealand Category:Politics of the Wellington Region Category:August 1968 in Oceania Category:1960s in Wellington