The Alliance

The Alliance, New Zealand social democratic political party formed on December 1, 1991, comprising a broad coalition of five New Zealand parties: the Democratic Party, the Green Party, the Liberal Party, Mana Motuhake, and the New Labour Party. The Alliance was formed in reaction to reforms influenced by monetarism enacted after 1984 by successive Labour Party and National Party governments, and to provide an alternative to two-party politics that could better support minority interests.

On December 1, 1991, the New Labour, Green, and Democratic parties and Mana Motuhake met at the Awatea Marae in Auckland to sign the Alliance Declaration. The Liberal Party—observers at Awatea Marae—subsequently decided to join the Alliance. The Alliance stood in the February 1992 by-election in Tamaki, Auckland, losing to the ruling National Party by only 1,200 votes. They proved successful in local elections too, taking effective control of regional government in Auckland later the same year.

Alliance policy was founded on 12 “non-negotiable policy principles”, committing the party to progressive and broadly based income tax; to investment programmes governed in the public interest; to environment-friendly regional development; to a pro-trade union employment programme; to improving the economic and social conditions of the Maori; to free health care and education, and high-quality social housing; to proportional representation in elections; and to a nuclear-free New Zealand not tied to foreign military pacts.

When the Alliance was formed in 1991, only Jim Anderton of New Labour held a seat in parliament. In the 1993 election, which was the last election to be held under a system of 'first-past-the-post' voting, the Alliance won only one other seat in the House of Representatives. In late 1994 Jim Anderton resigned as party leader, but subsequently resumed the leadership. In the October 1996 general election, the first under the new proportional representation system, the Alliance won 13 seats. Alliance's performance at the 1999 general election was disappointing—the party won just under 8 per cent of the vote and gained a total of only 10 seats. These seats, however, enabled the Alliance to join Labour as the junior partner in a coalition government. Jim Anderton was appointed deputy prime minister and the 20-strong Cabinet included 4 Alliance members.