17th New Zealand Parliament


The 17th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1908 general election in November and December of that year.

1908 general election

The Second Ballot Act 1908 was used for the 1908 general election. The first ballot was held on Tuesday, 17 November in the general electorates. 22 second ballots were held one week later on 24 November, and in one large rural electorate, two weeks were allowed before the second ballot was held on 1 December. The Second Ballot Act did not apply to the four Māori electorates and the election was held on Wednesday, 2 December. A total of 80 MPs were elected; 41 represented North Island electorates, 35 represented South Island electorates, and the remaining four represented Māori electorates. 537,003 voters were enrolled and the official turnout at the election was 79.8%.

Sessions

The 17th Parliament sat for four sessions, and was prorogued on 20 November 1911.
SessionOpenedAdjouned
first10 June 190916 June 1909
second7 October 190928 December 1909
third28 June 19103 December 1910
fourth27 July 191128 October 1911

Ministries

The Liberal Government of New Zealand had taken office on 24 January 1891. Joseph Ward formed the Ward Ministry on 6 August 1906. The Ward Ministry remained in power until Ward's resignation as Prime Minister in 1912.

Initial composition of the 17th Parliament

By-elections during 17th Parliament

There were a number of changes during the term of the 17th Parliament.