Show Notes
The Spinoff presents Juggernaut, hosted by Toby Manhire. When a brandy-fuelled Rob Muldoon called a snap election in 1984, the dam burst on a period of unparalleled change in New Zealand. Under David Lange and Roger Douglas, the country witnessed an economy upended, a bold new stance on the world stage, sweeping social and cultural transformations, and bitter personal recriminations. The reverberations of that revolution continue to be felt, 40 years on. Juggernaut was made with the support of NZ On Air. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from Juggernaut 2: The Story of the Fourth National Government
On the evening of June 14 1984, Sir Robert Muldoon called a snap election. Then he got drunk. But when the prime minister went to drive his own car home to Vogel House in Lower Hutt, he was stymied: his beloved Triumph 1500 had a flat tyre.
New Zealand’s first MMP government gets off to a rocky start, beset by boxer-short scandals and lousy poll numbers. Jim Bolger declares “springtime for New Zealand”, but the economic weather won’t play ball. He leaves for Europe oblivious to the plans being cooked up by a small, secretive group of MPs called “The Te Puke Bypass Committee”.
The 1990s in New Zealand have dawned with images of harmony projected to the world, but longstanding divisions still acute at home. The Bolger government comes to power promising to uphold the Treaty and provide redress for injustice.
It took an extraordinary cocktail of events to bring proportional representation to New Zealand – everything from political cock-ups to public screams of resentment. This is the story of a country that decides to tear up its electoral plumbing – and what it does next.
After some of the most hectic months in the history of New Zealand politics, Jim Bolger faces a white-knuckle byelection in Tamaki. In the seat vacated by the pugnacious Rob Muldoon, even the National candidate seems to be standing against the government.