Shadow Cabinet of Bill Rowling

Rowling announced his first shadow cabinet in January 1976. It contained many changes following the defeat of many senior MPs in the 1975 general election and the death of Stanley Whitehead.[1]

Rowling reshuffled his shadow cabinet in December 1978 following Labour's defeat in the 1978 general election. He reduced the number of spokespersons from 31 to a more manageable 17. It was also notable for the omission of Matiu Rata as Shadow Minister of Maori Affairs, Rowling did not initially allocate the Maori Affairs portfolio to anyone else however.[2][3]

There was a minor reshuffle in October 1979. David Caygill was given charge of economic development to ease the workload of Bob Tizard, John Terris was given broadcasting from Ron Bailey and Arthur Faulkner (who at the time was in ill-health) was relieved of electoral reform and accident compensation to Ralph Maxwell and David Butcher respectively. Rowling made the decision to give the responsibilities to first-term MPs to "show off their abilities".[4][5]

Rowling instituted a new system in December 1979 where the shadow cabinet was separated from the party caucus. The shadow cabinet was limited to 15 members, the leader and deputy leader were granted automatic entry with an election held for the remaining 13 positions. The remaining MPs were allocated portfolios in a wider group.[6][7]

Rowling reshuffled his shadow cabinet in March 1981 in preparation for the general election scheduled for the end of the year. He did not reinstate Roger Douglas as a member after he was sacked from the shadow cabinet on 30 June 1980 for releasing an "Alternative Budget" against Rowling's wishes.[8] After Joe Walding unexpectedly announced his intention to retire, Rowling did reinstate Douglas to the shadow cabinet as his replacement.[9]

Another election for the shadow cabinet was held on 4 February 1982 following Labour's narrow defeat in the 1981 general election.[10] Two members of the previous shadow cabinet, Michael Bassett and Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan, were voted out. Several changes were made to the membership via the caucus election results, after which Rowling reshuffled the portfolios.[11]