Senior Whip of the National Party
| Senior Whip of the National Party | |
|---|---|
| Reports to | Leader of the National Party |
| Precursor | Chris Penk |
| Inaugural holder | Bert Kyle |
| Formation | 14 May 1936 |
| Deputy | Suze Redmayne |
The New Zealand National Party's Senior Whip administers the "whipping in" system that tries to ensure that party MPs attend and vote according to the party leadership's wishes. The position is elected by the National caucus members. The Senior Whip also acts as an intermediary between the backbenchers and the party leadership. Whenever National is in government the senior whip serves as the Chief Government Whip and when out of government serves as Chief Opposition Whip.
All National whips have been members of the House of Representatives, with none coming from the Legislative Council before its abolition in 1950.
The current whips are Scott Simpson (MP for Coromandel—senior whip) and Suze Redmayne (MP for Rangitīkei—junior whip), appointed 5 December 2023.
List
The following is a list of all senior whips of the National Party:
| No. | Name | Portrait | Electorate | Term of office | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bert Kyle |
|
Riccarton | 14 May 1936 | 12 March 1941 | |
| 2 | Walter Broadfoot |
|
Waitomo | 12 March 1941 | 13 December 1949 | |
| 3 | Andy Sutherland |
|
Hauraki | 2 March 1950 | 4 October 1954 | |
| 4 | Geoff Gerard |
|
Ashburton | 24 November 1954 | 8 February 1957 | |
| 5 | Ernest Aderman |
|
New Plymouth | 8 February 1957 | 21 January 1958 | |
| (4) | Geoff Gerard |
|
Ashburton | 21 January 1958 | 12 December 1960 | |
| 6 | Jack Scott |
|
Rodney | 16 February 1961 | 20 December 1963 | |
| 7 | John Hannibal George |
|
Otago Central | 10 June 1964 | 11 February 1967 | |
| 8 | Alfred E. Allen |
|
Franklin | 11 February 1967 | 5 February 1970 | |
| 9 | Harry Lapwood |
|
Rotorua | 5 February 1970 | 11 July 1974 | |
| 10 | Richard Harrison |
|
Hawke's Bay | 11 July 1974 | 22 January 1976 | |
| 11 | Bill Birch |
|
Franklin | 22 January 1976 | 1 February 1979 | |
| 12 | Tony Friedlander |
|
New Plymouth | 1 February 1979 | 2 February 1982 | |
| 13 | Don McKinnon |
|
Albany | 2 February 1982 | 29 July 1987 | |
| 14 | Robin Gray |
|
Clutha | 16 September 1987 | 6 September 1990 | |
| 15 | Jeff Grant |
|
Awarua | 28 November 1990 | 23 September 1993 | |
| 16 | John Carter |
|
Far North | 30 November 1993 | 3 April 1995 | |
| 17 | Roger Sowry |
|
Kapiti | 3 April 1995 | 12 October 1996 | |
| (16) | John Carter |
|
Northland | 19 December 1996 | 9 August 2004 | |
| 18 | Simon Power |
|
Rangitikei | 9 August 2004 | 17 September 2005 | |
| 19 | Lindsay Tisch |
|
Piako | 11 October 2005 | 5 December 2006 | |
| 20 | Anne Tolley |
|
East Coast | 5 December 2006 | 13 February 2008 | |
| 21 | Nathan Guy |
|
Ōtaki | 13 February 2008 | 15 June 2009 | |
| 22 | Chris Tremain |
|
Napier | 16 June 2009 | 13 December 2011 | |
| 23 | Michael Woodhouse |
|
List MP | 20 December 2011 | 28 January 2013 | |
| 24 | Louise Upston |
|
Taupō | 29 January 2013 | 7 October 2014 | |
| 25 | Tim Macindoe |
|
Hamilton West | 20 October 2014 | 2 May 2017 | |
| 26 | Jami-Lee Ross |
|
Botany | 2 May 2017 | 20 March 2018 | |
| 27 | Barbara Kuriger |
|
Taranaki-King Country | 20 March 2018 | 10 November 2020 | |
| 28 | Matt Doocey |
|
Waimakariri | 10 November 2020 | 7 December 2021 | |
| 29 | Chris Penk |
|
Kaipara ki Mahurangi | 7 December 2021 | 5 December 2023 | |
| 30 | Scott Simpson |
|
Coromandel | 5 December 2023 | Incumbent | |