1884 - 1950
Peter Fraser was a loyal
deputy throughout Michael Joseph Savage’s term as Labour party leader, never
giving a thought to challenging his leadership. Similarly, when elected leader
himself after Savage’s death he was served with equal loyalty by his own deputy
Walter Nash. Fraser’s leadership was secure, even after the Labour party’s
eventual defeat in 1949.
Richard Seddon is probably
New Zealand’s most famous prime minister; Michael Joseph Savage the most loved
and revered – but various commentators have declared Peter Fraser to be New
Zealand’s best. He lacked Savage’s warmth and Seddon’s overpowering presence but
his international reputation and the respect he commanded domestically as an
intelligent and skilful politician placed him in the top echelon of statesmen
anywhere. And the challenges he faced were monumental. Labour was committed to
continue implementing the social changes instituted by Savage and to do it while
war raged in Europe and the Pacific. New Zealand’s commitment to the war had to
be carefully managed while an equally precarious path had to be negotiated
domestically amid shortages of supplies and manpower. Fraser was up to the task.
Others may not have been. He was re-elected when the war was at its height in
1943 and, unlike most Commonwealth prime ministers including Churchill, was
re-elected again after hostilities ended.
Born in the highlands of
Scotland into a family harbouring a grudge against the upper class, especially
landlords who cleared tenants from their domains to maximise profit, Peter
Fraser was imbued with a sense of life’s unfairness and a determination to fight
it. He was a bright student at school and developed a love of books, relishing
the richness of the English language. By the age of twenty his greatest pleasure
was debating political issues. Two years later he moved to London and secured
physical work refurbishing the house of commons where he could listen to
debates. This cemented his earlier leanings towards Gladstone’s Liberal party
and when he learned of the progressive enactments of Richard Seddon and Joseph
Ward in New Zealand he decided to emigrate. He arrived in Auckland in January,
1911. He found work as a watersider and labourer and joined the Federation of
Labour. In his early days in New Zealand he was interested primarily in union
and industrial activity rather than politics.
He moved to Wellington in
1913 and attended a number of conferences called to unite various left-wing
organisations, fledgling political parties and unions into a single political
force. It was then that he made a move into politics, becoming
secretary/treasurer of the Social Democratic party. But his dedication to the
union movement and working people never faltered. He became a radical and was
twice imprisoned – in 1913 for breaching the peace in a demonstration during the
enormously disruptive general strike (covered extensively in the article on
William Massey), and in 1916 for speaking out against wartime conscription.
While in custody he continued to read widely and emerged a more mature and
shrewd political operator. His facility with language meant he was called on
frequently as a platform speaker and when the newly-formed Labour party
contested two by-elections in 1918 he played a major role in the respective
campaigns, the latter electing future leader Harry Holland.
Hard on the heels of these
campaigns he himself stood for the vacant seat of Wellington Central in another
by-election and won it comfortably. He entered parliament on 3 October, 1918 and
remained an MP for the rest of his life. When Bob Semple won Wellington South in
yet another by-election (the fourth in 1918), the Labour party’s more
conservative wing feared the party might become radicalised by the new trio of
Fraser, Holland and Semple. A Dunedin newspaper proclaimed “A Bolshevik win in
Wellington Central” after Fraser’s success. But Fraser had monitored
developments in Russia in1917 and disapproved of the Bolsheviks, deeming them
undemocratic. His commitment to democracy never wavered and he remained a
life-long opponent of communism.
As an MP Fraser became less
radical and more disciplined but remained dedicated to improving the lot of
working men and women. The huge body of knowledge he had accumulated through his
reading plus his experience as a labourer and union official gave him a superb
overview of how life worked in New Zealand. Combining this with a steely
determination and excellent organisational and strategic skills, he quickly
emerged as a leading light in the Labour party. In 1920 he was appointed caucus
secretary and given a position on the party’s executive. His speeches in the
house were not philosophical or idealistic. His was a form of practical
socialism that addressed basic issues such as slum clearance - a contributing
factor to the influenza epidemic, raging when he entered parliament. He
passionately believed the state could solve most problems and, with Savage,
believed in state provision of housing and universal access to education and
health care. He lacked Savage’s easy, avuncular style – in fact his
parliamentary addresses were somewhat soporific, unlike the incisive and
forceful speeches he had delivered as a young union agitator. But his agile mind
made him everybody’s favourite when it came to a face to face debate on
left-wing issues.
The roller-coaster political
scene in the 1920s saw Labour’s fortunes fluctuate. Leader Harry Holland was
still painted red by the Reform party, aware now that Labour was a bigger threat
than the Liberal/National/United opposition. Reform was also adopting some of
Labour’s socialist ideas making it a hard climb for the fledgling party. Fraser
befriended Fintan Patrick Walsh, a relationship that proved crucial in later
years as Labour worked to retain power during the war. By the end of the 1920s
Fraser’s knowledge of standing orders and his wide general knowledge caused some
observers to consider him “by far the ablest parliamentarian in the house.”
It was Fraser, rather than
Holland or Savage, who held the NZ Labour party together while factionalism was
fracturing their sister party in Australia. It was a difficult task, with
adherents ranging from radical socialists to middle of the road swinging voters
who saw Labour as the party best equipped to deliver a fair deal to all. But
despite his achievement in maintaining unity Fraser did not seek the leadership
on the death in 1933 of Harry Holland – rather he nominated Savage who was
elected unopposed with Fraser his deputy.
With Savage and Fraser now
leading the party the 1933 annual conference produced what became “Labour’s
Plan” and formed the basis of the highly successful 1935 election campaign.
Without a doubt Michael Savage was the driving force behind Labour’s win in 1935
with his compelling and mesmerising speeches throughout the country. But a share
of the credit must go to Fraser for maintaining party unity and managing the
mechanical side of the campaign. In the new government Fraser was made minister
of education, health, marine and police. He has been credited as New Zealand’s
best education minister. Two teachers’ training colleges were re-opened in 1936,
bringing five year olds back into the classroom; proficiency exams were
abolished clearing the way for all students to enter secondary school; in 1943
the minimum school-leaving age was raised to 15 and student numbers at tertiary
institutions climbed steadily. The esteemed director of education, Clarence
Beeby, referred to the “revivalist” atmosphere in education circles while Fraser
was minister. And today’s health system remains an important legacy of the first
Labour government. While not minister of labour, Fraser’s relationship with
Fintan Patrick Walsh ensured the political and union sectors of the Labour
movement were in step with each other. Fraser was part of the small team of
ministers charged with delivering Savage’s social welfare legislation, including
the 1939 social security bill.
Peter Fraser was acting
prime minister from late 1939 and had deputised for Savage on many earlier
occasions during the PM’s absences overseas. His speech to the 1940 conference
swung the majority of delegates in favour of the motion to expel renegade
back-bencher John A Lee from the party. Fraser updated the conference on the
gravity of Savage’s illness and the degree to which it had been exacerbated by
the constant attacks on him by Lee. Savage died on 27 March, 1940 and the caucus
meeting on 4 April confirmed Peter Fraser as Labour leader and New Zealand’s new
prime minister.
Fraser’s cabinet
appointments were uncontroversial, supported by caucus (which he consulted more
readily than Savage had done) and made easier by a succession of retirements or
deaths, enabling the more ambitious caucus members to be elevated without
competition.
Peter Fraser’s first real test was his conduct
of the war effort. In this he showed statesmanlike leadership when a decision
had to be made over the deployment of New Zealand troops serving in Europe and
North Africa. The entry of Japan into the war prompted Australia to move troops
from Europe to the Pacific and it was generally accepted New Zealand would
follow. But Fraser, after consulting with Churchill, military advisers and
Australian prime minister John Curtin, decided controversially to keep NZ troops
in Europe. It was a cabinet decision but the vote was taken only after Fraser
had eloquently addressed the meeting for two hours and presented cables from
military commanders. He then persuaded a divided government and parliament to
give their full support. It was leadership of the highest order.
Historians disagree over
whether it was the right decision (modern day thinking suggests it was) but it
damaged relations with Australia and caused concern in New Zealand with Japan
inexorably forging its way into the south Pacific - uncomfortably close to home.
Nonetheless, New Zealand’s decisiveness strengthened relationships with Britain
who had always seen New Zealand as their most loyal ally. More importantly, it
proved that Fraser was capable of dealing with difficult situations involving
allies as well as his own parliament and people.
The most pressing situation
at home also concerned the war. Within just a few months the initial rush of
volunteers had tailed off and Fraser was faced with a severe manpower shortage.
Conscription was the obvious solution but conscription was the very thing he had
spoken out against during the first world war and spent time in jail for.
Demonstrating pragmatism and leadership he did indeed introduce the required
legislation and by war’s end 306,000 men had been called up. The move was
controversial within his own party and even more so among the general population
but Fraser had decided this was a very different war and the Commonwealth as a
whole was in grave danger. Maori were exempt from conscription but volunteered
in large numbers.
Fraser recognised the value
of face to face communication with the troops and made regular trips into the
theatre to meet and encourage them. He promised access to land and financial
assistance back in New Zealand after the war. He also discussed tactics with
military commanders and had a bitter debate with Freyberg over the strategy
employed for the invasion of Greece and Crete with their subsequent evacuations
and heavy loss of life.
Wartime conditions justified
Fraser’s decision to postpone the 1941 election and only reluctantly agree to
hold one in 1943 while war still raged. It enabled the majority of the
population to show their approval (or otherwise) of Labour’s handling of the
war. In the event Labour were re-elected by 45 seats to National’s 34 with one
independent bringing the total to 80. This was a clear win albeit a drop from
the 53/25/2 result in 1938. Most military personnel serving overseas voted
Labour. Fraser himself was given a scare in this election with independent
candidate and popular radio host Colin Scrimgeour running him close in his own
seat of Wellington Central.
Labour continued to
implement the social welfare agenda despite wartime hardship. Nash was able to
make pharmaceuticals, X-Rays and general medical benefits free of charge as
early as 1941 while other welfare measures came later with dental benefits for
children not available until 1947. In 1946 (another election year!) the means
test for family benefit was removed, lifting the number of parents receiving it
from 42,637 to 230,021. Needless to say, extra revenue had to be raised.
Taxation on high earners was lifted almost to the point of confiscation, sales
taxes were raised and wage and price stabilisation was more palatable in the
light of the new social benefits. Demand for wage increases were mitigated by
increasing subsidies on food and other essentials but the more militant unions
remained dissatisfied. Managing an economy of this complexity and maintaining
morale both at home and among the troops combined to put Fraser and his cabinet
under tremendous pressure. Throughout the war years a war cabinet functioned
with three Labour members and two from National including workhorse and former
Reform prime minister Gordon Coates. This cabinet was interrupted for three
months in 1942 when a broader thirteen member war administration was formed but
National leader Sidney Holland dissolved it in protest over Labour’s handling of
a Huntly coalminers strike.
Nonetheless it was Fraser’s
leadership which dominated these composite committees.
As the fortunes of war
turned in the allies’ favour post-war plans were being set in train at
international level. One of the high points of Peter Fraser’s career was his
contribution to two conferences which eventually led to the formation of the
United Nations – one in Dumbarton Oaks in England in 1944 just prior to D-Day;
the other in San Francisco in May, 1945. Fraser’s commonsense approach and his
speech to the plenary session in San Francisco drew high international praise.
He stood head and shoulders over the prime ministers of Canada, Australia and
South Africa. He pleaded a strong case against the right of the five leading
world powers to veto resolutions – finally unsuccessful but applauded by the
small nations. Fraser briefly chaired one of the subsidiary committees. He
became a well-known and respected figure at future international conferences.
There was no rest for Fraser when he returned
home. The rehabilitation of returning soldiers was a top priority. Stabilisation
of prices and wages was meant to hold inflation in check but it soon began to
soar as sales and income tax surcharges were removed (they were a strictly
wartime measure) and food and petrol rationing lifted. There was relentless
pressure from unions for increased wages and support from unionists and some of
Labour’s other key demographics was at risk. Another issue which alienated some
was a decision (mandated by a referendum but supported by the government) to
introduce compulsory military training. Fraser had been persuaded by military
advice that our troops would have been quicker to train had such a scheme
existed prior to the war. However well justified, the decision split the party.
The 1946 election was neck and neck, only
tipped in Labour’s favour by the four Maori seats. Fraser’s sympathy with Maori
concerns was long-standing. During the war he had forged close links with
Princess Te Puea Herangi and other Maori leaders, and in 1945 he played a large
part in the introduction and passage of the Maori social and economic
advancement act, intended to help Maori cope with the problems of poverty and
increasing urbanisation.
But the election result was a warning to
Labour. The public mood through the years from 1943 till the party’s demise at
the 1949 election is better covered in the article on Sidney Holland. Suffice
for now to say that the Labour cabinet was aging and National, confidently led
by Holland, was recruiting energetic and talented new MPs through a succession
of by-elections and the 1943 and 1946 general elections. And Fraser himself was
weary. Thirty years of hard work, long hours, failing eye-sight and advancing
age were taking their toll.
While Fraser proved to be a
meticulous organiser of party business, he was rather disorganised personally.
He was not an efficient chairman and cabinet meetings could ramble in multiple
directions. He would sometimes leave meetings to attend to other business and
forget to return. His workload was not helped by the fact that his cabinet
lacked depth. After Nash, Dan Sullivan was next in line but while an efficient
minister in the key portfolio of industries and commerce he was ineffective when
forced to act as PM in 1944 when Fraser and Nash were both overseas. Nash had
been appointed minister to Washington but retained finance. Sullivan died in
1947 and was replaced by New Zealand’s first woman cabinet minister, Mabel
Howard – a sign of Fraser’s firm belief in gender equity.
One of Fraser’s lesser known
legacies was government support for the arts. He set up the Cultural and General
Arts Fund and the Literary Fund which together assisted promising artists to
study abroad. He also supported the establishment of a National Orchestra. His
interest in the arts dated back to the 1930s.
Following National’s
resounding win in the 1949 election Fraser handed the keys of office to Holland
but continued to lead his party. His health deteriorated rapidly after a stroke
and several heart attacks in 1950, and he died on 12 December aged 66. An
extraordinary life had come to a sudden end. As historian Michael Bassett
summarised it, a life “nurtured in Scottish poverty, matured in British and
antipodean socialist idealism; a life spent pursuing social justice at home and
prosecuting a war against evil abroad, and finally helping to create an
international polity.”
Many of Fraser’s best qualities were concealed from public view. He never had a place in the public's affection comparable to Savage and few in New Zealand recognised his stature in the wider world. His was not an ordered or disciplined mind. He was no superman. His grasp of economics was less than perfect (Nash made up for this) but as a strategist, a party leader and politician he was among New Zealand’s best. In particular he had the knack of seeing problems before they arose and was ready to meet them. He could change direction when required (as with conscription) but remained a man of impeccable integrity. The party’s solutions to the wartime and post-war economic problems were controversial and bequeathed the task of dismantling the wage and price stabilisation policy to future governments but something had to be done to rein in inflation. In easier times the first Labour government could well have lasted longer under the watchful eye of the man declared by many to be New Zealand’s best prime minister.
Goto next Prime Minister: Sidney Holland