Suicide squad (New Zealand)

The suicide squad in New Zealand was a so-nicknamed group of New Zealand Legislative Councillors appointed in 1950 by Prime Minister Sidney Holland tasked with voting the New Zealand Legislative Council out of existence.

By the middle of the 20th century, the New Zealand Legislative Council was increasingly being looked on as ineffectual and making little difference to the legislative process. The Legislative Council rarely criticised bills sent to it by the House, and many believed that it was now obsolete. Some favoured its reform, while others favoured its abolition, like the leader of the National Party, Sidney Holland who introduced a private member's bill to abolish it in 1947.

However, because the Parliament of New Zealand was unable to amend the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 (because it was an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament, and the New Zealand Parliament was barred from amending the parts of the Act dealing with the establishment of the Legislative Council) it had to first adopt the Statute of Westminster 1931, which it did with the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947. Following the adoption of the Act, the Parliament of New Zealand passed the New Zealand Constitution Amendment (Request and Consent) Act 1947, and the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the New Zealand Constitution Amendment Act 1947, allowing the New Zealand Parliament to amend the Constitution Act and abolish the Legislative Council. However, the Labour government did not actually enact the abolition itself, losing office in the 1949 general election.

National formed the new government under party leader Sidney Holland. A key aide to Holland was Clifton Webb, who was appointed to Attorney-General. As Minister of Justice, Webb was responsible for drafting the legislation, the Legislative Council Abolition Act, that resulted in the abolition of the Legislative Council. As nineteen of the existing twenty-five members of the council were known to be opposed to the bill, Holland appointed twenty-five new members, known as the suicide squad, to vote for their own abolition, just as the Australian state of Queensland had done to abolish its upper house in 1922. They were appointed on 22 June 1950, with four more members appointed on 27 July 1950.

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