Editorial Reviews - 20th Century in Oceania From the Publisher Chapters: 20th Century in Australia, 20th Century in Fiji, 20th Century in New Zealand, Fourth National Government of New Zealand, Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand, Third National Government of New Zealand, History of Australia Since 1945, Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand, First Labour Government of New Zealand, Third Labour Government of New Zealand, First National Government of New Zealand, Reform Government of New Zealand, Second National Government of New Zealand, First Liberal Government of New Zealand, Modern History of Fiji, United Government of New Zealand, Liberal-Reform Coalition Government of New Zealand, Second Labour Government of New Zealand, Austral Society, Closer Settlement Acts. Excerpt: The Fourth National Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 2 November 1990 to 27 November 1999. Following in the footsteps of the previous Labour government, the fourth National government embarked on an extensive programme of spending cuts. This programme, popularly known as 'Ruthanasia' after Finance Minister Ruth Richardson, involved the reduction of social welfare benefits and the introduction of fees for healthcare and tertiary education. This was highly controversial, as was the retention of the superannuation surtax, a tax on old age pensions which National had promised to abolish. Also controversial, but in a different way, was the beginning of the Treaty settlement process. Extreme dissatisfaction with both National and Labour led to the reform of the electoral system: the introduction of proportional representation in the form of MMP. The first MMP election was held in 1996, and resulted in a coalition between National and New Zealand First. This dissolved in 1998, and the consequent cobbling together... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=9204302 Synopsis Chapters: 20th Century in Australia, 20th Century in Fiji, 20th Century in