The 1972 general election was held on Saturday, 25 November.

[1] A total of 87 MPs were elected; 58 represented North Island electorates, 25 represented South Island electorates, and the remaining four represented Māori electorates; this was an increase in the number of MPs by three since the 1969 election, and the gain was all for the North Island.

[1] The 37th Parliament sat for three sessions, and was prorogued on 10 October 1975.

The Rowling Ministry lasted until the end of the parliamentary term, when the Labour Government was defeated by National in the 1975 election.

[4] The table below shows the number of MPs in each party following the 1972 election and at dissolution: Notes The table below shows the results of the 1972 general election: Key National Labour Social Credit Independent Table footnotes: For the 37th Parliament, elected from the 1972 general election, there were the following select committees in the House of Representatives, as follows (Ministers of relevant portfolios are in bold):[17] There was one by-election held during the term of the 37th Parliament.