According to one political scientist: Between 1984 and 1993, New Zealand underwent radical economic reform, moving from what had probably been the most protected, regulated and state-dominated system of any capitalist democracy to an extreme position at the open, competitive, free-market end of the spectrum.

[1]The Labour government also enacted nuclear-free legislation, which led to the United States suspending its treaty obligations to New Zealand under the ANZUS alliance.

An opinion poll conducted by the Defence Committee showed that 92% of the population opposed the presence of nuclear weapons entering New Zealand.

[5] However this would ultimately require the banning of all American warships from entering New Zealand waters as it was US policy to 'neither confirm nor deny' whether individual ships were nuclear armed.

[6] The government also reinstated a diplomatic representative resident in India (Muldoon had closed the High Commission there) and appointed Edmund Hillary to the post.

Palmer's plan for a written constitution and entrenched Bill of Rights was derailed partly by public indifference but mostly by opposition from Māori who believed that the Treaty of Waitangi would be sidelined in the process.

This was a snap election called by Prime Minister Robert Muldoon after he lost confidence in his ability to command a majority of Parliament.

Muldoon was extremely unpopular by this time, and most voters had become disillusioned with his economic policies, so it is entirely likely that Labour would have won this election even if they had announced their programme in advance.

On election night, Lange raised Douglas' hand in a boxing-style victory pose, to convey unity.

The Labour Party was founded on socialist principles and traditionally favoured state regulation of the economy and strong support for disadvantaged members of society.

Meanwhile, the Labour Party, once dominated by working-class and trade unionists, had attracted many middle-class people with its liberal social and independent foreign policies.

Finance Minister Roger Douglas and his supporters felt that a complete overhaul of the New Zealand economic system was required.

Gradually more and more MPs, including Prime Minister David Lange became alarmed at the extent and speed of the reforms.

It was later alleged[citation needed] that Douglas and his supporters had used underhand tactics such as introducing important motions at the last minute, preventing serious debate.

David Lange also complained in his autobiography about the "Backbone club", a ginger group chaired by Ron Bailey which supported Douglas and Rogernomics.

Lange felt that New Zealand had experienced enough change in a short period, and that the country needed time to recover from the reforms and from the effects of the 1987 stock market crash and the resulting economic recession.

Michael Bassett commented that the government "whimpered away unlamented, a victim of low commodity prices that delayed economic recovery, but more particularly of catastrophically poor leadership in its second term".

The Fourth Labour Government's nuclear-free zone policy is still occasionally debated as of 2018[update] and has been a subject of controversy in New Zealand.

[29] He and his party received much criticism for promising foreign politicians to ban something so ingrained in New Zealand political culture.