Labour Party

Elder was first elected to Parliament in the 1984 election as the Labour MP for West Auckland. He was re-elected in the 1987 election, the 1990 election, and in the 1993 election.^{[citation needed]} Although Labour formed a government for the first of Elder's two terms as an MP, he was not promoted to Cabinet.

In 1990, Elder was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.^[6] After the 1990 election, which Labour lost, he was appointed Shadow Minister of Agriculture by Mike Moore.^[7] In January 1993 he also picked up the Overseas Trade portfolio in a minor reshuffle.^[8]

Defection from Labour Party to New Zealand First

Within the Labour Party, Elder was a staunch supporter of Moore, and belonged to the more economically liberal wing of the party. When Helen Clark replaced Moore as party leader he was dropped from the Agriculture portfolio, but continued as Shadow Minister of Overseas Trade.^[9] Elder remained aligned with Moore and consequently he was ranked 40th on Labour's initial party list for the 1996 general election, the lowest of any sitting Labour MP. In response he questioned his ties with Labour and position in parliament, not ruling out resigning and forcing a by-election.^[10]

I don't have to stay in politics ... things have changed dramatically since I was elected a Labour candidate in 1984 and from when Mike Moore was leader. Instead of staying close to the issues which affect families, we [Labour] are getting further and further away from that because the people who now have control of the party don't see that primarily as the party's role. They have another vision altogether. They believe in the patchwork quilt. They think they can get a majority by patching together feminists, gays and other minorities.^[10]

Clark countered Elder's critiques saying Elder's list ranking reflected his lack of achievements as an MP. Elder bridled at Clark's comments, pointing to his 29 year membership and his time as Shadow Minister of Agriculture where he laboriously explained party policy to "incredulous farmers". He was clear that he didn't blame Clark and thought party processes and policies were responsible for his dissatisfaction.^[11]

When suggestions arose that Moore would found a new party, Elder was considered likely to follow.^[10] In the end, Moore remained with Labour, but Elder was still dissatisfied. On 3 April 1996, Elder left the Labour Party to join New Zealand First, a centrist conservative party led by Winston Peters. He became New Zealand First's spokesman for local government.^[12]

Coalition and Minority Government

In the 1996 election, Elder was re-elected to Parliament as a list MP for New Zealand First, having unsuccessfully contested the Waipareira electorate. When New Zealand First formed a coalition with the governing National Party, Elder was appointed to Cabinet, becoming Minister of Internal Affairs, Minister of Police,^[13] and Minister of Civil Defence. As Minister of Police, Elder officially opened the Queenstown Police Station on Friday 10 July 1998. When New Zealand First's coalition with National began to collapse, however, Elder joined the group of MPs who quit New Zealand First and continued to offer support to the National Party government, which became a minority government. He officially left New Zealand First on 18 August 1998. In exchange for his continued support for the government, Elder was allowed to remain Minister of Internal Affairs and Minister of Civil Defence, although he was no longer part of Cabinet.^[14]

Later, Elder joined with four other former New Zealand First MPs to found the Mauri Pacific Party. Elder eventually chose not to seek re-election, and retired from politics at the 1999 election.^[15]