Biography: Lange, David Russell

Douglas and Lange in conflict

This 1989 cartoon by Tom Scott, showing Finance Minister Roger Douglas attempting to demolish David Lange’s ‘feet of clay’, illustrates the tussle between the two after Douglas pushed for more radical economic reforms in the wake of the 1987 stock-market crash. When Lange overruled a flat tax and announced a review of the asset sales process, conflict between them escalated. Douglas departed from cabinet in 1988, but was re-elected by his colleagues in 1989, sparking Lange’s resignation.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: A-312-4-019

Cartoon by Tom Scott

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

How to cite this page

Barry Gustafson. 'Lange, David Russell', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 2010. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/cartoon/27853/douglas-and-lange-in-conflict (accessed 29 June 2026).