Following the death of Kirk in 1974, Tizard was elected the Labour Party's deputy leader and consequently became Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand. He was elected in an exhaustive caucus ballot, in the final iteration he defeated the Minister of Defence Arthur Faulkner 28 votes to 26. Kirk's replacement as Prime Minister, Bill Rowling, appointed Tizard to the portfolio that he had wanted all along – Minister of Finance. As Minister of Finance, Tizard's 1975 budget introduced a number of progressive measures, such as an expansion of spending on education which provided a standard bursary for all students in tertiary studies. He devalued the New Zealand Dollar by 15% to help local manufacturers and exporters. Overall his period in the finance portfolio was overshadowed by the impacts of the 1973 oil crisis which constrained what he could do.