New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy. Under the New Zealand Royal Titles Act (1953), Queen Elizabeth II is Queen of New Zealand and is represented as head of state by the Governor-General, currently Dame Silvia Cartwright. Judge Anand Satyanand will become Governor General when Dame Silvia's term ends on 4 August 2006.
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| The Sovereign Queen Elizabeth II of New Zealand |
New Zealand is the only country in the world in which all the highest offices in the land are occupied by women - The Sovereign Queen Elizabeth II of New Zealand, Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright, Prime Minister Helen Clark, Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives Margaret Wilson and Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias.
The New Zealand Parliament has only one chamber, the House of Representatives, which usually seats 120 Members of Parliament. Parliamentary general elections are held every three years under a form of proportional representation called Mixed Member Proportional. The 2005 General Election created an 'overhang' of one extra seat (occupied by the Maori Party), due to that party winning more seats in constituencies than the number of seats its proportion of the party vote would have given it.
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| Beehive, Parliament Buildings |
There is no written constitution: the Constitution Act 1986 is the principal formal statement of New Zealand's constitutional structure. The Governor-General has the power to appoint and dismiss Prime Ministers and to dissolve Parliament. The Governor-General also chairs the Executive Council, which is a formal committee consisting of all ministers of the Crown. Members of the Executive Council are required to be Members of Parliament, and most are also in Cabinet. Cabinet is the most senior policy-making body and is led by the Prime Minister, who is also, by convention, the Parliamentary leader of the governing party or coalition.
The current Prime Minister is Helen Clark, leader of the Labour Party. She has served two full terms as Prime Minister and has begun her third. On 17 October 2005 she announced that she had come to a complex arrangement that guaranteed the support of enough parties for her Labour-led coalition to govern. The formal coalition consists of the Labour Party and Jim Anderton, the Progressive Party's only MP. In addition to the parties in formal coalition, New Zealand First and United Future provide confidence and supply in return for their leaders being ministers outside cabinet. A further arrangement has been made with the Green Party, which has given a commitment not to vote against the government on confidence and supply. This commitment assures the government of a majority of seven MPs on confidence.
The Leader of the Opposition is National Party leader Don Brash, who was formerly Governor of the Reserve Bank. The ACT party alongside the Maori Party, are both also in opposition. The Greens, New Zealand First and United Future all vote against the government on some legislation. |
