Politics of New Zealand
[7] Parliament is responsible for passing laws, adopting the annual Budget, and exercising control of the executive government.
[13] Suffrage is nearly universal for permanent residents eighteen years of age and older,[14] women having gained the vote in 1893.
[19] Under MMP, each member of Parliament is either directly elected by voters in a single-member district via FPP or appointed from their party's list.
These limitations aim to promote transparency and accountability in the political process by curbing the potential influence of foreign and anonymous contributions.
[44] The prime minister, being the de facto leader of New Zealand, exercises executive functions that are formally vested in the sovereign (by way of the prerogative powers).
[45] For a government to be formed, typically following a general election, it must be able to command the support of the majority of MPs in the House of Representatives.
[49] Parties in government are said to have a "mandate" from voters and authority to implement manifestos (although this view has been criticised as being simplistic when applied to coalition arrangements).
The Opposition within Parliament helps to hold the Government to account through parliamentary questions, non-government bills, and the possibility of no-confidence motions.
[53] The chief justice, the head of the judiciary, presides over the Supreme Court and is appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the prime minister.
[4] Local elections are held every three years to choose regional, city and district councillors, including mayors, and community board members.
[63] New Zealand maintains a network of 32 embassies, 20 high commissions and 95 consulates abroad, and holds relations with about 150 countries.
Early European settlers believed that traditional British legal principles (including individual title to land) would be upheld in New Zealand.
[82] The country rates highly for civic participation in the political process, with 82% voter turnout during recent elections, compared with the OECD average of 69%.
[83] Human rights remain a central focus in New Zealand politics, with a strong commitment to ensuring the protection and promotion of individual freedoms and equality.
[84] However, the New Zealand Human Rights Commission asserts there is clear evidence that structural discrimination is a real and ongoing socioeconomic issue,[85] exemplified by Māori overrepresentation in the criminal justice system, comprising 45% of convicted individuals and 53% of those imprisoned.
The opposition to apartheid in South Africa in the 1970s and 1980s,[91] protests against French nuclear testing at Moruroa atoll in the 1970s, and popular support for New Zealand's anti-nuclear policy in the 1980s (see § Modern political history) are manifestations of this.
From the 1990s New Zealand's anti-nuclear position has become a key element of government policy (irrespective of party) and of the country's "distinctive political identity".
[94] Politics was initially dominated by conservative and wealthy "wool lords" who owned multiple sheep farms, mainly in Canterbury.
This period is notable for the influence of new social ideas and movements such as the Fabians and the creation in 1890 of the first political party, the Liberals.
As reparations from the colonial war and general discrepancies during colonisation, the New Zealand Government has formally apologised to those iwi affected, through settlements and legislation.
[111] New Zealand was the first country in the world in which all the highest offices were occupied by women, between March 2005 and August 2006: the Sovereign Queen Elizabeth II, Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright, Prime Minister Helen Clark, Speaker of the House Margaret Wilson, and Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias.
[120] In 1987, the government introduced the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act, banning visits by nuclear powered ships; the implementation of a nuclear-free zone brought about New Zealand's suspension from the ANZUS security alliance with the United States and Australia.
Public disillusionment resulting from perceived "broken promises" of the previous two governments fuelled demand for electoral reform in New Zealand.
This arrangement allowed National to decrease its reliance on the right-wing ACT party, whose free-market policies are sometimes controversial with the greater New Zealand public.
This arrangement conformed to a tradition of having a north-south split in the major parties' leadership, as Key's residence is in Auckland and English's electorate is in the South Island.
On 12 December 2016, English was elected as leader, and thus prime minister, by the National Party caucus after Key's unexpected resignation a week earlier.
Paula Bennett (member for Upper Harbour) was appointed deputy prime minister, thus continuing the tradition.
Following the September 2017 general election National retained its plurality in the House of Representatives, while Labour greatly increased its proportion of the vote and number of seats.
[135] In the 2020 general election Labour won by a landslide and gained an overall majority of seats in Parliament, sufficient to govern alone—a first under the MMP system.
[139] The 2023 general election saw the worst defeat of a sitting government since the introduction of the MMP system, with Labour losing nearly half of its seats.
