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Prime Minister Of New Zealand

Prime Minister of New Zealand

The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government and is the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand. Since 5 December 1999 the Prime Minister has been Helen Clark of the Labour Party.

Responsibilities and powers

The role of the Prime Minister is not formally defined, being based on constitutional convention rather than specific legislation. According to these conventions, the Prime Minister is leader of Cabinet (itself a body existing by convention), and takes a coordinating role. The Prime Minister is regarded by convention as "first among equals" — he or she does indeed hold the most senior post in the administration, but is also required to adhere to any decisions taken by Cabinet. The actual ability of a Prime Minister to give direct orders is surprisingly limited — most of the position's power comes about through other means, such as:
- The ability to set the Cabinet agenda, thereby controlling what issues will be discussed.
- The ability to appoint and dismiss ministers. The extent to which this power can be exercised varies between different parties — for example, the Labour Party places most of this responsibility in the hands of the Caucus, leaving the Prime Minister only with the power to choose which portfolios a minister is given.
- The influence a Prime Minister is likely to have as leader of the dominant party — these powers may give him or her more direct control over subordinates than is attached to the Prime Minister's role itself.
- The power gained simply from being central to most significant decision-making, and from being able to comment on and criticise any decisions taken by other ministers. The Prime Minister also can call elections by notifying the Governor-General. By convention, the Prime Minister is the leader of the party or coalition of parties which has the most seats in Parliament. There is also a Deputy Prime Minister, who may or may not be from the same party.

History of the office

The exact origins of the office of Prime Minister are disputed. Use of the words "prime minister" as a descriptive term date back to the 1st Parliament, where they are applied to James FitzGerald and Thomas Forsaith. FitzGerald and Forsaith had no official titles, however, and New Zealand had not yet obtained self-rule. As such, they are not usually considered Prime Ministers in any substantive sense. The first person to be formally appointed to a position of leadership was Henry Sewell, who formed a government at the beginning of the 2nd Parliament. Despite his formal leadership role, however, his only actual title was Colonial Secretary. His successor, William Fox, was also given a formal leadership role, but was not Colonial Secretary. It was not until Frederick Weld, the sixth person appointed to formal leadership, that a substantive leadership title—Premier—appeared. Weld's successor, Edward Stafford, briefly changed the title to First Minister but it was soon afterwards restored to Premier by William Fox. From that point, Premier became the usual designation. Towards the end of the nineteenth century the term Prime Minister arose as a common alternative to Premier and Richard Seddon used the title almost exclusively. Seddon's successor, William Hall-Jones, was officially appointed Prime Minister rather than Premier. The title Prime Minister has been used ever since. Assuming that Sewell is counted as the first Prime Minister, thirty-seven people have held the office since it was established. Some of these people have held it on several different occasions, with the record for maximum number of times being shared between William Fox and Harry Atkinson (both of whom served four times). The longest that anyone has served in the office is thirteen years, a record set by Richard Seddon. The first holder of the office, Henry Sewell, led the country for the shortest total time; his only term lasted only thirteen days (the shortest term actually belonged to Harry Atkinson, whose third term lasted only seven days, but Atkinson served longer than Sewell in total). New Zealand is also one of the few countries in the world to have had two female heads of government, and one of only two countries to have two females heads of government directly succeed the other.

List of New Zealand Prime Ministers

Timeline

ImageSize = width:720 height:2000 PlotArea = left:0 right:0 bottom:60 top:10 Legend = columns:3 left:205 top:40 columnwidth:150 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:07/03/1856 till:30/07/2005 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical Colors= id:canvas value:gray(0.5) id:Ind value:gray(0.8) legend:Independent id:Lab value:red legend:Labour id:Lib value:rgb(0.9,0.8,0.0) legend:Liberal/United id:Nat value:blue legend:National id:Ref value:rgb(0.0,0.8,0.0) legend:Reform Define $left = align:right shift:(-25,-5) Define $right = align:left shift:(25,-5) Define $leftup = align:right shift:(-25,-1) Define $rightup = align:left shift:(25,-1) PlotData= mark:(line,white) fontsize:S shift:(25,-5) width:25 fontsize:S textcolor:black from:start till:20/04/1856 color:Ind $left text:"Henry Sewell_1856" from:20/04/1856 till:02/06/1856 color:Ind $right text:"1856_William Fox" from:03/06/1856 till:12/07/1861 color:Ind $left text:"Edward Stafford_1856-1861" from:12/07/1861 till:06/08/1862 color:Ind $right text:"1861-1862_William Fox" from:06/08/1862 till:30/10/1863 color:Ind $left text:"Alfred Domett_1862-1863" from:30/10/1863 till:24/11/1864 color:Ind $right text:"1863-1864_Frederick Whitaker" from:24/11/1864 till:16/10/1865 color:Ind $left text:"Frederick Weld_1864-1865" from:16/10/1865 till:28/06/1869 color:Ind $right text:"1865-1869_Edward Stafford" from:28/06/1869 till:10/08/1872 color:Ind $left text:"William Fox_1869-1872" from:10/08/1872 till:11/10/1872 color:Ind $right text:"1872_Edward Stafford" from:11/10/1872 till:03/03/1873 color:Ind $left text:"George Waterhouse_1872-1873" from:03/03/1873 till:08/05/1873 color:Ind $rightup text:"1873_William Fox" from:08/05/1873 till:06/07/1875 color:Ind $left text:"Julius Vogel_1873-1875" from:06/07/1875 till:15/02/1876 color:Ind $right text:"1875-1876_Daniel Pollen" from:15/02/1876 till:01/09/1876 color:Ind $left text:"Julius Vogel_1876" from:01/09/1876 till:13/10/1877 color:Ind $right text:"1876-1877_Harry Atkinson" from:13/10/1877 till:08/10/1879 color:Ind $left text:"George Grey_1877-1879" from:08/10/1879 till:21/04/1882 color:Ind $right text:"1879-1882_John Hall" from:21/04/1882 till:25/09/1883 color:Ind $left text:"Frederick Whitaker_1882-1883" from:25/09/1883 till:05/06/1884 color:Ind $right text:"1883-1884_Harry Atkinson" from:05/06/1884 till:28/07/1884 color:Ind $left text:"Robert Stout_1884" from:28/07/1884 till:03/09/1884 color:Ind $rightup text:"1884_Harry Atkinson" from:03/09/1884 till:08/10/1887 color:Ind $left text:"Robert Stout_1884-1887" from:08/10/1887 till:24/01/1891 color:Ind $right text:"1887-1891_Harry Atkinson" from:24/01/1891 till:27/04/1893 color:Lib $left text:"John Ballance_1891-1893" from:27/04/1893 till:10/06/1906 color:Lib $right text:"1893-1906_Richard Seddon" from:10/06/1906 till:06/08/1906 color:Lib $left text:"William Hall-Jones_1906" from:06/08/1906 till:28/03/1912 color:Lib $right text:"1906-1912_Joseph Ward" from:28/03/1912 till:10/07/1912 color:Lib $left text:"Thomas Mackenzie_1912" from:10/07/1912 till:10/04/1925 color:Ref $right text:"1912-1925_William Massey" from:10/04/1925 till:30/05/1925 color:Ref $left text:"Francis Bell_1925" from:30/05/1925 till:10/12/1925 color:Ref $right text:"1925-1928_Gordon Coates" from:10/12/1925 till:28/05/1930 color:Lib $left text:"Joseph Ward_1925-1930" from:28/05/1930 till:06/12/1935 color:Lib $right text:"1930-1935_George Forbes" from:06/12/1935 till:27/03/1940 color:Lab $left text:"Michael Joseph Savage_1935-1940" from:27/03/1940 till:13/12/1949 color:Lab $right text:"1940-1949_Peter Fraser" from:13/12/1949 till:20/09/1957 color:Nat $left text:"Sidney Holland_1949-1957" from:20/09/1957 till:12/12/1957 color:Nat $right text:"1957-1957_Keith Holyoake" from:12/12/1957 till:12/12/1960 color:Lab $left text:"Walter Nash_1957-1960" from:12/12/1960 till:07/02/1972 color:Nat $right text:"1960-1972_Keith Holyoake" from:07/02/1972 till:08/12/1972 color:Nat $left text:"Jack Marshall_1972" from:08/12/1972 till:06/09/1974 color:Lab $right text:"1972-1974_Norman Kirk" from:06/09/1974 till:12/12/1975 color:Lab $left text:"Bill Rowling_1974-1975" from:12/12/1975 till:26/07/1984 color:Nat $right text:"Robert Muldoon_1975-1984" from:26/07/1984 till:08/08/1989 color:Lab $left text:"David Lange_1984-1989" from:08/08/1989 till:04/09/1990 color:Lab $right text:"Geoffrey Palmer_1989-1990" from:04/09/1990 till:02/11/1990 color:Lab $left text:"Mike Moore_1990" from:02/11/1990 till:08/12/1997 color:Nat $right text:"Jim Bolger_1990-1997" from:08/12/1997 till:05/12/1999 color:Nat $left text:"Jenny Shipley_1997-1999" from:05/12/1999 till:end color:Lab $right text:"Helen Clark_1999-present"

External link

- [http://www.primeminister.govt.nz/ New Zealand Prime Minister's official website]
- [http://www.atonz.com/new_zealand/nz_prime-ministers.html / New Zealand Prime Minister's] New Zealand, Prime Minister Prime Minister
-

Prime Minister

A prime minister may be either:
- chief or leading member of the cabinet of the top-level government in a country having a parliamentary system of government; or
- the official, in countries with a semi-presidential system of government, appointed to manage the civil service and execute the directives of the President. President (1940-1945, 1951-1955)]] In parliamentary systems like the Westminster system, the prime minister is the head of the government while the position of head of state is largely ceremonial. In some monarchies the prime minister exercises powers (known as the Royal Prerogative) which are constitutionally vested in the Crown and can be exercised without the approval of parliament. As well as being Head of Government, a prime minister may have other roles or titles—the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, for example, is also First Lord of the Treasury. Prime ministers may take other ministerial posts—for example during the Second World War Winston Churchill was also Minister of Defence.

Prime ministers in republics and in monarchies

The post of prime minister is one which may be encountered both in constitutional monarchies (such as Belgium, Denmark, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom), and in republics in which the head of state is an elected (such as France) or unelected official (such as Germany) with varying degrees of real power. This contrasts with the presidential system, in which the President (or equivalent) is both the head of state and the head of the government. See also "First Minister" , "Premier", "Chief Minister" "Chancellor" and "Taoiseach": alternative titles usually equivalent in meaning to "prime minister." In some presidential or semi-presidential systems such as those of France, Russia, South Korea, or Taiwan the prime minister is an official generally appointed by the President but approved by the legislature and responsible for carrying out the directives of the President and managing the civil service. In these systems, it is possible for the president and the prime minister to be from different political parties if the legislature is controlled by a party different from that of the president. When it arises, such a state of affairs is usually referred to as (political) cohabitation.

Entry into office

In parliamentary systems a prime minister can enter into office by a number of means.
- by appointment by the head of state without the need for confirmation by parliament; Examples: New Zealand, the United Kingdom, where the monarch appoints a prime minister without the need for confirmation from parliament, which gets its first chance to indicate its view on the new government in the vote on the Speech from the Throne, in which the new government outlines its legislative programme. The method of prime ministerial appointment by the British sovereign is known as Kissing Hands. In Austria the chancellor takes office immediately after appointment and swear in by the Federal president.
- appointment by the head of state after parliament nominates a candidate; Example: The Republic of Ireland where the President of Ireland appoints the Taoiseach on the nomination of the Dáil Éireann.)
- appointment by the head of state after the majority parliamentary party nominates a candidate; Example: the Australian federal government, Canada, India, and New Zealand.
- the head of state nominates a candidate for prime minister who is then submitted to parliament for approval before appointment as prime minister; Example: Spain, where the King sends a nomination to parliament for approval. Also Germany where under the Basic Law (constitution) the Bundestag votes on a candidate nominated by the Federal President. In these cases, parliament can choose another candidate who then would be appointed by the head of state.)
- the head of state appoints a prime minister who has a set timescale within which s/he must gain a vote of confidence; (Example: Italy.)
- direct election by parliament (the premiers of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut);
- direct election by the public (Example: Israel, 1996-2001.); The prime minister is elected in a general election, with no regard to political affiliation.
- appointment by a state office holder other than the head of state or his/her representative; Example: Under the modern Instrument of Government 1974, which came into force in 1975, the power of commissioning someone to form a government was moved from the Monarch of Sweden to the Speaker of Parliament, who, once it has been approved, formally makes the appointment. Though most prime ministers are 'appointed', they are generally, if inaccurately, described as 'elected'.

Prime ministers and constitutions

Monarch of Sweden in the 1970s]] The position, power and status of prime ministers differ depending on the age of the constitution in individuals. Britain's constitution, being uncodified and largely unwritten, makes no mention of a prime minister. Though it had de facto existed for centuries, its first mention in official state documents did not occur until the first decade of the twentieth century. Australia's Constitution makes no mention of a prime minister of Australia. The office has a de facto existence at the head of the Executive Council. Ireland's constitution, Bunreacht na hÉireann (1937) provided for the office of taoiseach in detail, listing powers, functions and duties. Germany's Basic Law (1949) lists the powers, functions and duties of the federal Chancellor.

Exit from office

Contrary to popular and journalistic myth, most prime ministers in parliamentary systems are not appointed for a specific term of office and in effect may remain in power through a number of elections and parliaments. For example, Margaret Thatcher was only ever appointed prime minister on one occasion, in 1979. She remained continuously in power until 1990, though she used the assembly of each House of Commons after a general election to reshuffle her cabinet. Some states, however, do have a term of office of the prime minister linked to the period in office on the parliament. Hence the Irish Taoiseach is formally 'renominated' after every general election. (Some constitutional experts have questioned whether this process is actually in keeping with the provisions of the Irish constitution, which appear to suggest a taoiseach should remain in office, without the requirement of a renomination, unless s/he has clearly lost the general election.) The position of prime minister is normally chosen from the political party that commands majority of seats in the lower house of parliament. renomination from 1966-1977 and 1980-1984]] In parliamentary systems, governments are generally required to have the confidence of the lower house of parliament (though a small minority of parliaments, by giving a right to block Supply to upper houses, in effect make the cabinet responsible to both houses, though in reality upper houses, even when they have the power, rarely exercise it). Where they lose a vote of confidence, have a motion of no confidence passed against them, or where they lose Supply, most constitutional systems require either: a) a letter of resignation or b) a request of a parliamentary dissolution. The latter in effect allows the government to appeal the opposition of parliament to the electorate. However in many jurisdictions a head of state may refuse a parliamentary dissolution, requiring the resignation of the prime minister and his or her government. In most modern parliamentary systems, the prime minister is the person who decides when to request a parliamentary dissolution. Older constitutions often vest this power in the cabinet. (In Britain, for example, the tradition whereby it is the prime minister who requests a dissolution of parliament dates back to 1918. Prior to then, it was the entire government that made the request. Similarly, though the modern 1937 Irish constitution grants to the Taoiseach the right to make the request, the earlier 1922 Irish Free State Constitution vested the power in the Executive Council (the then name for the Irish cabinet).

Titles

A number of different terms are used to describe prime ministers. The German prime minister is actually titled Federal Chancellor while the Irish prime minister is called the Taoiseach. In many cases, though commonly used, "prime minister" is not the official title of the office-holder; the Spanish prime minister is the President of the Government (Presidente del Gobierno). Other common forms include President of the Council of Ministers (for example in Italy, Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri), President of the Executive Council, or Minister-President. In federations, the head of government of a state or province is most commonly known as the Premier or Chief Minister.

Style of a prime minister

The title prime minister is a job title that does not form part of the prime minister's name. It is therefore poor style to refer to “Prime Minister Blair”, just as it would be strange to call someone “Bus Driver Edwards”. The correct form is "Prime Minister Tony Blair" or "Tony Blair, Prime Minister". This mistake is particularly common in the United States, where a high office title is often adopted as if it were a military rank. The title of prime minister is lost when the officer holder ceases to be prime minister. This is not the case for some comparable positions in the United States, which can cause some confusion. When former Prime Minister of New Zealand Jim Bolger became the Ambassador to the United States, he was referred to as “Prime Minister Bolger”, which was both poor style and factually incorrect. Commonwealth Realm prime ministers are often Privy Counsellors entitled to the style the right honourable. In the New Zealand Parliament's debating chamber the Prime Minister is referred to as the Right Honourable the Prime Minister, rather than by name. In non-Commonwealth countries the prime minister may be entitled to the style of Excellency like a President.

Articles on prime ministers

Lists of prime ministers

The following table groups the list of past and present prime ministers and details information available in those lists.

External links

- [http://www.pm.gov.au/ website of the Prime Minister of Australia]
- [http://www.primeminister.gov.bb/ website of the Prime Minister of Barbados]
- [http://www.premier.fgov.be/ website of the Prime Minister of Belgium]
- [http://pm.gc.ca/ website of the Prime Minister of Canada]
- [http://www.premier-ministre.gouv.fr/en/ website of the Prime Minister of France]
- [http://www.primeminister.gr/gr/ website of the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic (Greece)]
- [http://www.kormany.hu/archivum/index.en.html website of the Prime Minister of Hungary]
- [http://eng.forsaetisraduneyti.is/ website of the Prime Minister of Iceland]
- [http://pmindia.nic.in website of the Prime Minister of India]
- [http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/index.asp website of the Taoiseach of Ireland]
- [http://www.pmo.gov.il/ website of the Prime Minister of Israel]
- [http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/index-e.html website of the Prime Minister of Japan]
- [http://www.opm.go.kr/warp/webapp/home/en_home website of the Prime Minister of South Korea]
- [http://www.pmo.gov.my website of the Prime Minister of Malaysia]
- [http://www.ministerpresident.nl/ website of the Prime Minister of The Netherlands]
- [http://www.primeminister.govt.nz/ website of the Prime Minister of New Zealand]
- [http://odin.dep.no/smk/engelsk/index-b-n-a.html website of the Prime Minister of Norway]
- [http://www.kprm.gov.pl/ website of the Prime Minister of Poland]
- [http://www.predsednik.gov.yu/ website of the Chairman of Serbia and Montenegro Council]
- [http://www.gov.si/pv/index.php?lng=eng website of the Prime Minister of Slovenia]
- [http://www.la-moncloa.es/webIngles/asp/inicio.asp website of the President of the Government of Spain]
- [http://www.pmoffice.go.th website of the Prime Minister of Thailand]
- [http://opm.gov.tt/ website of the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago]
- [http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page1.asp home page of 10 Downing St, residence & office of the Prime Minister of the UK] Prime minister Category:Government occupations Prime minister ja:?? ko:?? zh-min-nan:Siú-siòng nb:Premierminister simple:Prime Minister th:????????????

New Zealand

New Zealand or Aotearoa, the Land of the Long White Cloud, is a country of two large islands and many smaller islands in the south-western Pacific Ocean. New Zealand is notable for its isolation, being separated from Australia on the northwest by the Tasman Sea, some 2,000 km wide. The closest neighbours to the north are New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga. The population of New Zealand is mostly of European descent, with the indigenous Māori as the largest minority. Non-Māori Polynesian and Asian peoples are also significant minorities, especially in the cities. Officially, Elizabeth II is the Queen of New Zealand and is represented in the country by a non-political Governor-General; though the Queen has no real political influence. Political power is held by the Prime Minister who is leader of the Government in the democratically elected Parliament of New Zealand. The monarch's Realm of New Zealand also includes the Cook Islands and Niue, which are entirely self-governing; Tokelau, which is moving towards self-government, and New Zealand's claim in Antarctica.

History

New Zealand is one of the most recently settled major land masses. Polynesian settlers arrived in their waka some time between 800 and 600 years ago to establish the indigenous Māori culture. Settlement of the Chatham Islands to the south-east of New Zealand produced the Moriori people but it is disputed whether they moved there from New Zealand or elsewhere in Polynesia. Most of New Zealand was divided into tribal territories called rohe, resources within which were controlled by an iwi ('tribe'). Usually no two iwi had overlapping rohe. Māori adapted to eating the local marine resources, flora and fauna for food, hunting the giant flightless moa (which soon became extinct), and ate the Polynesian Rat and kumara (sweet potato), which they introduced to the country. The first Europeans known to reach New Zealand were led by Abel Janszoon Tasman, who sailed up the west coast of the South and North islands in 1642. He named it Staten Landt, believing it to be part of the land Jacob Le Maire had discovered in 1616 off the coast of Chile. Staten Landt appeared on Tasman's first maps of New Zealand, but this was changed by Dutch cartographers to Nova Zeelandia, after the Dutch province of Zeeland, some time after Hendrik Brouwer proved the South American land to be an island in 1643. The Latin Nova Zeelandia became Nieuw Zeeland in Dutch. Lieutenant James Cook subsequently called the archipelago New Zealand, although the names he chose for the North and South islands were rejected, and the main three islands became known as North, Middle and South, with the Middle Island being later called the South Island. Cook began extensive surveys of the islands in 1769, leading to European whaling expeditions and eventually significant European colonisation. From as early as the 1780s, Māori had encounters with European sealers and whalers. Acquisition of muskets by those iwi in close contact with European visitors destabilised the existing balance of power between Māori tribes and there was a temporary but intense period of bloody inter-tribal warfare, known as the Musket Wars, that only ceased when all iwi were so armed. Concern about the exploitation of Māori by Europeans, Church Missionary Society lobbying and French interest in the region led the British to annex New Zealand by Royal Proclamation in January 1840. To legitimise the British annexation, Lieutenant Governor William Hobson had been dispatched in 1839; he hurriedly negotiated the Treaty of Waitangi with northern iwi on his arrival. The Treaty was signed in February, and in recent years it has come to be seen as the founding document of New Zealand. The Māori translation of the treaty promised the Māori tribes "tino rangatiratanga" would be preserved in return for cedeing kawanatanga, which the English versions translates as "chieftainship" for "sovereignty"; the real meanings are now disputed. Disputes over land sales and sovereignty caused the New Zealand land wars which took place between 1845 and 1872. In 1975 the Treaty of Waitangi Act established the Waitangi Tribunal, charged with hearing claims of Crown violations of the Treaty of Waitangi dating back to 1840. Some Māori tribes and the Moriori never signed the treaty. Although New Zealand was initially administered as a part of the Australian colony of New South Wales, it became a colony in its own right in 1841. European settlement progressed more rapidly than anyone anticipated, and settlers soon outnumbered Māori. Self-government was granted to the settler population in 1852. The first capital of New Zealand was Kororareka (known today as Russell) but shortly afterwards moved to Auckland. There were political concerns following the discovery of gold in Central Otago in 1861 that the South Island would form a separate colony. So in 1865 the capital was offically moved to the more central city of Wellington. New Zealand was involved in a Constitutional Convention in March 1891 in Sydney, New South Wales, along with the then-colonies of Australia. This was to consider a potential constitution for the proposed federation between the then-British Colonies of Australasia. New Zealand lost interest in joining Australia in a federation following this convention. New Zealand became an independent dominion on 26 September 1907 by royal proclamation. Full independence was granted by the United Kingdom Parliament with the Statute of Westminster in 1931; it was taken up upon the Statute's adoption by the New Zealand Parliament in 1947. Since then New Zealand has been a sovereign constitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth of Nations.

Politics

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, Dame Silvia Cartwright. The New Zealand Parliament has only one chamber, the House of Representatives which usually seats 120 members of Parliament. Parliamentary elections are every three years under a form of proportional representation called Mixed Member Proportional (MMP). The 2005 General Election created an 'overhang' of one extra seat (occupied by the Māori Party), due to that party winning more seats in constituencies than its proportional entitlement. There is no single written constitution; however, 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 the Parliamentary leader of the governing party or coalition. The current Prime Minister is Helen Clark of the Labour Party. She has served two complete 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 core of the coalition is a cabinet consisting of Labour Party ministers and Jim Anderton, the Progressive Party's only MP. In addition to the parties represented in cabinet the leaders of New Zealand First and United Future are to be appointed as Ministers outside Cabinet. An arrangement of this kind has never been attempted before in New Zealand. 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. Also in opposition are the Māori Party and ACT New Zealand. The highest court in New Zealand is the Supreme Court of New Zealand. The Supreme Court was established in 2004 following the passage of the Supreme Court Act in 2003. The Act abolished the option to appeal Court of Appeal rulings to the Privy Council in London. The current Chief Justice is Dame Sian Elias. New Zealand's judicary also has a High Court which deals with serious criminal offences and civil matters, and a Court of Appeal, as well as subordinate courts.

Foreign relations and military

New Zealand maintains a strong profile on environmental protection, human rights and free trade, particularly for agriculture. New Zealand is a member of the following geo-political organisations: APEC, Commonwealth of Nations, OECD and the United Nations. It has signed up to a number of free trade agreements, of which the most important is Closer Economic Relations with Australia. For its first hundred years, New Zealand followed Britain's lead on foreign policy. "Where she goes, we go, where she stands, we stand", said Prime Minister Michael Savage, in declaring war on Germany on 3 September 1939. However, Britain's inability to protect New Zealand from Japanese aggression in World War II led New Zealand to come under the influence of the United States of America for the generation following the war. New Zealand has traditionally also worked closely with Australia, whose foreign policy followed a similar historical trend. In turn, many Pacific Islands such as Western Samoa have looked to New Zealand's lead. The American influence on New Zealand was weakened by the disappointment with the Vietnam War, the nuclear danger presented by the Cold War, the Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior by France and by disagreements over environmental and agricultural trade issues. New Zealand is a party to the ANZUS security treaty between Australia, New Zealand and the United States. In 1984 New Zealand refused nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed ships access to its ports. In 1986 the United States announced that it was suspending its treaty security obligations to New Zealand pending the restoration of port access. The New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament and Arms Control Act of 1987 prohibits the stationing of nuclear weapons on the territory of New Zealand and the entry into New Zealand waters of nuclear armed or propelled ships. This legislation remains a source of contention and the basis for the United States' continued suspension of treaty obligations to New Zealand. In addition to the various wars between Iwi, and between the British, settlers and Iwi, New Zealand has fought in the Boer War, World War I, (sustaining the highest casualties per head of population of any combatant nation), World War II, the Korean War, the Malayan Emergency (and committed troops, fighters and bombers to the subsequent confrontation with Indonesia), the Vietnam War, the Gulf War and the Afghanistan War and has briefly sent a unit of army engineers to help with rebuilding Iraqi infrastructure. The New Zealand military has three branches: the New Zealand Army, the Royal New Zealand Navy, and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. New Zealand considers its own national defence needs to be modest; it dismantled its air combat capability in 2001. New Zealand has contributed forces to recent regional and global peacekeeping missions, including those in Cyprus, Somalia, Bosnia, the Sinai, Angola, Cambodia, the Iran/Iraq border, Bougainville and East Timor.

Local government and external territories

East Timor The early European settlers divided New Zealand into provinces. These were abolished in 1876 so that government could be centralised for financial reasons. As a result, New Zealand has no separately represented subnational entities such as provinces, states or territories apart from its local government. The spirit of the provinces however still lives on, and there is fierce rivalry exhibited in sporting and cultural events. Since 1876, local government has administered the various regions of New Zealand. In 1989, the government completely reorganised local government, implementing the current two-tier structure of regional councils and territorial authorities. Today New Zealand has 12 regional councils for the administration of environmental and transport matters and 74 territorial authorities that administer roading, sewerage, building consents, and other local matters. The territorial authorities are 16 city councils, 57 district councils, and the Chatham Islands County Council. Four of the territorial councils (one city and three districts) and the Chatham Islands County Council also perform the functions of a regional council and thus are known as unitary authorities. Territorial authority districts are not subdivisions of regional council districts, and a few of them straddle regional council boundaries. Regions are (asterisks denote unitary authorities): Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne
- , Hawke's Bay, Taranaki, Manawatu-Wanganui, Wellington, Marlborough
- , Nelson
- , Tasman
- , West Coast, Canterbury, Otago, Southland, Chatham Islands
- . As a major South Pacific nation, New Zealand has a close working relationship with many of the smaller Pacific Island nations, and continues a political association with the Cook Islands, Niue, and Tokelau. New Zealand operates Scott Base in its Antarctic territory, the Ross Dependency. Other countries also use Christchurch to support their Antarctic bases and the city is sometimes known as the "Gateway to Antarctica".

Geography

Ross Dependency are visible in the centre of the North Island. The Southern Alps and the rain shadow they create are clearly visible on the South Island]] New Zealand comprises two main islands (simply called the North and South Islands in English, or usually Te-Ika-a-Maui and Te Wai Pounamu in Māori) and a number of smaller islands. The total land area of New Zealand, 268,680 km², is a little less than that of Japan and a little more than the United Kingdom. The country extends more than 1600 km along its main, north-north-east axis. The most significant of the smaller inhabited islands of New Zealand include Stewart Island/Rakiura, Waiheke Island, an island in Auckland's Hauraki Gulf, Great Barrier Island, east of the Hauraki Gulf and the Chatham Islands, named Rekohu by Moriori. The country has extensive marine resources, with the fifth largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the world covering over 4 million km², more than 15 times its land area. The South Island is the largest land mass, and is divided along its length by the Southern Alps, the highest peak of which is Aoraki/Mount Cook, at 3,754 metres (12,316 feet). There are 18 peaks of more than 3,000 metres in the South Island. The North Island is less mountainous than the South, but is marked by volcanism. The tallest North Island mountain, Mount Ruapehu (2,797 metres), is an active cone volcano. The dramatic and varied landscape of New Zealand has made it a popular location for the production of television programmes and films, including the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Lord of the Rings The usual climate throughout the country is mild, mostly cool temperate to warm temperate, with temperatures rarely falling below 0°C or rising above 30°C. Conditions vary from wet and cold on the West Coast of the South Island to dry and continental in the Mackenzie Basin of inland Canterbury and subtropical in Northland. Of the main cities, Christchurch is the driest, receiving only some 640 millimetres of rain per year. Auckland, the wettest, receives a little less than three times that amount.

Flora and fauna

Northland Because of its long isolation from the rest of the world, and its island biogeography New Zealand has extraordinary flora and fauna. About 80 percent of the New Zealand flora only occurs in New Zealand, including more than 40 endemic genera. The main two types of forest have been dominated by podocarps including the giant kauri and southern beech. The remaining vegetation types in New Zealand are grassland of grass and tussock, usually associated with the subalpine areas, and the low shrublands between grasslands and forests. Until the arrival of the first humans, 80% of the land was forested and, barring two species of bat, there were no non-marine mammals at all. Instead, New Zealand's forests were inhabited by a diverse range of birds including the flightless Moa which is now extinct, the Kiwi, Kakapo, and Takahē which are all endangered due to human actions. Unique birds capable of flight include the Haast's eagle which was the world's largest bird of prey before it became extinct and the large parrots the Kaka and Kea. Reptiles present in New Zealand include skinks and geckos and the Tuatara. There are no snakes but there are many species of insects— including the weta which may grow as large as a House Mouse.

Economy

House Mouse New Zealand has a thriving, modern, developed economy. The country has a high standard of living, ranking 19th on the 2005 Human Development Index and 15th of The Economists 2005 world-wide quality-of-life index. Since 1984 successive governments have engaged in major macroeconomic restructuring, transforming New Zealand from a highly protectionist and regulated economy to a liberalised free-trade economy. During the late 1980s, the New Zealand Government sold a number of major trading enterprises, including its telecommunications company, railway network, a number of radio stations and two financial institutions in a series of asset sales. Although the New Zealand Government continues to own a number of significant businesses, collectively known as State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), they are operated through arms-length shareholding arrangements as stand-alone businesses that are required to operate profitably, just like any privately owned enterprise. Unfortunately, due in part to the sudden transition to a market economy, an economic bubble developed in the New Zealand stock market starting in 1984. This burst in October 1987 and the total value of the market halved within a year (it has still to recover this lost value). The effect of this bubble was a period of poor economic growth which lasted until the mid 90s. It also led the government to begin a programme of massive immigration to boost GDP. However, since 1999 New Zealand has enjoyed a period of relatively strong and sustained growth, and contained inflationary pressures. The current New Zealand government's economic objectives are centred around moving from being ranked among the lower end of the OECD countries to regaining a higher placing again, pursuing free-trade agreements, "closing the gaps" between ethnic groups, and building a "knowledge economy." In 2004 it began discussing free trade with China, one of the first countries to do so. New Zealand is heavily dependent on trade—particularly in agricultural products—to drive growth, and it has been affected by global economic slowdowns and slumps in commodity prices. Since agricultural exports are highly sensitive to currency values and a large percentage of consumer goods are imported, any changes in the value of the New Zealand dollar has a strong impact on the economy. Its primary export industries are agriculture, horticulture, fishing, forestry and information technology. There are also substantial tourism and export education industries. The film and wine industries are considered to be up-and-coming.
Demographics
New Zealand has a population of about 4.1 million. About 70% of the population are whites of European descent. New Zealanders of Anglo-Celtic ancestry are known as Pākeha - this term is used variously and some Māori use it to refer to all non-Māori New Zealanders. A large proportion of white New Zealanders are of Scottish ancestry. Māori people are the second largest ethnic group (the percentage of the population of full or part-Māori ancestry is 14.7%; those who checked only Māori are 7.9%). Between the 1996 and 2001 censuses, the number of people of Asian origin (6.6%) overtook the number of people of Pacific Island origin (6.5%) (note that the census allowed multiple ethnic affiliations). Virtually all Māori are of mixed heritage (Māori/Pākeha), but a large portion of them marked themselves as Māori-only on the Census. New Zealand is positive about immigration and is committed to increasing its population by approx 1% per annum. At present migrants from the UK constitute the largest single group (30%) but new migrants are drawn from many nations, increasingly from East Asia. Christianity is the predominant religion in New Zealand, although nearly 40% of the population has no religious affiliation. The main Christian denominations are Anglicanism, Presbyterianism, Roman Catholicism and Methodism. There are also significant numbers who identify themselves with Pentecostal and Baptist churches and with the Mormon church. The New Zealand-based Ratana church has many adherents among Māori. According to census figures, other significant minority religions include Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam.
Culture
IslamNew Zealand has a diverse contemporary culture with influences from British, the Māori,and other European immigrants and most recently Polynesian cultures. There were many people from Scotland amongst the early British settlers and elements of their culture persist; New Zealand is said to have more bagpipe bands than Scotland. Cultural links between New Zealand and the UK are maintained by a common language, sustained migration from the UK and the fact that many young New Zealanders spend time in the UK on their "overseas experience (OE)". Pre-European contact Māori culture had no metal tools, relying on stone and wood. Modern Māori do not live a traditional lifestyle. Elements of Māori culture survive and the Government actively promotes it to all New Zealanders. Use of the Māori language (Te Reo Māori) as a living, community language remained only in a few remote areas in the post war years but it is currently going through a renaissance; with generous state support for Māori language medium schools and a Māori language television channel. New Zealand's landscape has appeared in a number of television programmes and films. In particular, the television series Hercules and Xena were filmed around Auckland, and the film Heavenly Creatures in Christchurch. The television series The Tribe is set and filmed in New Zealand as well. Director Peter Jackson shot the epic The Lord of the Rings trilogy in various locations around the country, taking advantage of the spectacular and relatively unspoiled landscapes, and Mount Taranaki was used as a stand-in for Mount Fuji in The Last Samurai. The latest of such major international films to be released are King Kong and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Sport
New Zealand's most popular sports are rugby union, cricket, netball, lawn bowling, soccer (the most popular sport amongst children) and rugby league. Also popular are golf, tennis, cycling and a variety of water sports, particularly sailing, whitewater kayaking, Surf Lifesaving and rowing. In the latter, New Zealand enjoyed an extraordinary Magic 45 minutes when winning four successive gold medals at the 2005 world championships. Snow sports such as skiing and snowboarding are also popular. Equestrian sportsmen and sportswomen make their mark in the world (Mark Todd being chosen international "Horseman of the Century"), and all the way down to the juniors at pony club level.
Olympic Games
The country is internationally recognised as achieving extremely well on a medals-to-population ratio at Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games. See, for example, New Zealand Olympic medallists and New Zealand at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Rugby
Rugby as a sport is closely linked to New Zealand's national identity. The national rugby team is called the All Blacks and has the best winning record of any national team in the world, including being the inaugural winners of the World Cup in 1987. The style of name has been followed in naming the national team in several other sports. For instance, the nation's basketball team is known as the Tall Blacks. New Zealand is to host the 2011 Rugby Union World Cup. New Zealand's national sporting colours are not the colours of its flag, but are black and white (silver). The silver fern is a national emblem worn by New Zealanders representing their country in sport. The haka—a traditional Māori challenge—is often performed at sporting events. The All Blacks traditionally perform a haka before the start of international matches.
Yachting, America's Cup
New Zealand is one of the leading nations in world yachting, especially open water long distance or around the world races. Round-the-world yachtsman, Sir Peter Blake was something of a national hero before his untimely death at the hands of river pirates while on an environmental exploration trip on the Amazon. In inshore yachting, Auckland hosted the last two America's Cup regattas (2000 and 2003). In 2000, Team New Zealand successfully defended the trophy they had won in 1995 in San Diego, which made them the only team in the history of the Cup to successfully defend a challenge other than a United States team, but in 2003 they lost to a team headed by Ernesto Bertarelli of Switzerland, whose Alinghi syndicate was skippered by Russell Coutts, the former skipper of Team New Zealand. Team New Zealand will compete for the America's Cup at the next regatta in Valencia in 2007. The team manager is Grant Dalton.
Public holidays
Statutory Holidays
(These holidays are legislated by several Acts of Parliament, such as the Holidays Act. New Zealand Statutes can be viewed at [http://www.legislation.govt.nz/browse_vw.asp?content-set=pal_statutes legislation.govt.nz]) There are also Provincial Anniversary Days to celebrate the founding days or landing days of the first colonists of the various colonial provinces. The actual observance of Anniversary days can vary even within each province due to local custom, convenience or the proximity of seasonal events or other holidays. This may differ from the historical observance day, and may be several weeks from the historic date of the events being commemorated. A full list of Anniversary days is listed in the article Holidays in New Zealand.
International rankings

- UN Human Development Index (HDI), 2005: 19th out of 177 behind Norway; United Nations Development Programme (pdf) [http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2005/pdf/HDR05_complete.pdf]
- Quality of Life Index, 2005: 15th out of 111 behind Ireland; The Economist Intelligence Unit (pdf) [http://www.economist.com/media/pdf/QUALITY_OF_LIFE.pdf]
- Environmental Sustainability Index, 2005: 14th (out of 146) behind Finland; Yale University Center for Environmental Law and Policy & Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network (pdf) [http://www.yale.edu/esi/ESI2005_Main_Report.pdf]
- Index of Economic Freedom, 2005: 5th= (out of 155) behind Hong Kong; Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal [http://www.heritage.org/research/features/index/]
- GDP Ranking, 2005: 25th out of 111 behind Luxembourg; The Economist Intelligence Unit (pdf) [http://www.economist.com/media/pdf/QUALITY_OF_LIFE.pdf]
- Transparency International 2005: 2nd= (out of 159) behind Iceland on its list of least corrupt countries in the world. [http://ww1.transparency.org/cpi/2005/cpi2005_infocus.html#cpi]
See also

Notes
McGlone, S.M. and Wilmshurst, J.M. 1999. Dating initial Māori environmental impact in New Zealand. Quaternary International 59:5 - 16
Ministry for the Environment. 2005. Offshore Options: Managing Environmental Effects in New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone. [http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/water/offshore-options-jun05/html/page3.html Introduction]
Allan, H.H. 1982. Indigenous Tracheophyta - Psilopsida, Lycopsida, Filicopsida, Gymnospermae, Dicotyledons, Flora of New Zealand Volume I. Botany Division, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research

External links

- [http://www.teara.govt.nz/ Te Ara, the Encyclopedia of New Zealand]
- [http://webdirectory.natlib.govt.nz/index.htm Te Puna Web Directory ] - A directory to New Zealand web sites
- [http://www.mch.govt.nz/ Ministry for Culture and Heritage] - includes information on flag, anthems and coat of arms.
- [http://www.govt.nz/ New Zealand Government Portal]
- [http://www.nzte.govt.nz/ New Zealand Trade and Enterprise] - New Zealand's trade and economic development agency.
- [http://wikitravel.org/en/article/New_Zealand Wikitravel] - New Zealand travel guide.
- [http://www.metservice.co.nz/ New Zealand weather]
- [http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/ NZHistory.net.nz New Zealand history website]
- [http://www.stats.govt.nz/ Statistics New Zealand] - Official statistics.
- [http://www.newzealand.com/ Tourism New Zealand]
- [http://www.astronomy.net.nz/ Astronomy in New Zealand] The guide to astronomy in New Zealand
- [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/ New Zealand Herald] - New Zealand newspaper online A
Category:Island nations Category:Members of the Commonwealth of Nations Category:Former British colonies Category:Monarchies Category:Oceanic countries Category:Polynesia als:Neuseeland zh-min-nan:Aotearoa ko:뉴질랜드 ms:New Zealand ja:ニュージーランド simple:New Zealand th:ประเทศนิวซีแลนด์

Parliament of New Zealand

The New Zealand Parliament is the legislative body of the New Zealand government. Technically, the term "Parliament" encompasses both the monarch and the normally 120-member House of Representatives, but to most people, "Parliament" refers to the House of Representatives alone. Under the Constitution Act 1986, this usage became formal. Originally, as specified in the British New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, the New Zealand had a bicameral Parliament, with the House of Representatives as the lower house and the Legislative Council as the upper house. Since the abolition of the Legislative Council in 1951 the Parliament has been unicameral. New Zealand essentially follows the Westminster System of government.

Members of Parliament

The House of Representatives takes as its model the British House of Commons. It normally consists of 120 members, known as "Members of Parliament" or MPs. Until 1951 they had the title of 'Members of the House of Representatives' or MHRs. Seats in the debating chamber form a horseshoe pattern, with members of the governing party or coalition sitting on the right hand of the Speaker and members of the opposition sitting opposite. The Speaker of the House of Representatives acts as the presiding officer. The executive branch of the New Zealand government (the Cabinet) draws its membership exclusively from Parliament, based on which party or parties can claim a majority. The Prime Minister (PM) leads the government: the Governor-General appoints the PM from a party or from a coalition which appears to have enough support in the House to govern. This support is immediately tested through a Motion of Confidence. The current government is a coalition between Labour and the Progressive Party; the Prime Minister is Helen Clark. The Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the largest opposition party. Currently the Leader of the Opposition is Don Brash of the National Party. For information on current members of Parliament, see 48th New Zealand Parliament.

Parliamentary elections

Election to the New Zealand Parliament is by the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) electoral system, which provides for proportional representation. The MMP system means that there are usually several parties present in Parliament — at present, there are eight. The MMP system replaced the old "first-past-the-post" system after a referendum in 1993. The first MMP vote was at the 1996 election. Under the MMP system, the size of Parliament is normally 120 MPs. Slightly more than half of these (referred to as 'electorate MPs') are chosen from geographical electorates on a first-past-the-post basis; the remainder are chosen from closed party lists and are known as 'list MPs'. A candidate may contest an electorate, appear on the list, or both; candidates who have won electorate seats are eliminated from party lists before the list MPs are named. The number of electorate MPs is calculated in three steps. The less populated of New Zealand's two principal islands, the South Island, has a fixed quota of 16 seats. The number of seats for the North Island and the number of special reserved seats for Maori are then calculated in proportion to these. (The Maori seats have their own special electoral roll; people of Maori descent may opt to enroll either on this roll or on the general roll, and the number of Maori seats is determined with reference to the number of adult Maori who opt for the Maori roll.) The number of electorates is recalculated, and the boundaries of each redrawn so as to make them approximately equal in population within a tolerance of plus or minus 5%, after each quinquennial census. After the 2001 census, there were 7 Maori electorates and 62 general electorates, or 69 electorates in total. There were therefore normally 51 list MPs. By a quirk of timing, the 2005 election was the first election since 1990 at which the electorates were not redrawn since the previous election. The next census will be in 2006 and will apply to the 2008 election. A party is not entitled to any list MPs unless it either wins 5% of the "party vote" (the more important of the two votes in MMP, which determines the overall proportionality of Parliament) or wins at least one electorate seat. The electorate-seat escape clause has twice saved parties from Parliamentary oblivion: New Zealand First in 1999 gained 4.26% of the party vote and five MPs thanks to its leader's razor-thin 63-vote margin in his home electorate of Tauranga, and Jim Anderton's Progressive Coalition (later renamed the "Progressive Party") gained two MPs from 1.7% of the vote after its leader comfortably held his electorate of Wigram. In addition, in both 1996 and 1999 the United Party won an electorate, but not enough party votes to entitle it to any additional list MPs. If a party wins more electorate seats than it would be entitled to proportionally, the size of Parliament is increased by the number of these so-called "overhang MPs" until the next election. This first occurred in the 2005 election.

Passage of legislation

The New Zealand Parliament's model for passing Acts of Parliament is similar (but not identical) to that of other Westminster System governments. Laws are initially proposed to Parliament as bills. They become Acts after being approved three times by Parliamentary votes and then receiving Royal Assent from the Governor-General. The majority of bills are promulgated by the government of the day (that is, the party or parties that have a majority in Parliament). It is rare for government bills to be defeated. It is also possible for individual MPs to promote their own bills, called member's bills — these are usually put forward by opposition parties, or by MPs who wish to deal with a matter that parties do not take positions on.

First Reading

The first stage of the process is the First Reading. The MP introducing the bill (often a minister) will give a detailed speech on the bill as a whole. Debate on the bill generally lasts two hours, with MPs making ten-minute speeches on the bill's general principles. Speaking slots are allocated based on the size of each party, with different parties using different methods to distribute their slots among their MPs. The MP introducing the bill will generally make a recommendation that the bill be considered by an appropriate Select Committee (see below). Sometimes, it will be recommended that a special Committee be formed, usually when the bill is particularly important or controversial. Parliament then votes as to whether the bill should be sent to the Committee for deliberation. It is not uncommon for a bill to be voted to the Select Committee stage even by parties which do not support it — since Select Committees can recommend amendments to bills, parties will often not make a final decision on whether to back a bill until the Second Reading.

Select Committee stage

The Select Committee will scrutinise the bill, going over it in more detail than can be achieved by the whole membership of Parliament. The public can also make submissions to Select Committees, offering support, criticism, or merely comments. The Select Committee stage is seen as increasingly important today — in the past, the governing party generally dominated Select Committees, making the process something of a rubber stamp, but in the multi-party environment there is significant scope for real debate. Select Committees frequently recommended changes to bills, with prompts for change coming from the MPs on the Committee, officials who advise the Committee, and members of the public. When a majority of the Committee is satisfied with the bill, the Committee will report back to Parliament on it. Unless Parliament grants an extension, the time limit for Select Committee deliberations is six months or whatever deadline was set by the House when the bill was referred.

Second Reading

The Second Reading, like the first, generally consists of a two-hour debate in which MPs make ten-minute speeches. Again, speaking slots are allocated to parties based on their size. In theory, speeches should relate directly to the findings of the Select Committee, although in practice, they tend to be discussions of the bill in general. Parties will usually have made their final decision on a bill after the Select Committee stage, and will make their views clear during the Second Reading debates. At the conclusion of the Second Reading, the House votes on whether to accept any amendments recommended by the Select Committee. The Minister of Finance has the power (given by Parliament's Standing Orders) to veto any bill which would have a major impact on the government's budget and expenditure plans. Although this veto can be invoked at any stage of the process, it is usually employed at the Second Reading. If a bill received majority support, it goes on to to be considered by a Committee of the whole House.

Committee of the whole House

A Committee of the whole House consists of all members of Parliament, and discusses the bill clause by clause. MPs may make five-minute speeches on a particular clause of the bill, but may not make general speeches on the bill's overall goals or principles. The extent to which a bill changes during this process varies. If the Select Committee that considered the bill was dominated by the opposition, and made significant alterations, the government may make major "corrective" amendments. The opposition may also put forward wrecking amendments, although these are generally just symbolic.

Third Reading

The final Reading takes the same format as the First and Second Readings — a two-hour debate with MPs making ten-minute speeches. The speeches once again refer to the bill in general terms, and represent the final chance for debate. A final vote is taken. If a bill passes its third reading, it is passed on to the Governor-General, who will (assuming constitutional conventions are followed) give it Royal Assent as a matter of course. It then becomes law.

Select Committees

Legislation is scrutinised by Select Committees. The Committees can call for submissions from the public, thereby meaning that there is a degree of public consultation before a parliamentary bill proceeds into law. The strengthening of the Committee system was in response to concerns that legislation was being forced through, without receiving due examination and revision. Each Select Committee has a Chairperson and a Deputy Chairperson. MPs may be members of more than one Select Committee. There are 18 Select Committees in the House of Representatives, as follows:
- Business
- Commerce
- Education and Science
- Finance and Expenditure
- Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade
- Health
- Justice and Electoral
- Law and Order
- Local Government and Environment
- Government Administration
- Maori Affairs
- Officers of Parliament
- Primary Production
- Privileges
- Regulations Review
- Social Services
- Standing Orders
- Transport and Industrial Relations Occasionally a special Select Committee will be created on a temporary basis. An example was the Select Committee established to study the foreshore and seabed bill.

Upper house

The New Zealand Parliament does not have an upper house — unlike many other legislatures, it is unicameral rather than bicameral. It did, however, have an upper house before 1951 (the Legislative Council), and there have been occasional attempts to create a new one.

Legislative Council

Main article: New Zealand Legislative Council. The Legislative Council was intended to scrutinize and amend bills passed by the House of Representatives, although it could not initiate legislation or amend money bills. Despite occasional proposals for an elected Council, Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs) were appointed by the Governor, generally on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. At first, MLCs were appointed for life, but a term of seven years was introduced in 1891. It was eventually decided that the Council was having no significant impact on New Zealand's legislative process, and it ceased to exist at the beginning of 1951. At the time of its abolition it had 54 members, including its own Speaker.

Senate proposal

The National government of Jim Bolger proposed the establishment of an elected Senate when it came to power in 1990, thereby reinstating a bicameral system, and a Senate Bill was drafted. Senators would be elected by STV, with a number of seats being reserved for Maori, and would have powers similar to those of the old Legislative Council. The House of Representatives would continue to be elected by FPP. The intention was to include a question on a Senate in the second referendum on electoral reform. Voters would be asked, if they did not want a new voting system, whether or not they wanted a Senate. However, following objections from the Labour opposition, which derided it as a red herring, and other [http://www.casi.org.nz/submissions/smelref93.htm supporters of MMP], the Senate question was removed by the Select Committee on Electoral Reform, and the issue has not been pursued since.

Terms of Parliament

Parliament is currently in its 48th term.

External links

- [http://www.parliament.govt.nz Parliament of New Zealand]
- [http://www.ps.parliament.govt.nz/chamber.htm Debating Chamber]
- [http://www.ps.parliament.govt.nz/legcham.htm Legislative Council Chamber]
- [http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/Gallery/parlt-hist/pans.html Images from around Parliament Buildings] New Zealand New Zealand

1999

1999 (MCMXCIX) is a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations.

Events

- Kosovo War
- Y2K preparation was a major event in 1999 both in actual events and in media over-reporting.
- The human population of the world surpassed six billion. The United Nations Population Fund designated October 12 as the approximate date for this event.

January

- January 1 - Euro currency introduced.
- January 1 - An avalanche destroys a school gymnasium during New Year celebrations in Kangiqsualujjuaq in far northern Quebec, killing nine.
- January 2 - A brutal snowstorm smashes into the Midwestern USA, causing 14 inches (359 mm) of snow at Milwaukee, Wisconsin and 19 inches (487 mm) at Chicago, Illinois. In Chicago, temperatures plunge to -13°F (-25°C), and 68 deaths are reported.
- January 4 - Gunmen open fire on Shiite Muslims worshipping in an Islamabad mosque killing 16 people and injuring 25.
- January 12 - The remains of Christina Marie Williams were found three miles (5 km) from her home on the old Fort Ord military base.
- January 20 - The China News Service announces new government restrictions on Internet use aimed especially at Internet cafes.
- January 21 - War on Drugs: In one of the largest drug busts in American history, the United States Coast Guard intercepts a ship with over 9,500 pounds (4.3 t) of cocaine aboard. The ship was headed for Houston, Texas.
- January 25 - A 6.0 Richter scale earthquake hits western Colombia killing at least 1,000

February

- February 4 - Unarmed West African immigrant Amadou Diallo is shot dead by four plainclothes New York City police officers on an unrelated stake-out, inflaming race-relations in the city.
- February 5 - Mike Tyson is sentenced to a year's imprisonment, fined $5,000, and ordered to serve 2 years probation and perform 200 hours of community service for the August 31, 1998 assault on two people after a car accident.
- February 7 - King of Jordan, Hussein of Jordan, dies from cancer. His son Abdullah II then inherits the throne, and becomes King of Jordan.
- February 10 - Avalanches in the French Alps near Geneva kill at least ten.
- February 11 - Pluto, a planet with an irregular orbit, changes from the eighth to ninth planet furthest from the Sun. It had been the eighth furthest since 1979, and will become again in 2231.
- February 12 - President Bill Clinton is acquitted by the United States Senate in his impeachment trial
- February 12 - John Myatt and John Drewe are sentenced for art forgery for one and six years, respectively.
- February 16 - In Uzbekistan a bomb explodes and gunfire is heard at the government headquarters in an apparent assassination attempt against President Islam Karimov.
- February 16 - Across Europe, Kurdish rebels take over embassies and hold hostages after Turkey arrested one of their rebel leaders, Abdullah Öcalan.
- February 16 - In Jasper, Texas, testimony begins in the trial of John William King who is accused of dragging African American James Byrd Jr. to death in an apparent hate crime. King was later convicted and sentenced to the death penalty.
- February 22 - Moderate Iraqi Shiite cleric Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr is assassinated.
- February 23 - Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Öcalan is charged with treason in Ankara, Turkey.
- February 23 - White supremacist John William King is found guilty of kidnapping and killing African American James Byrd Jr by dragging him behind a truck for two miles (3 km).
- February 23 - An avalanche destroys the Austrian village of Galtür, killing 31.
- February 24 - LaGrand Case: The State of Arizona executes Karl LaGrand, a German national involved in an armed robbery that led to a death. Karl's brother Walter is executed a week later, in spite of Germany's legal action in the International Court of Justice to attempt to save him.
- February 27 - While trying to circumnavigate the world in a hot air balloon, Colin Prescot and Andy Elson set a new endurance record after being in a hot air balloon for 233 hours and 55 minutes.
- February 27 - Olusegun Obasanjo becomes Nigeria's first elected president since mid-1983.

March

- March 1 - One of four bombs detonated in Lusaka, Zambia, destroys the Angolan Embassy.
- March 1 - Rwandan Hutu rebels kill and hack to pieces eight foreign tourists at the Buhoma homestead, Uganda
- March 1 - The Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines comes into force.
- March 3 - Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones begin their attempt to circumnavigate the world in a hot air balloon without stopping. Their journey ended in success on March 21.
- March 4 - Monica Lewinsky's book detailing her affair with Bill Clinton goes on sale in the United States
- March 4 - In a military court, Captain Richard Ashby of the United States Marines is acquitted of the charge of reckless flying which resulted in the deaths of 20 skiers in the Italian Alps when his low-flying jet hit a gondola cable.
- March 12 - Hungary, Poland and Czech Republic join NATO.
- March 15 - The European Commission under the presidency of Jacques Santer resigns over allegations of corruption.
- March 17 - The [http://www.roth-401k-forum.com/ Roth 401k] is introduced by Sen Roth Jr., William V.
- March 20 - Serbs launch an offensive in Bosnia
- March 21 - Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones become the first to circumnavigate the Earth in a hot air balloon.
- March 22 - US pro-euthanasia doctor Jack Kevorkian goes on trial for murder in Pontiac, Michigan. He is later convicted of second-degree murder
- March 23 - Gunmen assassinate Paraguay's Vice President Luis María Argaña
- March 24 - NATO launches air strikes in Federal Republic of Yugoslavia which was refusing to sign a peace treaty. This marks the first time NATO attacked a sovereign country
- March 24 - Fire in the Mont Blanc Tunnel kills 39 people, closing the tunnel for nearly 3 years.
- March 26 - The Melissa worm attacks the Internet.
- March 26 - A jury in Michigan finds Dr. Jack Kevorkian guilty of second-degree murder for administering a lethal injection to a terminally ill man (the incident was videotaped and aired on September 17, 1998 edition of 60 Minutes)
- March 29 - For the first time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the 10000 mark at 10006.78.

April

- April 1 - Nunavut, an Inuit homeland, part of the Northwest Territories becomes Canada's third territory.
-