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Waitangi Tribunal

Waitangi Tribunal

The Waitangi Tribunal is a New Zealand court empowered to compensate Maori people for land obtained by fraud or by force since 1840. It was established by Act of Parliament in 1975, a time when protests about unresolved Treaty of Waitangi grievances were growing, to provide a legal process by which Maori Treaty claims could be investigated. The inquiry process contributes to the resolution of Treaty claims and, in that way, to the reconciliation of outstanding issues between Maori and Pakeha. The Waitangi Tribunal is unusual in that it was established as a permanent commission of inquiry. For this reason, it differs from a court in several important respects:
- Generally, the Tribunal has authority only to make recommendations. In certain limited situations, the Tribunal does have binding powers, but in most instances, its recommendations do not bind the Crown, the claimants, or any others participating in its inquiries. In contrast, courts can make rulings that bind the parties to whom they relate.
- The Tribunal's process is more inquisitorial and less adversarial than that followed in the courts. In particular, it can conduct its own research so as to try to find the truth of a matter. Generally, a court must decide a matter solely on the evidence and legal arguments that the parties present to it.
- The Tribunal's process is flexible - the Tribunal is not necessarily required to follow the rules of evidence that generally apply in the courts, and it may adapt its procedures as it thinks fit. For example, the Tribunal may follow 'te kawa o te marae'. In contrast, the procedure in courts is much less flexible, and there are normally strict rules of evidence to be followed.
- The Tribunal does not have final authority to decide points of law. That power rests with the courts. However, the Tribunal has exclusive authority to determine the meaning and effect of the Treaty as it is embodied in both the Maori and the English texts.
- The Tribunal has a limited power to summons witnesses, require the production of documents, and maintain order at its hearings. But it does not have a general power to make orders preventing something from happening or compelling something to happen. Nor can it make a party to Tribunal proceedings pay costs.

Key points

- The Tribunal does not settle claims; it only makes recommendations to the Government. It is not involved in the settlement process, and claimants agree not to pursue matters through the Tribunal while they are engaged in the negotiation process.
- Claims are settled by negotiation with the Government. The [http://www.ots.govt.nz Office of Treaty Settlements]manages the negotiation of Treaty settlements for the Government, and all matters related to negotiations should be addressed to that office.
- The Tribunal cannot make recommendations over the return of private land. It may inquire into and report on claims relating to land that is privately owned, but unless the land is memorialised, the Tribunal may not recommend that it be returned to Maori ownership or that the Crown acquire it. (Memorialised lands are lands owned, or formerly owned, by a State-owned enterprise or a tertiary institution, or former New Zealand Railways lands, that have a memorial (or notation) on their certificate of title advising that the Waitangi Tribunal may recommend that the land be returned to Maori ownership.)
- The Tribunal can register the claim of any Maori with a grievance against a policy, practice, act, or omission of the Crown. The Tribunal is not required to check that a claimant has a mandate from any group, but it may refuse to inquire into a claim that is considered to be frivolous or vexatious. The Tribunal process is inquisitorial, not adversarial. It seeks to get to the truth of the matter. The aim is to determine whether a claim is well founded.

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

Maori

Māori is the name of the indigenous people of New Zealand, and their language. It is also the name of the people and language of the Cook Islands, referred to as Cook Islands Māori. The word māori means "normal" or "ordinary" in the Māori language and denotes mortal beings as distinct from the gods. "Māori" has similarities in some other Polynesian languages such as Hawaiian in which the cognate word maoli means native, indigenous, real or actual. Māori often refer to themselves as tāngata whenua (literally "people of the land") to emphasise their indigenous status.

Māori arrival in New Zealand

It is not precisely known when Māori arrived. Polynesian voyagers are believed to have migrated to what is now New Zealand from eastern Polynesia in the latter part of the 1st millennium. As their descendants adjusted their practices and culture to their new environment, they became the Māori. New Zealand was one of the last Pacific island groups reached by humans. Archaeological evidence suggests there were probably several waves of migration to New Zealand between 800 and 1300. Māori oral history describes their arrival from a place called Hawaiki by large ocean–going canoes (waka). Migration accounts vary among Māori tribes or iwi, whose members can identify with the different waka in their genealogies or whakapapa. According to Sir Peter Buck there were 10 Māori tribes resulting from the Main Fleet but this is not supported by all tribes. Ngapuhi, one of the northern tribes, say their ancestors' journey from Hawaiki was aided by the gods, in that the sun did not set for three days. A possible reason for this claim is that their voyage coincided with the appearance in the sky of the Crab Nebula supernova which for several days was bright enough to be seen in daylight. Contemporary Chinese and Arab astronomers also recorded this event and dated it equivalent to July 1054. There is no credible evidence of human settlement in New Zealand prior to the Māori voyagers. A fringe element claims there was extensive pre–Māori settlement, especially Martin Doutré in his book Ancient Celtic New Zealand, but such claims are universally dismissed as unsubstantiated by mainstream historians and archaeologists.

Possible origins

Recent maternal mitochondrial DNA analysis suggests that Polynesians, including Māori, are genetically linked to indigenous peoples of parts of Southeast Asia including those of Taiwan and the Andaman Islands. Current theory suggests that peoples from these areas made their way into the Pacific over many centuries, passing through Melanesia and moving eastwards, colonizing previously-unsettled islands as far east as what is now French Polynesia, Hawai'i and Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Polynesian seafarers achieved Pacific settlement by making very long canoe voyages, in some cases against the prevailing winds and tides, and their navigation skills were very well developed. There are suggestions that Polynesian voyagers reached the South American mainland and made contact with indigenous South Americans. The sweet potato, known to Māori as "kumara" and introduced to New Zealand by them, is widely grown around the Pacific but originated in the Andes. There is no evidence that Pacific peoples actually settled on the South American mainland or that South American peoples voyaged into the Pacific.

European arrival

European colonisation of New Zealand occurred relatively recently, causing the late New Zealand historian Michael King to state in his book, The Penguin History Of New Zealand, that Māori were "the last major human community on earth untouched and unaffected by the wider world." The early European explorers, including Abel Tasman and James Cook, reported encounters with Māori. These early reports described the Māori as a fierce and proud warrior race. Inter-tribal warfare was a way of life, with the conquered being enslaved or in some cases eaten. From as early as the 1780s Māori had encounters with European sealers and whalers; some even crewed on their ships. There was also a continuous trickle of escaped convicts from Australia and deserters from visiting ships. By 1830 it was estimated that there were as many as 2,000 Pakeha living among the Māori, status varying from slaves through to high ranking advisors, from prisoners to those who abandoned European culture and identified themselves as Māori. Pakeha were valued for their ability to describe European skills and culture and their ability to obtain European items in trade, particularly weaponry. These Europeans were known as Pakeha Māori. When Pomare led a war party against Titore in 1838, among his warriors were 132 Pakeha mercenaries. Frederick Edward Maning, an early settler, wrote two colourful contemporaneous accounts of life at that time which have become classics of New Zealand literature: Old New Zealand and History of the War in the North of New Zealand against the Chief Heke. Governor George Grey learned the language and recorded much of the mythology.

Musket wars

During this period the acquisition of muskets by those tribes in close contact with European visitors destabilised the existing balance of power between Māori tribes, and there was a period of bloody inter-tribal warfare, known as the Musket Wars, during which several tribes were effectively exterminated and others were driven from their traditional territory. European diseases also killed a large but unknown number of Māori during this period. Estimates vary between ten and fifty percent.

Annexation

With increasing European missionary activity and settlement in the 1830s as well as perceived European lawlessness, the British Crown, as a predominant world power, came under pressure to intervene. Ultimately this led to William Hobson being dispatched with instructions to take possession of New Zealand. Before he arrived, Queen Victoria annexed new Zealand by royal proclamation in January 1840. On arrival in February, Hobson negotiated the Treaty of Waitangi with the surrounding northern chiefs. This treaty was subsequently signed by many other Māori chiefs, though by no means all. The treaty made the Māori British subjects in return for a guarantee of property rights and tribal autonomy.

Disputes and decline

In the 1860s, disputes over questionable land purchases and the attempts of Māori in the Waikato to establish a rival British-style system of royalty led to the New Zealand wars. Although these resulted in relatively few deaths, large tracts of tribal land were confiscated by the colonial government. Settlements such as Parihaka in Taranaki are remembered as sites of violent conflict that took place there during that period. With the loss of much of their land, Māori went into a period of decline, and in the late 19th century it was believed that the Māori population would cease to exist as a separate race and be assimilated into the European population.

Revival

The predicted decline did not occur, and population levels recovered. Despite a high degree of intermingling between the Māori and European populations (virtually all Māori are of mixed racial heritage today), Māori were able to retain their cultural identity and in the 1960s and 1970s, Māoridom underwent a cultural revival. No Māori live a traditional pre-European contact lifestyle today. Some commentators express frustration with the "theme-parkisation" of Māori identity with tourist-driven performances and gift shop "art". Others seek to develop a New Zealand identity that incorporates strands of Māori identity. Sympathetic governments and political activism have led to compensation for certain historic instances of unjust confiscation of land and the violation of other property rights. A special court, the Waitangi Tribunal, was established to investigate and make recommendations on such issues. As a result of the compensation paid, Māori now have significant interests in the fishing and forestry industries. Māori language ceased to be used as a living community language (by significant numbers of people) in the post-war years. Generous state funding is assisting with the revival attempt. Māori culture and language is taught in most New Zealand schools, and pre-school kohanga reo or language nests, teach tamariki or young children exclusively in Māori. Māori Television, a government-funded TV station committed to broadcasting primarily in te reo, began broadcasting on March 28, 2004. Māori language has the equivalent status to English in government and law. Māori politicians have seven designated Māori seats in the New Zealand parliament (and may stand in the General seats), and consideration and consultation with Māori are routine requirements for many New Zealand councils and government organisations. Despite significant social and economic advances during the 20th century, Māori still perform negatively in most health and education statistics, labour participation as well as being over-represented in criminal and corrections statistics. In 2001 a dispute arose between Danish toymaker LEGO and several Māori tribal groups fronted by lawyer Maui Solomon, and also several members of an online discussion forum Aotearoa Cafe, over the popular LEGO toy line Bionicle. The product line used many words that were an appropriation of Māori language, imagery and folklore. The dispute was settled amicably. Initially LEGO refused to withdraw the game, saying the names it used were drawn from many cultures, but later agreed that it had taken the names from Māori and agreed to change certain names or spellings to help set the toy line apart from the Māori legends. This, however, did not prevent the many Bionicle users from continuing to use the disputed words, resulting in the popular Bionicle website BZPower coming under a denial-of-service attack for four days by an attacker using the name Kotiate [http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,56451,00.html?tw=wn_story_related]. Several artistic collectives have been established by Māori tribal groups. These collectives have begun creating and exporting jewellery (such as bone carved hei matau pendants and greenstone jewellery) and other artistic items (such as wood carvings and textiles). Several actors who have recently appeared in high-profile movies filmed in New Zealand have come back wearing such jewellery, the most notable of which is Viggo Mortensen of The Lord of the Rings fame, who is now never without a Hei Matau hanging around his neck. These events have contributed towards a worldwide interest in traditional Māori culture and arts.

Culture

Maori were originally hunters, but later they became farmers and started the life in agriculture. The main tasks were separarted for men and women, but there were also a lot of group activities like food gathering & food cultivation, warfare. Art was and is one of the main parts of the culture like tatooing or carving of wood. Communal buildings were highly decorated with wood carvings and also the people wore highly decorative personnal ornaments and amulettes. The history was not recorded in written words. To kept the history they had long and very specific songs and chants, that’s why music and poetry was so important.

Religion

Tiki

The Lord of the Rings Maori believe in gods and personifications. The supreme god is Io, the god of the land. The religion is closely related to the nature and to the ancestors, similar to the indians. All things have a type of soul. The Maori believe all living things are descended from the Gods, embodied within certain mountains, rivers and lakes. Most things contain "mana" - spiritual essence. Mana is within man himself, land, nature, and also man-made objects. Tiki was the name given to the first man on earth in the Maori mythology. The term "Tiki" comes out of a Maori legend, when Tane the God of earth, man, birds created the first man. Tiki in Maori personifies the primeval man and it is a powerful good luck symbol. The tilted head symbolises thinking, the hand is strength, the mouth is communication, the heart is love and the loins are fertility.

Tapu

Tapu is the strongest force in Maori life. It can be interpreted as "sacred", as "spiritual restriction" or "implied prohibition" and has numerous meanings and references. Tapu contains a strong conditions of rules and prohibitions. There are two kinds of tabu, the private (concerned individuals) and the public tapu (concerned communities). A person, an object or a place, which is tapu, may not be touched by human contact. In some cases, not even approached. A person, object or a place could be made sacred by tapu for a certain time, and the two main types of tapu were private for individuals and public for communities. In earlier times, tribal members of a higher rank would not touch objects which belonged to members of a lower rank. This was considered "pollution" and persons of a lower rank could not touch the belongings of a highborn person. Death was the penalty. A breach of "tapu" was to commit a violation and it could incur the wrath of the Gods. In earlier times food cooked for a chief was tapu, and could not be eaten by an inferior. A chief's house was tapu, and even the chief could not eat food in the interior of his house. A woman could not enter a chief's house unless a special religious ceremony was performed (the karakia). Not only their houses were tapu, also their possessions, including their clothing. Burying grounds and places of death were always tapu, and these areas were often surrounded by a protective fence. Today, tapu observances are still in use concerning sickness, death, and burial.

Marae

karakia The marae is a local ceremonial centre, dedicated to the meetings of Maori people and there they practice the traditional rituals. It is a place where members share their beliefs and it is the place of the greatest spirituality. The marae symbolises group unity. It is the base of traditional Maori community life In the Marae official functions take place in, like: celebrations, weddings, christenings, tribal reunions, funerals. The older people have the authority and in the marae they give the traditiions to the young people like the legends, the songs or the way of weeving or carving. Locals and visitors have to respect certain rules.

Rituals

Hangi

The simple describtion of hangi is a traditional way of cooking food among people in Polynesia. The hangi consists of a shallow hole dug in the ground. A fire is prepared in the hole and stones are placed on the top of it. When the stones are hot the hangi is prepared for cooking by leaving the hot stones and some of the coals at the bottom of the hole. The food is placed on top of the stones, the meat first, with the vegetables, such as kumara and potatoes, on top of it. The hangi is then covered with leaves or mats woven out of flax and left to cook. Soil is usually heaped over the mat to keep the heat in.” Apart from this everyday use, hangi has it’s own spiritual place in the Maori rituals. For example hangi has its own place in a ritual for opening a new house, or at harvest time. For these rituals, kumara were cooked in the hangi because it is believed that cooked food has the power to disperse tapu. Through the process of cooking in the hangi the essence of the food ascends to the gods.

Haka

harvest Haka is a dance or a performance and there were quite a number of different types of haka performed, depending on the occasion. There were hakas of song and joy, and warlike hakas. There were two types of war haka - one is performed without weapons, usually to express public or private feelings, known as the "haka taparahi", and the war haka with weapons, the "peruperu". The "peruperu" was traditionally performed before going into a battle. It was to invoke the god of war and warned the enemy of the fate awaiting him. It involved fierce facial expressions and grimaces, poking out of the tongue, eye bulging, grunts and cries, and the waving of war weapons. If the haka was not performed in total unity, this could be taken as an bad omen for the battle. The warriors went very often naked into the battle, apart from a plaited flax belt around the waist. The aim of the battle was to kill all the members of the enemy war party, so that no survivors would remain with the risk revenge.

Ta Moko

enemy Initially tattooing came from Eastern Polynesian culture to New Zealand. The head was considered the most sacred part of the body. That’s why are the tattoos mainly facial. All high-ranking Maori were tattooed, and those who went without tattoos were seen as persons of no social status. In their culture they get the tattoos during the puberty, accompanied by many rites and rituals. One reason is to make a warrior attractive to women. It is a important event in a person's life. Tattoo instrument was a bone chisel or an extremely sharp edge. The first stage of the tattoo started with the graving of deep cuts into the skin. Next, the chisel was dipped into a sooty type pigment such as burnt Kauri gum or burnt vegetable caterpillars and then smeared into the skin. It was an extremely painful and long process, and often leaves from the native Karaka tree were placed over the swollen tattoo cuts to hasten the healing process. The women were not as extensively tattooed as the men. Their upper lips were outlined, usually in dark blue. The chin moko was always the most popular, and continues to be practiced.

External links

- [http://www.culture.co.nz/ culture.co.nz] — Important Māori websites on the net.
- [http://www.maori.org.nz/ maori.org.nz] — The largest Māori site on the net, covering a wide range of topics.
- [http://www.korero.maori.nz/ korero.maori.nz] Interactive Māori language resource site
- [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tino-rangatiratanga Māori Sovereignty Yahoogroup] — Active online discussion group; membership required
- [http://www.aocafe.com/ Aotearoa Cafe] — Discussion forum about Māori history, politics and art.
- [http://www.amio.maori.nz/ Aotearoa Māori Internet Organisation] — Online discussion board.
- [http://www.maorinews.com/karere/ Māori related news headlines] — From the Te Kareere Ipurangi news portal.
- [http://www.tamoko.org.nz Ta Moko] — Website about the famous 'Moko', unique Māori body art.
- [http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~dominic/intro.html Māori theology] — by the late Michael Shirres.
- [http://www.teara.govt.nz Te Ara Encylopedia of New Zealand] — Government-funded encyclopedia. Category:Indigenous peoples of Oceania Category:Indigenous peoples of Polynesia ja:マオリ

1840

1840 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar).

Events

- January 3 - One of the predecessor papers to the Herald Sun of Melbourne, Australia, The Port Phillip Herald, is founded by George Cavanaugh.
- January 10 - Uniform penny postage introduced in the UK.
- January 13 - The steamship Lexington burns and sinks four miles off the coast of Long Island with the loss of 139 lives.
- January 19 - Captain Charles Wilkes circumnavigates Antarctica, claiming what became known as Wilkes Land for the United States.
- January 20 - Dumont D'Urville discovers Adélie Land, Antarctica.
- January 22 - British colonists reach New Zealand. Official founding date of Wellington.
- February 6 - Treaty of Waitangi, document granting British sovereignty in New Zealand, is signed.
- February 10 - Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom marries Prince Albert of Saxe Coburg-Gotha.
- February 11 - Gaetano Donizetti's opera La Fille du Regiment premieres in Paris.
- March 1 - William Hobson, first Governor of New Zealand, suffers a stroke.
- March 1 - Adolphe Thiers becomes prime minister of France.
- May 1 - Britain issues the Penny Black, world's first postage stamp.
- May 6 - The Penny Black, world's first postage stamp becomes valid for the pre-payment of postage.
- May 7 - The Great Natchez Tornado: A massive tornado strikes Natchez, Mississippi during the early afternoon hours. Before it was over, 317 people had lost their lives and 209 were injured. It is the second deadliest tornado in U.S. history.
- July 4 - The Cunard Line's 700-ton wooden paddlewheel steamer RMS Britannia departs from Liverpool bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia on the first transatlantic passenger cruise.
- July 15 – Austria, Britain, Prussia, and Russia sign a London Treaty with the Sublime Porte, ruler of the Ottoman Empire.
- August 10 - Fortsas hoax - number of book collectors gather to Binche, Belgium to attend a non-existent book auction of the late "Count of Fortsas"
- September 10 - Ottoman and British troops bombard Beirut and land troops on the coast to pressure Egyptian Muhammad Ali to retreat from the country.
- October 7 - Willem II becomes King of the Netherlands.
- October 14 – Maronite leader Bashir II surrenders to the British forces and goes into exile in Malta.
- November - William Henry Harrison defeats Martin Van Buren in the U.S. presidential election.
- David Livingstone leaves for Africa.
- Punch caricature magazine begins publication.
- Pedro II is declared "of age" prematurely and begins to reassert central control in Brazil.
- Mount Allison University is founded in Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada.
- Washingtonian Temperance Society is founded.

Births

- January 3 - Father Damien, Belgian missionary priest (d. 1888)
- January 23 - Ernst Abbe, German physicist (d. 1905)
- February 4 - Hiram Stevens Maxim, American firearms inventor (d. 1916)
- February 5 - John Boyd Dunlop, Scottish inventor (d. 1921)
- February 21 - Murad V, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1904)
- February 22 - August Bebel, German politician (d. 1913)
- February 23 - Carl Menger, Austrian economist (d. 1921)
- February 29 - John Philip Holland, Irish inventor (d. 1914)
- March 28 - Emin Pasha, German doctor and African administrator (d. 1892)
- April 2 - Emile Zola, French writer (d. 1902)
- April 22 - Odilon Redon, French painter (d. 1916)
- April 27 - Edward Whymper, English mountaineer (d. 1911)
- May 7 - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer (d. 1893)
- May 13 - Alphonse Daudet, French writer (d. 1897)
- June 2 - Thomas Hardy, English writer (d. 1928)
- August 4 - Richard von Krafft-Ebing, German sexologist (d. 1902)
- October 9 - Simeon Solomon, British artist (d. 1905)
- October 16 - Kuroda Kiyotaka, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1900)
- November 12 - Auguste Rodin, French sculptor (d. 1917)
- November 14 - Claude Monet, French painter (d. 1926)
- November 21 - Victoria, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom and Empress of Germany (d. 1901)
- November 29 - Rhoda Broughton, Welsh writer (d. 1920)

Deaths

- January 6 - Fanny Burney, English novelist (b. 1752)
- January 22 - Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, German anthropologist (b. 1752)
- February 13 - Nicolas Joseph Maison, French marshal and Minister of War (b. 1770)
- April 25 - Siméon-Denis Poisson, French mathematician, geometer, and physicist (b. 1781)
- May 7 - Caspar David Friedrich, German artist (b. 1774)
- May 26 - Sidney Smith, British admiral (b. 1764)
- May 27 - Nicolo Paganini, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1782)
- June 7 - King Frederick William III of Prussia (b. 1770)
- September 7 - Étienne-Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre MacDonald, French marshal (b. 1765)
- December 11 - Emperor Kokaku of Japan (b. 1771) Category:1840 ko:1840년 th:พ.ศ. 2383

Act of Parliament

In Westminster System parliaments, an Act of Parliament is a part of the law passed by the Parliament. It can also be a private bill. It usually starts as a draft proposal, known as a White Paper. A Bill is then introduced into the House of Commons or House of Representatives or the House of Lords or Senate. By constitutional convention, Bills which contain significant provisions relating to taxation or public expenditure start in the House of Commons; in Canada this is the law. In the UK, Law Commission bills and consolidation bills start in the House of Lords. In some countries, the bill receives different names if initiated by the Government (Project) or by the Parliament (Proposition), like in Spain and Portugal.

Procedure

UK

In the UK, each bill passes through the following stages: # Pre-legislative scrutiny: It is increasingly common for a small number of Government bills to be published in draft before they are presented in Parliament. These bills are then considered either by the relevant select committee of the House of Commons or by an ad hoc Joint Committee of both Houses. This is not strictly speaking part of the legislative process, but it provides an opportunity for the Committee to express a view on the bill and propose amendments before it is introduced. # First reading: This is a formality; no vote occurs. The Bill is presented and ordered to be printed and, in the case of Private Members' bills, a date is set for second reading. #
- In the case of a Government Bill, Explanatory Notes, which try to explain the effect of the Bill in more simple language are also usually ordered to be printed. #
- A Government Bill can be introduced first into either House. Bills which deal primarily with taxation or public expenditure begin their passage in the Commons, since the financial privileges of that House mean that it has primacy in these matters (see Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949). Conversely, bills relating to the judicial system, Law Commission bills and consolidation bills begin their passage in the House of Lords which by convention has primacy in these matters. # Second reading: A debate on the general principles of the bill is followed by a vote. Normally, the Second Reading of a Government bill is approved. A defeat for a Government bill on this Reading usually signifies a major loss. If the bill is read a second time, it is proceeds to the committee stage. #
- Procedural Orders and Resolutions: Immediately after Second Reading, in the case of Government Bills, the House normally passes forthwith (i.e. without debate) a Programme Order, setting out the timetable for the committee and remaining stages of the Bill. It may also pass a separate Money Resolution, authorising any expenditure arising from the Bill; and/or a Ways and Means Resolution, authorising any new taxes or charges the Bill creates. #
- Bills are not programmed in the House of Lords. # Committee stage: This usually takes place in a standing committee in the Commons and on the Floor of the House in the Lords. In the United Kingdom, the House of Commons utilizes the following committees on bills: #
- Standing Committee: Despite the name, a standing committee is a committee specifically constituted for a certain bill. Its membership reflects the strengths of the parties in the House. #
- Special Standing Committee: The committee investigates the issues and principles of the bill before sending it to a regular Standing Committee. This procedure has been used very rarely in recent years (the Adoption and Children Bill in 2001-02 is the only recent example); the pre-legislative scrutiny process (see above) is now preferred. #
- Select Committee: A specialized committee that normally conducts oversight hearings for a certain Department considers the bill. This procedure has not been used in recent years, with the exception of the quinquennial Armed Forces Bill, which is always referred to a select committee. #
- Committee of the Whole House: The whole house sits as a committee in the House of Commons to consider a bill. Bills usually considered in this way are: the principal parts of the annual Finance Bill, bills of first-class constitutional importance, and bills which aer so un-controversial that the committee stage may be dispensed with quickly and easily on the floor of the House, without the need to nomniate a committee (some Private Members' Bills are usually dealt with this way each year). This is also the procedure used in the upper house. #
- Grand Committee (House of Lords): This is a recent new procedure used for some bills which is intended to speed up business. Although it takes place in a separate room, it is technically still a committee of the whole House in that all members can attend and participate. Procedure is the same as for a Committee in the main Chamber, but there are no votes. #: The committee considers each clause of the bill, and may make amendments to it. Significant amendments may be made at committee stage. In some cases, whole groups of clauses are inserted or removed. However, almost all the amendments which are agreed to in committee will have been tabled by the Government to correct deficiencies in the bill, to enact changes to policy made since the bill was introduced (or, in some cases, to import material which was not ready when the bill was presented), or to reflect concessions made as a result of earlier debate. # Consideration (or Report) stage: this takes place on the Floor of the House, and is a further opportunity to amend the bill. Unlike committee stage, the House need not consider every clause of the bill, only those to which amendments have been tabled. # Third reading: a debate on the final text of the bill, as amended. In the Lords, further amendments may be made on third reading, in the Commons it is usually a short debate followed by a single vote; amendments are not permitted. # Passage: The Bill is then sent to the other House (to the Lords, if it originated in the Commons; to the Commons, if it is a Lords Bill), which may amend it. The Commons may reject a bill from the Lords outright; the Lords may amend a bill from the Commons but, if they reject it, the Commons may force it through without the Lords' consent in the following Session of Parliament, as is detailed below. Furthermore, the Lords can neither initiate nor amend Money Bills, bills dealing exclusively with public expenditure or the raising of revenue. If the other House amends the Bill, the Bill and amendments are sent back for a further stage. # Consideration of Lords/Commons Amendments: The House in which the bill originated considers the amendments made in the other House. It may agree to them, amend them, propose other amendments in lieu or reject them. A Bill may pass backwards and forwards several times at this stage, as each House amends or rejects changes proposed by the other. If each House insists on disagreeing with the other, the Bill is lost, unless the Parliament Acts are invoked. # The Parliament Acts: Under the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, which do not apply for bills seeking to extend Parliament's length to more than five years, if the Lords reject a bill originated in the House of Commons, then the Commons may pass that bill again in the next session. The Bill is then submitted for Royal Assent even though the Lords did not pass it. Also, if the Lords do not approve of a Money Bill within thirty days of passage in the Commons, the bill is submitted for Royal Assent nevertheless.

Australia

In Australia, the bill passes through the following stages: # First Reading: Again, this stage is a mere formality. # Second Reading: As in the UK, the stage involves a debate on the general principles of the bill is followed by a vote. Again, the Second Reading of a Government bill is usually approved. A defeat for a Government bill on this Reading signifies a major loss. If the bill is read a second time, it is then considered in detail # Consideration in Detail: This usually takes place on the Floor of the House. Generally, committees are not used to consider the bill in detail. # Third reading: A debate on the final text of the bill, as amended. Very rarely do debates occur during this stage. # Passage: The Bill is then sent to the other House (to the Senate, if it originated in the House of Representatives; to the Representatives, if it is a Senate Bill), which may amend it. If the other House amends the Bill, the Bill and amendments are sent back to the original House for a further stage. # Consideration of Senate/Representatives Amendments: The House in which the bill originated considers the amendments made in the other House. It may agree to them, amend them, propose other amendments in lieu or reject them. However, the Senate may not amend Money Bills, though it can "request" the House to make amendments. A Bill may pass backwards and forwards several times at this stage, as each House amends or rejects changes proposed by the other. If each House insists on disagreeing with the other, the Bill is lost. # Disagreement between the Houses: Often, when a bill cannot be passed in the same form by both Houses, it is "laid aside." Sometimes, a special constitutional procedure allowing the passage of the bill without the agreement of both houses is allowed. If the House twice passes the same bill, and the Senate twice fails to pass that bill (either through rejection or through the passage of unacceptable amendments), then the Governor-General may dissolve both Houses of Parliament. If the House again passes the bill after the election, but the deadlock between the Houses persists, then the Governor-General may convene a joint sitting of both Houses, where a final decision will be taken on the bill. The procedure only applies if the bill originated in the House of Representatives. Six double-dissolutions have occurred, though a joint session only became necessary once.

Canada

In Canada, the bill passes through the following stages: # First Reading: Again, this stage is a mere formality. # Second Reading: As in the UK, the stage involves a debate on the general principles of the bill is followed by a vote. Again, the Second Reading of a Government bill is usually approved. A defeat for a Government bill on this Reading signifies a major loss. If the bill is read a second time, then it progresses to the committee stage. # Committee stage: This usually takes place in a standing committee in the Commons. #
- Standing Committee: The standing committee is a permanent one; each committee deals with bills in specific subject areas. Canada's standing committees is similar to the UK's select committees. #
- Special Committee: The procedure is not used often. #
- Legislative Committee: A legislative committee is especially appointed for a certain bill, like the UK's standing committees. #
- Committee of the Whole House: The whole house sits as a committee in the House of Commons to consider appropriation bills. #: The committee considers each clause of the bill, and may make amendments to it. Significant amendments may be made at committee stage. In some cases, whole groups of clauses are inserted or removed. However, almost all the amendments which are agreed to in committee will have been tabled by the Government to correct deficiencies in the bill or to enact changes to policy made since the bill was introduced (or, in some cases, to import material which was not ready when the bill was presented). # Consideration (or Report) stage: this takes place on the Floor of the House, and is a further opportunity to amend the bill. # Third reading: A debate on the final text of the bill, as amended. Very rarely do debates occur during this stage. # Passage: The Bill is then sent to the other House (to the Senate, if it originated in the House of Commons; to the Commons, if it is a Senate Bill), which may amend it. If the other House amends the Bill, the Bill and amendments are sent back to the original House for a further stage. # Consideration of Senate/Commons Amendments: The House in which the bill originated considers the amendments made in the other House. It may agree to them, amend them, propose other amendments in lieu or reject them. If each House insists on disagreeing with the other, the Bill is lost. # Disagreement between the Houses: There is no specific procedure under which the Senate's disagreement can be overruled by the Commons. The Senate's rejection is absolute. The debate on each stage is actually debate on a specific motion. For the first reading, there is no debate. For the second and third readings, the motion is "That this bill be now read a second [third] time." In the Committee stage, the debate is on the motions for specific amendments and the motion "That the clause [as amended] stand part of the bill," which is presented on every clause, whether amended or not. In the Report stage, the debate is on the motions for specific amendments. The final motion is "That the bill do now pass." Since the mid-19th century, in most but not all cases, the votes by the House of Commons are a formality in which the vote is predetermined by party lines. Because the Westminster system requires the government to keep the support of the House of Commons, the rejection of a bill by Commons is a major political crisis. Therefore, the government will in almost all cases ensure passage of a bill by a combination of modifying the bill so that it is acceptable to members of the ruling party and pressuring party members to vote for the bill. Unlike the American or UK systems, a Member of Parliament rarely votes against party instructions. Exceptions are cases of political crisis or matters of conscience such as the age of consent, in which the government may declare a free vote in which Members of Parliament are absolved of the requirement of voting with their party. It can either fail or pass and then go on to final, formal examination by the Governor General who invariably gives it the Royal Assent. Although the Governor General can in theory refuse to endorse a bill at this stage, this power has not been used in recent times. See also: List of Acts of Parliament of Canada

New Zealand

In New Zealand, the bill passes through the following stages: # First Reading: MPs debate and vote on the bill. If a bill is approved, it passes on to the committee stage. # Select Committee stage: The bill is considered by a Select Committee, which scrutinises the bill in detail and hears public submissions on the matter. The Committee may recommend amendments to the bill. # Second Reading: The general principles of the bill are debated, and a vote is held. If the bill is approved, it is put before a Committee of the House. # Committee of the House: The bill is debated and voted on, clause by clause, by the whole House sitting as a committee. # Third Reading: Summarising arguments are made, and a final vote is taken. If the bill is approved, it is passed to the Governor-General for Royal Assent. New Zealand has no upper house, and so no approval is necessary.

UK Details

Types of Acts

Acts of Parliament are of three types - # Public Acts are for laws of general application (e.g. reforming the criminal justice system), which affect a general class or category of persons. Such a class or category might include, for example, all citizens, all people above or below a certain age, all pensioners, prisoners, local authorities or public limited companies. # Private Acts affect a specific person (real or legal) differently from others. They include acts to confer powers on certain local authorities (but not others), acts affecting certain companies established by Act of Parliament (e.g. TSB, Transas), and acts which allow major works projects (e.g. the Channel Tunnel Rail Link), which grant special powers on the company undertaking the work (e.g. the compulsory purchase of land). Personal acts are a sub-category of private acts, which confer specific rights or duties on a named individual or individuals (e.g. allowing two persons to marry even though they are within a "prohibited degree of consanguinity or affinity"). # Hybrid Acts combine elements of both Public and Private acts. They are very rare, though the [http://www.parliament.uk/about_commons/prbohoc/hybrid_bills.cfm Crossrail Bill], a hybrid bill to build a railway across London from west to east, is currently before the House of Commons. Private Bills, common in the 19th Century, are now rare, as new planning legislation introduced in the 1960s removed the need for many of them. They are subject to a different procedure from that for Public Bills, described above, involving a quasi-judicial committee of three MPs. It is important not to confuse Private Bills with Private Member's Bills; the latter are classed as Public Bills.

Sovereignty

In the UK, Parliament has almost unlimited sovereignty. (In particular its sovereignty over the Church of Scotland was disputed for three centuries with Parliament finally admitting its lack of sovereignty in the 1920s.) As such Acts of Parliament are generally without limit or constraint. Although in modern times, European Law and Human Rights Legislation can overturn some Acts, this is only because another Act has declared so. Similarly, although Parliament has devolved significant powers to the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly, it is free to overrule or even abolish either institution, although this would be unlikely in practice. British law is also made through Statutory Instruments (SIs). These are laws which are made in the name of a Government minister, exercising legislative powers delegated to him or her by Act of Parliament. Some of these must be approved by Parliament before they can become law, others need only be laid before Parliament a certain number of days (usually 40) before coming into force. They are used because they are much faster and simpler to implement than a full act of Parliament, and are more easily amended to reflect changing circumstances. SIs are sometimes described as "secondary legislation, not second class legislation". They have the same force as an Act of Parliament, and much of the UK's law is made in this way. There are literally thousands of SIs each year, compared with around 50 Acts. Statutory Instruments are also used to bring Acts into force. Most Acts have sections that come into effect upon Royal Assent, or at a set date thereafter. However, other sections are brought into force using a SI which is titled [Bill Name] Commencement Order No. #. There can be as many as half a dozen Commencement Orders with some legislation. International treaties are not effective in domestic UK law until enforced by an Act of Parliament (e.g. The European Communities Act, which brought the UK into the European Union, the Single European Act which allowed for the creation of the single European internal market or the Outer Space Act which deals with international treaties on Space).

Historical Records

All UK Acts of Parliament since 1497 are kept in the House of Lords Record Office, including the oldest Act: The "Taking of Apprentices for Worsteads in the County of Norfolk" Act 1497, a reference to the wool worsted manufacture at Worstead in Norfolk, England. Acts before 1962 are referenced using 'Year of reign', 'Monarch', c., 'Chapter number' - e.g. 16 Charles II c. 2 - to define a chapter of the appropriate statute book. Since 1962, the regnal year has been replaced by the calendar year. All recent Acts have a short title, or citation (e.g. Local Government Act 2003, National Health Service Act 1974).

Acts of Historical Importance

The most important Acts in UK history are listed below:
- Act of Union 1536 - united England and Wales
- Bill of Rights 1689 - placed (or restated) limits on the monarch's power
- Act of Settlement 1701 - established a line of succession for the monarchy
- Act of Union 1707 - united England and Scotland into Great Britain
- Act of Union 1800 - united Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom
- Reform Act 1832 - with later Reform Acts and Representation of the People Acts, extended the franchise and removed rotten boroughs
- Parliament Act 1911 (amended 1949) - allowed the House of Commons to overrule the House of Lords after a delay
- Statute of Westminster 1931 - gave constitutional independence to the British dominions overseas
- European Communities Act 1972 - made the UK part of what is now the European Union providing for the application of European Law
- Scotland Act 1998 - established an autonomous Scottish Parliament
- Government of Wales Act 1998 - Creation of a National Assembly For Wales See also: List of Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom

Topical Acts

Current Acts of Parliament of special interest:
- Identity Cards Bill - under discussion in Parliament
- Terrorism Act 2000
- Freedom of Information Act 2000

External links

- All Acts of Parliament (since 1988) and Statutory Instruments are available free on-line under Crown copyright terms from the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/]
- [http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/l01.pdf Parliamentary Stages of a Government Bill (pdf)] from the House of Commons Information Office. Category:Westminster System Category:Statutory law

Treaty of Waitangi

The Treaty of Waitangi (Māori: Te Tiriti o Waitangi) was signed on February 6, 1840 at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. It was signed by representatives of the British Crown, and chiefs from the Northern North Island including the handful of chiefs the British Resident, James Busby had earlier induced to claim independence as the Confederation of the United Tribes of New Zealand. From the British point of view, The Treaty, as New Zealanders often call it, justified making New Zealand a British colony. Today it is generally considered the founding point of New Zealand as a nation. However, there have been major issues concerning the original translation of the treaty from English to Māori. An example is kawanatanga, a cognate transplanted from the English, which appeared in the Māori language for the first time in the Treaty. It was used there to translate the concept of sovereignty; it is often stated that Māori had no word for sovereignty in their language at the time, although some respo