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New Zealand

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of New Zealand Politics, sometimes defined as the art and science of government[1], is a process by which collective decisions are made within groups. ... Image File history File links Coat_of_arms_of_New_Zealand. ... New Zealand functions as a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. ...

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See also: History of New Zealand

edit Queen Elizabeth IIs personal flag for New Zealand New Zealands Head of State is Queen Elizabeth II of New Zealand. ... Elizabeth II in an official portrait as Queen of Canada (on the occasion of her Golden Jubilee in 2002, wearing the Sovereigns badges of the Order of Canada and the Order of Military Merit) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary) (born 21 April 1926), styled HM The... Flag of the Governor-General of New Zealand The Governor-General of New Zealand is the representative in the Realm of New Zealand of the Queen of New Zealand, Queen Elizabeth II, and as such is the highest office in the Government of New Zealand. ... Governor-General of New Zealand Dame Silvia Rose Cartwright PCNZM DBE (née Poulter) (born November 7, 1943) is New Zealands second female Governor-General, and as the Queens representative, lives in Government House in the capital city of Wellington. ... The New Zealand Cabinet functions as the policy and decision-making body of the New Zealand governments executive branch. ... The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealands head of government and is the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand. ... For other people named Helen Clark, see Helen Clark (disambiguation). ... The Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand is second most senior officer in the Government of New Zealand, although this seniority does not necessarily translate into power. ... The Hon. ... Ministers, in the New Zealand government, are Members of Parliament who hold a ministerial warrants from the Crown to perform certain functions of government. ... The New Zealand Parliament is the legislative body of the New Zealand government. ... In New Zealand The Speaker of the House of Representatives is the individual who chairs the countrys legislative body, The House of Representatives (commonly known as Parliament). The Speaker fulfills a number of important functions in relation to the operation Parliament, much of which is based upon the British... The Official Opposition in New Zealand is usually the largest political party or coalition which is not a member of the ruling government. ... The Leader of the Opposition in New Zealand is the politician who, at least in theory, leads the Opposition bloc in the New Zealand Parliament. ... The following is a list of New Zealand politicians, both past and present. ... New Zealand national politics feature a pervasive party system. ... This page lists a number of articles relating to issues, ideas, and events in New Zealand politics. ... The Supreme Court of New Zealand is the highest court of appeal in New Zealand, having formally come into existence at the beginning of 2004, and sitting for the first time on 1 July 2004. ... State sector organisations in New Zealand (as at January 2004) are as follows: Parliamentary Offices Office of the Controller and Auditor-General (Tumuaki o te Mana Arotake) Office of the Ombudsmen (Nga Kaitiaki Mana Tangata) Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (Te Kaitiaki Taiao a Te Whare Pāremata... Region is the formal term for the top tier of local government in New Zealand. ... Members of New Zealands House of Representatives, commonly called Parliament, normally gain their seats in nationwide general elections, or (less frequently) in by-elections. ... In New Zealand, an electorate is a voting district for Parliamentary elections. ... Apirana Ngata, perhaps the most prominent Maori politician Māori politics is the politics of the Māori people, who were the original inhabitants of New Zealand and who are now the countrys largest minority. ... New Zealand’s foreign policy is oriented chiefly toward developed democratic nations and emerging Pacific economies. ... The history of New Zealand dates back at least 700 years to when it was discovered and settled by Polynesians. ...

In 1993 New Zealand adopted Mixed Member Proportional as its electoral system after many years of first-past-the-post. The term of the Parliament is set at three years from its first sitting. This means that elections must be held within around three years, two months after the previous election (for instance the 2002 election was held on 27 July, the latest date the 2005 election could be held on was 24 September). Elections have historically been held in October or November, but this has fallen out of tradition. Until 1996, New Zealand used the British system of first past the post (FPP) for parliamentary elections . ... The Additional Member System (AMS) is a voting system where some representatives are elected from geographic constituencies and others are elected under proportional representation from party lists. ... The first-past-the-post electoral system is a voting system for single-member districts, variously called first-past-the-post (FPTP or FPP), winner-take-all, plurality voting, or relative majority. ... The New Zealand Parliament is the legislative body of the New Zealand government. ... The 2002 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. ... July 27 is the 208th day (209th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 157 days remaining. ... Wikinews has news related to: Results of the 2005 New Zealand General Election The 2005 New Zealand general election took place on 17 September 2005. ... September 24 is the 267th day of the year (268th in leap years). ...

MMP in New Zealand

A sample MMP ballot paper[1]

The New Zealand electoral system is a two-tiered system. The lower tier determines the local representative. The upper, over-riding tier determines the proportionality of the House. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (579x829, 118 KB) Summary Author is the New Zealand Electoral Commission. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (579x829, 118 KB) Summary Author is the New Zealand Electoral Commission. ...

New Zealand voters have two votes. The main vote is the party vote. This vote determines the proportionality of the House, the upper tier of the electoral system. The other vote is the electorate vote for the lower tier. This determines the local representative within the House, and usually does not change the proportionality of the House. The electorate vote works as a plurality system, whereby whomever gets the highest vote in each electorate receives the seat. In New Zealand, an electorate is a voting district for Parliamentary elections. ...

Parties which receive either five percent of the party vote or one electorate seat are entitled to a share of the 120 seats within the House of Representatives. The seats are allocated using the Sainte-Laguë method. If an independent candidate is elected, then the number of seats to be allocated falls to 119 (or 118 if two are elected and so forth). The Sainte-Laguë method of the highest average (sometimes identified with Websters method or divisor method with standard rounding) is one way of allocating seats proportionally for representative assemblies with party list voting systems. ...

Parties then fill their seats. Seats are allocated firstly to electorate MPs. Then parties fulfill their remaining qouta with from their party list. If a party has more electorate MPs than proportional seats, then it receives an overhang. If the party does not have enough people on its list to fulfill its qouta, then there is an underhang. Overhang seats can arise in elections under the mixed member proportional (MMP) system, when a party is entitled to fewer seats as a result of party votes than it has won constituencies. ... Underhang seats can arise in elections under any list electoral system, when a party is entitled to more seats according to party votes than it has put candiates forward for. ...

Electoral boundaries

Election boundaries are redrawn after each census, which is held every five years. The process begins soon after the census, with Māori electors being given the opportunity to select which roll to be on. Once this is determined, the Representation Committee will allocate the South Island 16 general seats. The number of North Island general seats, and all Māori seats, will be determined. These boundaries are then drawn up, having to remain with five percent of the average. The Representation Committee must keep in mind physical and cultural boundaries in allocating the seats, alongside potential growth in the electorates. The South Island The South Island forms one of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the North Island. ...

Representation statistics

The Gallagher Index measures how disproportionate an election is. The Gallagher Index (or least squares) can be used to measure the disproportionality of electoral systems, in particular majoritarian systems. ...

(source: Jonathan Boston, Stephen Church, Stephen Levine, Elizabeth McLeay and Nigel Roberts, New Zealand Votes: The General Election of 2002 (Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2003) [2]

See also

• Electoral reform in New Zealand
• New Zealand elections

Until 1996, New Zealand used the British system of first past the post (FPP) for parliamentary elections . ... Members of New Zealands House of Representatives, commonly called Parliament, normally gain their seats in nationwide general elections, or (less frequently) in by-elections. ...

External links

• Two Ticks? Too Easy! - MMP basics
• Sainte-Laguë allocation formula
• Virtual Election Calculator