New Zealand

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In New Zealand the Speaker of the House of Representatives is the individual who chairs the country's legislative body, the New Zealand House of Representatives (often also referred to as 'Parliament'). The Speaker fulfils a number of important functions in relation to the operation the House, which is based upon the British Westminster Parliamentary system. New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy and a Commonwealth Realm, with Queen Elizabeth II as its reigning monarch, since February 6, 1952. ... 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. ... Anand Satyanand with Dame Silvia Cartwright Wikinews has news related to: New Governor-General of New Zealand announced Anand Satch[1] Satyanand, PCNZM (born 22 July 1944 in Auckland) is the Governor-General of New Zealand. ... The Executive Council of New Zealand is the body which provides the formal basis for the Cabinet. ... 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 persons named Helen Clark, see Helen Clark (disambiguation). ... A legislature is a type of representative deliberative assembly with the power to adopt laws. ... The Parliament of New Zealand consists of the Queen of New Zealand and the New Zealand House of Representatives and, until 1951, the New Zealand Legislative Council. ... The New Zealand House of Representatives is the legislature of New Zealand. ... 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. ... 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. ... Referendums (or referenda) are held only occasionally by the government of New Zealand. ... In law, the judiciary or judicature is the system of courts which administer justice in the name of the sovereign or state, and provide a mechanism for the resolution of disputes. ... 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. ... The Chief Justice of New Zealand is the senior judge of the High Court of New Zealand, and presides over the Supreme Court of New Zealand. ... The Court of Appeal of New Zealand, located in Wellington, is New Zealand’s principal intermediate appellate court. ... The High Court of New Zealand was established in 1841 and known as the Supreme Court until 1980. ... Region is the formal term for the top tier of local government in New Zealand. ... Territorial authorities is the formal term for the second tier of local government in New Zealand, below regional councils. ... A unitary authority is a type of local authority, which has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area. ... 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. ... 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. ... Information on politics by country is available for every country, including both de jure and de facto independent states, inhabited dependent territories, as well as areas of special sovereignty. ... The New Zealand House of Representatives is the legislature of New Zealand. ... The New Zealand Parliament is the legislative body of the New Zealand government. ...

Role

In the Debating Chamber

The Speaker's most visible role is that of presiding over the House when in session. This involves overseeing the order in which business is conducted, and determining who should speak at what time. The Speaker is also responsible for granting or declining requests for certain events, such as a snap debate on a particular issue. An important part of the Speaker's role is ruling on matters of procedure known as 'Points of order' based on Standing Orders and previously made Speaker's Rulings. This has a large bearing on the smooth running of each parliamentary session. Included in these rules are certain powers available to the Speaker to ensure reasonable behaviour by MPs, including the ability to remove disruptive MPs from the debating chamber. The Speaker presides over the business of Parliament from the elevated 'Speaker's Chair' behind The Table in the debating chamber.

Outside the Debating Chamber

The Speaker is also responsible for administering the upkeep and security of the buildings and grounds of Parliament (including the Beehive, Bowen House and the Parliamentary Library building). These duties are mainly fulfilled through presiding over select committees, including the Standing Orders Committee, the Business Committee, and The Officers of Parliament Committee. The Speaker also chairs the Parliamentary Service Commission. The Speaker also has some other statutory responsibilities.

The Speaker is third in the New Zealand order of precedence behind the Governor-General and the Prime Minister. The Order of Precedence in New Zealand was approved by the Queen Elizabeth II on 9 January 1974, and amended to include former Governors-General on 10 September 1981. ... The Governor-General of New Zealand is the local representative of the Queen of New Zealand, Queen Elizabeth II, and as such is the highest office in the Government of New Zealand. ... 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. ...

Neutrality

The Speaker is expected to conduct the functions of the office in a neutral manner, even though the Speaker is generally a member of the governing party. Only three people have held the office despite not being from the governing party. In 1923, Charles Statham (an independent, but formerly a member of the Reform Party) was backed by Reform so as not to endanger the party's slim majority, and later retained his position under the Liberal Party. In 1993, Peter Tapsell (a member of the Labour Party) was backed by the National Party for the same reason. Bill Barnard, who had been elected Speaker in 1936, resigned from the Labour Party in 1940 but retained his position. The Reform Party was New Zealands second major political party, having been founded as a conservative response to the original Liberal Party. ... This article is about the original New Zealand Liberal Party. ... Sir Peter Wilfred Tapsell KNZM MBE (born January 21, 1930) was Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1993 to 1996. ... William Edward (Bill) Barnard (29 January 1886 - 12 March 1958) was a New Zealand politician. ...

Historically, a Speaker lost the right to cast a vote, except when both sides were equally balanced. Now, however, the Speaker votes in the same way that any other MP does. In the past, the Speaker's lack of a vote created problems for a governing party - when the party's majority was small, the loss of the Speaker's vote could be problematic.

Election of the Speaker

The Speaker is always a Member of Parliament, and is elected by the House at the beginning of a parliamentary term. By convention, the Speaker is elected unopposed - any party able to form a government is presumably able to have its candidate installed as Speaker whether there is opposition or not. Recently this has not been the case. In March 2005 several MPs challenged for the Speakership following the resignation of Rt. Hon.Jonathan Hunt. 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the former Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives. ...

Holders of the office

The current Speaker is Margaret Wilson, a member of the Labour Party, which is the dominant party in the governing Labour/Progressive coalition. There are also a Deputy Speaker (Clem Simich, National) and two Assistant Speakers (Ross Robertson, Labour, and Ann Hartley, Labour). Margaret Wilson (20th May 1947 - ) is a New Zealand politician. ... The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ... Current Progressive Party logo The Progressive Party is a political party in New Zealand. ... Clem Simich is a New Zealand politician. ... The New Zealand National Party (National or the Nats) currently forms the second-largest (in terms of seats) political party represented in the New Zealand Parliament, and thus functions as the core of the parliamentary Opposition. ... Ross Robertson (1949 - ) is a New Zealand politician. ... Margaret Ann Hartley (1942 - ) is a New Zealand politician. ...

Twenty-six people have held the office of Speaker since the creation of Parliament. Two people have held the office on more than one occasion. A full list of Speakers is below.

Sir Charles Clifford (1 January 1813 - 27 February 1893) was a New Zealand politician. ... Sir David Monro (27 March 1813 - 15 February 1877) was a New Zealand politician. ... Francis Dillon Bell (8 October 1822 - 15 July 1898) was a New Zealand politician of the late 19th century. ... Sir William Fitzherbert (1810 - 1891) was a New Zealand politician. ... Sir William Jukes Steward (1841 - October 30, 1912) was a New Zealand politician and the first Liberal Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives. ... William Edward (Bill) Barnard (29 January 1886 - 12 March 1958) was a New Zealand politician. ... William Edward (Bill) Barnard (29 January 1886 - 12 March 1958) was a New Zealand politician. ... Ronald Macmillan Algie (1888 - 1978) was a New Zealand politician who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives for six years in the 1960s. ... There have been several people named Alfred Allen: Alfred Allen, American silent film actor Alfred Allen, New Zealand politician Category: ... John Richard Harrison (1921 - 2003) was a New Zealand politician. ... Honourable Sir Basil Malcolm Arthur, 5th Baronet (born September 18, 1928-1985) served as Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1984 to 1985. ... The Honourable Sir Gerard Aloysius Wall FRCS (24 January 1920 - 1992). ... Thomas Kerry Burke (born March 24, 1942) served as Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1987 to 1990. ... Robert McDowall (Robin) Gray (2 July 1931 - ) is a former New Zealand politician. ... Sir Peter Wilfred Tapsell KNZM MBE (born January 21, 1930) was Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1993 to 1996. ... Douglas Lorimer Kidd, DCNZM, (12 September 1941 - ) is a former New Zealand politician. ... This article is about the former Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives. ... Margaret Wilson (20th May 1947 - ) is a New Zealand politician. ...

See also

• The constitution of New Zealand

The Treaty of Waitangi is an increasingly important source of constitutional law in New Zealand The constitution of New Zealand consists of a collection of statutes (Acts of Parliament), Treaties, Orders-in-Council, Letters patent, decisions of the Courts and unwritten constitutional conventions. ...

External links

• Office of the Speaker - New Zealand House of Representatives (Official)
• NZ Speakers of the House of Representatives, ©1986 Air New Zealand Almanac
• Roles and Responsibilities of the Speaker, a speech by Jonathan Hunt