New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (commonly called the North Island and the South Island), and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori language name for New Zealand is Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud. The Realm of New Zealand also includes the Cook Islands and Niue (self-governing but in free association); Tokelau; and the Ross Dependency (New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica).
New Zealand is notable for its geographic isolation: it is situated about 2,000 km (1250 miles) southeast of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and its closest neighbours to the north are New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga. During its long isolation New Zealand developed a distinctive fauna dominated by birds, a number of which became extinct after the arrival of humans and the mammals they introduced.
The majority of New Zealand's population is of European descent; the indigenous Māori are the largest minority. Asians and non-Māori Polynesians are also significant minority groups, especially in urban areas. The most commonly spoken language is English.
New Zealand is a developed country that ranks highly in international comparisons on human development, quality of life, life expectancy, literacy, public education, peace[9], prosperity, economic freedom, ease of doing business, lack of corruption, press freedom, and the protection of civil liberties and political rights.[10] Its cities also consistently rank among the world's most liveable.
Elizabeth II, as the Queen of New Zealand, is the country's head of state and is represented by a ceremonial Governor-General who holds reserve powers.[11] The Queen has no real political influence, and her position is essentially symbolic. Political power is held by the democratically elected Parliament of New Zealand under the leadership of the Prime Minister, who is the head of government.
New Zealand is notable for its geographic isolation: it is situated about 2,000 km (1250 miles) southeast of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and its closest neighbours to the north are New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga. During its long isolation New Zealand developed a distinctive fauna dominated by birds, a number of which became extinct after the arrival of humans and the mammals they introduced.
The majority of New Zealand's population is of European descent; the indigenous Māori are the largest minority. Asians and non-Māori Polynesians are also significant minority groups, especially in urban areas. The most commonly spoken language is English.
New Zealand is a developed country that ranks highly in international comparisons on human development, quality of life, life expectancy, literacy, public education, peace[9], prosperity, economic freedom, ease of doing business, lack of corruption, press freedom, and the protection of civil liberties and political rights.[10] Its cities also consistently rank among the world's most liveable.
Elizabeth II, as the Queen of New Zealand, is the country's head of state and is represented by a ceremonial Governor-General who holds reserve powers.[11] The Queen has no real political influence, and her position is essentially symbolic. Political power is held by the democratically elected Parliament of New Zealand under the leadership of the Prime Minister, who is the head of government.
New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy.[24] Although it has no codified constitution, the Constitution Act 1986 is the principal formal statement of New Zealand's constitutional structure.[25] The constitution has been described as "largely unwritten" and a "mixture of statutes and constitutional convention." [25] Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state and is titled Queen of New Zealand under the Royal Titles Act 1974. She is represented by the Governor-General, whom she appoints on the exclusive advice of the Prime Minister. The current Governor-General is Anand Satyanand.
The Governor-General exercises the Crown's prerogative powers, such as the power to appoint and dismiss ministers and to dissolve Parliament, and in rare situations, the reserve powers. The Governor-General also chairs the Executive Council, which is a formal committee consisting of all ministers of the Crown. The main constitutional function of the governor-general is to "arrange for the leader of the majority political party to form a government"; by constitutional convention, the governor-general "acts on the advice of ministers who have majority support in parliament."[26] 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, by convention, the Parliamentary leader of the governing party or coalition. This is the highest policymaking body in the government.[27]
The New Zealand Parliament has only one chamber, the House of Representatives, which usually seats 120 Members of Parliament.[28]
Parliamentary general elections are held every three years under a form of proportional representation called Mixed Member Proportional. The Economist magazine explains: "Under MMP (Mixed Member Proportional) there is usually a 120-seat parliament; an extra seat can sometimes be added to ensure truly proportional representation. Of the total number of seats, 65 electorate (directly elected constituency) seats are contested on the old first-past-the-post basis, including seven seats reserved for the indigenous Māori people. The remaining 55 or so seats are allocated so that representation in parliament reflects overall support for each party (the party vote). Under the MMP system, a party has either to win a constituency seat or more than 5% of the total party vote in order to gain representation in parliament. The government can continue to rule only if it retains majority support in the House of Representatives, or can secure the support of other political parties to give it a majority to pass legislation and survive parliamentary confidence votes."[29] The 2008 General Election created an 'overhang' of two extra seats, occupied by the Māori Party, due to that party winning more seats in electorates than the number of seats its proportion of the party vote would have given it.[27]
The Governor-General exercises the Crown's prerogative powers, such as the power to appoint and dismiss ministers and to dissolve Parliament, and in rare situations, the reserve powers. The Governor-General also chairs the Executive Council, which is a formal committee consisting of all ministers of the Crown. The main constitutional function of the governor-general is to "arrange for the leader of the majority political party to form a government"; by constitutional convention, the governor-general "acts on the advice of ministers who have majority support in parliament."[26] 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, by convention, the Parliamentary leader of the governing party or coalition. This is the highest policymaking body in the government.[27]
The New Zealand Parliament has only one chamber, the House of Representatives, which usually seats 120 Members of Parliament.[28]
Parliamentary general elections are held every three years under a form of proportional representation called Mixed Member Proportional. The Economist magazine explains: "Under MMP (Mixed Member Proportional) there is usually a 120-seat parliament; an extra seat can sometimes be added to ensure truly proportional representation. Of the total number of seats, 65 electorate (directly elected constituency) seats are contested on the old first-past-the-post basis, including seven seats reserved for the indigenous Māori people. The remaining 55 or so seats are allocated so that representation in parliament reflects overall support for each party (the party vote). Under the MMP system, a party has either to win a constituency seat or more than 5% of the total party vote in order to gain representation in parliament. The government can continue to rule only if it retains majority support in the House of Representatives, or can secure the support of other political parties to give it a majority to pass legislation and survive parliamentary confidence votes."[29] The 2008 General Election created an 'overhang' of two extra seats, occupied by the Māori Party, due to that party winning more seats in electorates than the number of seats its proportion of the party vote would have given it.[27]
Government
New Zealand government "Beehive" and the Parliament Buildings, in Wellington.
From October 2005 until November 2008, the Labour-led government was in formal coalition with the Progressive Party, Jim Anderton being its only MP. In addition, New Zealand First and United Future provided confidence and supply in return for their leaders being ministers outside cabinet. An arrangement was also made with the Green Party, which gave a commitment not to vote against the government on confidence and supply. In 2007 Labour also had the proxy vote of Taito Phillip Field, a former Labour MP. These arrangements assured the government of a majority of seven MPs on confidence votes.
Labour was defeated by the National Party in the general elections of November 8, 2008. Following the victory, National leader John Key moved quickly to form a government, negotiating coalition agreements with the right-wing ACT party, led by Rodney Hide, the centrist United Future party, albeit with its single seat held by leader Peter Dunne, and the Māori Party, led by Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples. Each of these leaders are to hold ministerial posts but remain outside of Cabinet. There are three parties in Opposition: the Labour Party, led by Phil Goff; the Greens, co-led by Metiria Turei and Russel Norman and the Progressive Party, under Jim Anderton.
The new executive was sworn in on 19 November 2008.
The highest court in New Zealand is the Supreme Court of New Zealand, established in 2004 following the passage of the Supreme Court Act 2003. The act abolished the option to appeal to the Privy Council in London.[27] The current Chief Justice is Dame Sian Elias. New Zealand's judiciary also includes the Court of Appeal; the High Court, which deals with serious criminal offences and civil matters at the trial level and with appeals from lower courts and tribunals; and subordinate courts. While the Judiciary can sometimes place limits on acts of Parliament, and the 1990 New Zealand Bill of Rights enables some review by the Judiciary of executive action, there is no document ascertaining formal power of judicial review.[27] Its constitutional independence from Parliament is maintained by non-political appointments and strict rules regarding tenure in office.[27]
New Zealand is the only country in the world in which all the highest offices in the land have been occupied simultaneously by women: Queen Elizabeth II, Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright, Prime Minister Helen Clark, Speaker of the House of Representatives Margaret Wilson and Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias were all in office between March 2005 and August 2006. New Zealand's largest listed company, Telecom New Zealand, had a woman – Theresa Gattung – as its CEO at the time.
Foreign relations and the military
Main articles: Foreign relations of New Zealand, Military of New Zealand, and New Zealand Defence Force
New Zealand maintains a strong profile on environmental protection, human rights and free trade, particularly in agriculture.
New Zealand is a member of Commonwealth of Nations, OECD, Five Powers Defence Arrangements, APEC, East Asia Summit, and the United Nations. New Zealand is party to a number of free trade agreements, of which the most important are the China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement and Closer Economic Relations with Australia.
For its first hundred years, New Zealand followed the United Kingdom's lead on foreign policy. In declaring war on Germany on 3 September 1939, Prime Minister Michael Savage proclaimed, "Where she goes, we go; where she stands, we stand".
2007 ANZAC Dawn Service in Wellington. From left to right, the flags of NZ, the UK and Australia
The two world wars had a marked impact, with New Zealand losing many young men in places like Gallipoli (where the ANZAC tradition was formed with Australia), Crete, El Alamein and Cassino. New Zealand also played a key part with Britain in the two famous battles, the naval Battle of the River Plate and the Battle of Britain fought in the air. During the Pacific part of World War II, the United States had more than 400,000 American military personnel stationed in New Zealand to prepare for crucial battles such as Tarawa, Guadalcanal, Saipan and Iwo Jima.
After the war the United States exerted an increased influence on culture and the New Zealand people gained a clearer sense of national identity. New Zealand joined Australia and the United States in the ANZUS security treaty in 1951, and later fought alongside the United States in both the Korean and the Vietnam Wars. In contrast, the United Kingdom became increasingly focused on its European interests following the Suez Crisis, and New Zealand was forced to develop new markets after the UK joined the EEC in 1973.[30]
New Zealand maintains a strong profile on environmental protection, human rights and free trade, particularly in agriculture.
New Zealand is a member of Commonwealth of Nations, OECD, Five Powers Defence Arrangements, APEC, East Asia Summit, and the United Nations. New Zealand is party to a number of free trade agreements, of which the most important are the China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement and Closer Economic Relations with Australia.
For its first hundred years, New Zealand followed the United Kingdom's lead on foreign policy. In declaring war on Germany on 3 September 1939, Prime Minister Michael Savage proclaimed, "Where she goes, we go; where she stands, we stand".
2007 ANZAC Dawn Service in Wellington. From left to right, the flags of NZ, the UK and Australia
The two world wars had a marked impact, with New Zealand losing many young men in places like Gallipoli (where the ANZAC tradition was formed with Australia), Crete, El Alamein and Cassino. New Zealand also played a key part with Britain in the two famous battles, the naval Battle of the River Plate and the Battle of Britain fought in the air. During the Pacific part of World War II, the United States had more than 400,000 American military personnel stationed in New Zealand to prepare for crucial battles such as Tarawa, Guadalcanal, Saipan and Iwo Jima.
After the war the United States exerted an increased influence on culture and the New Zealand people gained a clearer sense of national identity. New Zealand joined Australia and the United States in the ANZUS security treaty in 1951, and later fought alongside the United States in both the Korean and the Vietnam Wars. In contrast, the United Kingdom became increasingly focused on its European interests following the Suez Crisis, and New Zealand was forced to develop new markets after the UK joined the EEC in 1973.[30]
