The politics of New Zealand function within a framework of a unitary parliamentary representative democracy. The structure of government is based on the Westminster system,and the legal system is modelled on the common law of England. New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy,in which King Charles III is the sovereign and head of state.
The Supreme Court of New Zealand is the highest court and the court of last resort of New Zealand. It formally came into being on 1 January 2004 and sat for the first time on 1 July 2004. It replaced the right of appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council,based in London. It was created with the passing of the Supreme Court Act 2003,on 15 October 2003. At the time,the creation of the Supreme Court and the abolition of appeals to the Privy Council were controversial constitutional changes in New Zealand. The Supreme Court Act 2003 was repealed on 1 March 2017 and superseded by the Senior Courts Act 2016.
Sir Simon William English is a New Zealand former National Party politician who served as the 39th prime minister of New Zealand from 2016 to 2017. He had previously served as the 17th deputy prime minister of New Zealand and minister of finance from 2008 to 2016 under John Key and the Fifth National Government.
The New Zealand foreshore and seabed controversy is a debate in the politics of New Zealand. It concerns the ownership of the country's foreshore and seabed,with many Māori groups claiming that Māori have a rightful claim to title. These claims are based around historical possession and the Treaty of Waitangi. On 18 November 2004,the New Zealand Parliament passed a law which deems the title to be held by the Crown. This law,the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004,was enacted on 24 November 2004. Some sections of the Act came into force on 17 January 2005. It was repealed and replaced by the Marine and Coastal Area Act 2011.
Sir David Cunningham Carter is a New Zealand National Party politician who served as the 29th Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 2013 to 2017 and as a Cabinet Minister in the Fourth and Fifth National Governments. He represented the Selwyn electorate in the 44th Parliament and the Banks Peninsula electorate in the 45th Parliament. He served as a list MP from 1999 until he retired at the 2020 election.
Raymond Tau Henare is a former New Zealand Māori parliamentarian. In representing three different political parties in parliament—New Zealand First,Mauri Pacific and the National Party—Henare served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1993 to 1999 and from 2005 to 2014.
Shane Geoffrey Jones is a New Zealand politician. He served as a New Zealand First list MP from 2017 to 2020 and was previously a Labour list MP from 2005 to 2014.
The constitution of New Zealand is the sum of laws and principles that determine the political governance of New Zealand. Unlike many other nations,New Zealand has no single constitutional document. It is an uncodified constitution,sometimes referred to as an "unwritten constitution",although the New Zealand constitution is in fact an amalgamation of written and unwritten sources. The Constitution Act 1986 has a central role,alongside a collection of other statutes,orders in Council,letters patent,decisions of the courts,principles of the Treaty of Waitangi,and unwritten traditions and conventions. There is no technical difference between ordinary statutes and law considered "constitutional law";no law is accorded higher status. In most cases the New Zealand Parliament can perform "constitutional reform" simply by passing acts of Parliament,and thus has the power to change or abolish elements of the constitution. There are some exceptions to this though –the Electoral Act 1993 requires certain provisions can only be amended following a referendum.
Catherine Joan Wilkinson is a New Zealand farmer and politician. She was a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for the National Party from 2005 until her retirement in 2014. From 2008 until January 2013,she was a member of cabinet,holding the portfolios of Labour,Conservation,Food Safety,and Associate Immigration,before being removed from cabinet by Prime Minister John Key.
Claims and settlements under the Treaty of Waitangi have been a significant feature of New Zealand politics since the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 and the Waitangi Tribunal that was established by that act to hear claims. Successive governments have increasingly provided formal legal and political opportunity for Māori to seek redress for what are seen as breaches by the Crown of guarantees set out in the Treaty of Waitangi. While it has resulted in putting to rest a number of significant longstanding grievances,the process has been subject to criticisms including those who believe that the redress is insufficient to compensate for Māori losses. The settlements are typically seen as part of a broader Māori Renaissance.
Andrew James Little is a New Zealand politician and former trade union official,currently serving as Minister of Justice and Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations. He is also the Minister for the Government Communications Security Bureau and the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service. Little was previously Leader of the Opposition from 2014 to 2017.
The Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 10 December 1999 to 19 November 2008. Labour Party leader Helen Clark negotiated a coalition with Jim Anderton,leader of the Alliance Party. While undertaking a number of substantial reforms,it was not particularly radical compared to previous Labour governments.
Rongotai is a New Zealand electorate,returning a single member to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The current MP for Rongotai is Paul Eagle of the Labour Party. He has held this position since the 2017 general election.
The Fifth National Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand for three parliamentary terms from 19 November 2008 to 26 October 2017. John Key served as National Leader and Prime Minister until December 2016,after which Bill English assumed the premiership until the National Government's defeat following the October 2017 government-forming negotiations.
Rino Tirikatene is a New Zealand politician and a member of the House of Representatives,representing the Te Tai Tonga electorate since the 2011 election. He is a member of the Labour Party. He comes from a family with a strong political history.
Adrian Paki Rurawhe is a New Zealand Labour Party politician of Ngāti Apa descent. He is the speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives,the second Māori to hold the position,and Member of Parliament for Te Tai Hauāuru.
The Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi,in New Zealand law and politics,are a set of principles derived from,and interpreting,the Treaty of Waitangi. They are partly an attempt to reconcile the different te reo Māori and English language versions of the Treaty,and allow the application of the Treaty to a contemporary context.
The voting rights of prisoners in New Zealand have been in a near constant state of flux since the first election in New Zealand in 1853. Prisoners have experienced varying degrees of enfranchisement. In 2010 the Electoral Act 1993 was amended to disqualify all prisoners from voting. In 2020 this law was amended so that only persons serving a sentence of imprisonment for a term of three years or more are disenfranchised. Elections in New Zealand are held every three years.
Tahere Paul Eagle is a New Zealand politician and member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for the Rongotai electorate. He was a Wellington City Councillor from 2010 to 2017 and was the first person of Māori descent to be Deputy Mayor of Wellington,but was defeated in a landslide when he sought the mayoralty as an independent candidate in 2022.
He Puapua is a report commissioned in 2019 by the New Zealand Government to inquire into and report on appropriate measures to achieve the goals set out by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The report was conducted by the Ministry of Māori Development,who set up a working group made up of five non-state representatives along with four government officials.
