Two Americans emigrate to New Zealand from Colorado,
USA.
We share our Kiwi immigration story and talk about
our new life in Nelson, New Zealand
The New Zealand system is based on the Westminster system of the United Kingdom--as used in the Palace of Westminster in England--and the principle that "The Queen reigns, but the government rules, so long as it has the support of the House of Representatives."
A head of state who is the nominal or theoretical source of executive power, holds numerous reserve powers, but in practice is a ceremonial figurehead. In the case of New Zealand, this is the Queen of England, since England claimed New Zealand originally as a territory.
A de facto executive branch usually made up of members of the legislature with the senior members of the executive in a Cabinet; such members execute executive authority on behalf of the nominal or theoretical executive authority. In New Zealand the executive is in the form of a sole Prime Minister
The presence of opposition parties;
An elected legislature, or a system in which one of two houses is elected and the other appointed;
The ability for a parliament to be dissolved and elections called at any time.
New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy. Queen Elizabeth II is Queen of New Zealand and is represented as head of state by a Governor-General.
As an awesome side note thanks to Wikipedia, 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 (to Nov 08), Speaker of the House of Representatives Margaret Wilson (to Nov 08) and Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias were all in office between March 2005 and August 2006.
The New Zealand Parliament has only one chamber, the House of Representatives, which usually seats 120 Members of Parliament. Parliamentary general elections are held every three years under a form of proportional representation called Mixed Member Proportional, commonly abbreviated to MMP. MMP is a voting system used to elect representatives to numerous legislatures around the world. MMP is similar to other forms of proportional representation in that the overall total of party members in the elected body is intended to mirror the overall proportion of votes received;
There is no written constitution: 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, by convention, the Parliamentary leader of the governing party or coalition.
Learn more about the current National government in New Zealand...
