Desperate pleas from Canada

The New Zealand political system is a democracy. Every three years Kiwis get to vote for who will represent them in Parliament but our democracy is about much more than elections. Learn about how the New Zealand Government works.

In New Zealand, our system of Government gives us many opportunities to participate in decision making and provides:

• the right to vote in parliamentary elections

• independent and impartial judges

• a free press

• access to official information

• protection of individual rights

• freedom from corruption

• respect for the voices of minorities, as well as those of the majority

• the right to gather in agreement and support, or in protest.

Remember, our Government isn’t something you should be afraid of when you’re studying here.

Tip: Check out the EIU Democracy Index to get an understanding of how New Zealand's democracy compares with others around the world.

Political culture

New Zealand is an inclusive society and was a founding member of the United Nations in 1945. New Zealand is committed to promoting peace, security, social progress, better living standards and human rights for all.

New Zealand was the first country in the world to grant all women of voting age the right to vote in parliamentary elections in 1893. Kate Sheppard, a prominent leader of the 1893 women's campaign to vote, is honoured on our ten dollar note.

Here are some key aspects of our political culture:

• We decide our central government by democratic vote – usually every three years

• We talk about politics openly and freely

• Our Members of Parliament ('MPs') are easily accessible to us. Everyone who lives in New Zealand (including international students) can contact their Members of Parliament to talk about any issues they have with our laws.

Voting

All New Zealand citizens and permanent residents 18 years old or over can vote in a general election. They just need to have their name on either the Māori or general electoral roll before election day. Each voter has two votes to cast — a party vote and an electorate vote, which is for a specific party candidate. This is how Kiwis choose who represents them in Parliament.

Our voting system is MMP (Mixed Member Proportional) and means that a political party’s share of seats in Parliament reflects its share of the national vote. There are 71 electorate seats - each with roughly equal numbers of voters - and around 50 list seats available. Find out more about our voting system.

We have two main parties in New Zealand. The National Party, which is a more conservative party (often called 'right wing') and the Labour Party, which is generally considered more liberal or reforming (often called 'left wing'). There are many other political parties to chose from, here's a list of all the current registered political parties in New Zealand.

Tip: Generally, Kiwis are friendly with each other no matter what their political beliefs are. However, they don't always like to say who they voted for. It can be better to talk about politics in a general sense rather than personally. You can ask your friends questions, just be respectful.

Type of government

New Zealand is a parliamentary democracy with a governmental structure more similar to Germany rather than traditional systems like the United Kingdom and Australia. In 1996 New Zealand adopted the MMP (Mixed Member Proportional) system.

Everyday political power is the responsibility of our House of Representatives who are elected by Kiwis.

The Prime Minister is the person who leads the political party or group of parties (coalition) with a majority of seats in the House. The Prime Minister chooses which MPs will be in charge of government departments. These MPs form the Cabinet (a small group of the most important people in government, who advise the Prime Minister and make important decisions).

Our Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Jacinda Ardern, is the most important and powerful person in central government. However, we have a non-elected head of state, Queen Elizabeth II. This is because New Zealand used to be a British colony and we currently still retain the monarch (Queen) as our head of state. The Queen lives in the United Kingdom and is represented here by the Governor-General, currently Dame Patsy Reddy.

The head of the New Zealand justice system is known as the Chief Justice and the current holder is Justice Helen Winkelmann. This means that currently our three most significant positions in government - the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice, and the Governor General, are all held by women. This is the second time in New Zealand's history that this has happened.

Prime Minister

The Right Honourable Jacinda Ardern is the 40th Prime Minister of New Zealand. She has been our Prime Minister since October 2017 and is the third woman to hold this position.

Jacinda Ardern was an MP (Member of Parliament) for almost ten years before she was elected as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party in March 2017. She became Leader of the Labour Party on 1 August 2017. She was the world's youngest female head of government at age 37 when she took office. Jacinda Ardern became the world's second elected head of government to give birth while in office when she had a baby girl in June 2018.

Jacinda Ardern describes herself as both a social democrat and a progressive. During her election campaign she was so popular people called the way crowds reacted to her 'Jacinda-mania'. Many people in New Zealand even call her by her first name (instead of saying Prime Minister Ardern or her full official title 'the Right Honourable Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister').

Tip: If you want to know more about Jacinda Ardern, or even talk to her, you can follow her on Instagram. She loves New Zealand music! You can listen to her favourite Kiwi songs with this playlist.

Central and Local Government

The central government is responsible for things like:

• public housing

• welfare

• education

• health

• immigration

• the police

• defence

• foreign policy

• taxes.

Find out more detail about the services our central government is responsible for.

We also have local councils in cities and towns across New Zealand who provide local services like water, rubbish collection, parks, reserves, street lighting, roads, local public transport and libraries. If you want to find out about these services all local governments have websites, here's a list of them. You will also find links to these pages on our City pages.

Parliament

The role of parliament is to make laws and hold the government accountable for its policies, actions, and spending. Parliament consists of the Head of State (the Queen) who is represented in New Zealand by the Governor–General, and the House of Representatives.

Members of Parliament ('MPs') are our elected representatives. This means they represent the voters of New Zealand in the House of Representatives and the Government. MPs also represent the actions of the House of Representatives and the Government to the people.

MPs stand for re-election every three years. If the people who vote do not like what their representatives do in Parliament they can vote to replace them at the next election. This is how individual voters influence the way the country is run.

The Head of State's role in Parliament is to:

• call Parliament to meet

• dissolve Parliament

• grant Royal assent to bills passed in the House so that they become laws.

The House of Representatives' role is to:

• provide the Government (Executive) from among its members

• make new laws and update old laws

• represent the people of New Zealand

• examine and approve Government taxes and spending

• hold the Government to account for its policies and actions.

To learn more, check out this information about Parliament.

Tip: You can visit Parliament to see what happens and to learn about New Zealand's democratic process. Kiwis call it the ‘Beehive’ because the building is shaped like a beehive! You can visit in person in Wellington or take a virtual tour for free.

Treaty of Waitangi

New Zealand’s government is influenced by the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi).

The Treaty of Waitangi is New Zealand's founding document. It takes its name from the place in the Bay of Islands where it was first signed, on 6 February 1840. This day is now a public holiday in New Zealand. The Treaty is an agreement, in Māori and English that was made between the British Crown and many Māori rangatira (chiefs). It has shaped our past and will shape our future.

Tip: Find out more about the Treaty of Waitangi. If you’re in Wellington, you can see the Treaty of Waitangi at He Tohu in the National Library of New Zealand for free. It's held there permanently on the first floor in a beautifully designed exhibition that's worth seeing!