Government & politics — New Zealand

• Dutch explorer Abel TASMAN was the first European to reach New Zealand in 1642
• he named it Staten Landt, but Dutch cartographers renamed it Nova Zeelandia in 1645 after the Dutch province of Zeeland
• British explorer Captain James COOK subsequently anglicized the name to New Zealand when he mapped the islands in 1769

• history: New Zealand has no single constitution document; the Constitution Act 1986, effective 1 January 1987, includes only part of the uncodified constitution; others include a collection of statutes or "acts of Parliament," the Treaty of Waitangi, Orders in Council, letters patent, court decisions,
• and unwritten conventions amendments: proposed as bill by Parliament or by referendum called either by the government or by citizens; passage of a bill as an act normally requires two separate readings with committee reviews in between to make changes and corrections, a third reading approved by the House of Representatives membership or by the majority of votes in a referendum, and assent of the governor-general; passage of amendments to reserved constitutional provisions affecting the term of Parliament, electoral districts, and voting restrictions requires approval by 75% of the House membership or the majority of votes in a referendum; amended many times, last in 2020

• chief of state: King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor-Gener
• al Dame Cindy KIRO (since 21 October 2021) head of government: Prime Minister Christopher LUXON (since 27 November 2023); Deputy P
• rime Minister Winston PETERS (since 27 November 2023) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor-general on th
• e recommendation of the prime minister elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor-general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the governor-general;
• deputy prime minister appointed by the governor-general note: according to Prime Minister LUXON, the Winston PETERS of the New Zealand First Party would be the deputy prime minister in the first half of the term while Act party leader, David SEYMOUR, would take the role for the second half of the term

Description

unicameral House of Representatives - commonly called Parliament (121 seats for 2023-26 term); 72 members directly elected in 65 single-seat constituencies and 7 Maori constituencies by simple majority vote and 49 directly elected by closed party-list proportional representation vote; members serve 3-year terms)

Elections

last held on 14 October 2023 (next scheduled for October 2026)

Election Results

• percent of vote by party - National Party 38.1%, Labor Party 26.9%, Green Party 11.6%, ACT Party 8.6%, New Zealand First 6.1%
• Maori Party 3.1%
• seats by party - National Party 48, Labor Party 34, Green Party 15, ACT Party 11, New Zealand First 8, Maori Party 6;

Composition

• 67 men, 56 women
• percentage of women 45.5%

• highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of 5 justices, including the chief justice); note - the Supreme Court in 2004 replaced the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London)
• as the final appeals court judge selection and term of office: justices appointed by the governor-general upon the recommendation of the attorney- general; justices appoi
• nted until compulsory retirement at age 70 subordinate courts: Court of Appeal; High Court; tribunals and authorities; district courts; specialized courts for issues related to employment, environment, family, Maori lands, youth, military; tribunals

Summary

16 regions and 1 territory*

Regions or States

• Auckland
• Bay of Plenty
• Canterbury
• Chatham Islands*
• Gisborne
• Hawke's Bay
• Manawatu-Wanganui
• Marlborough
• Nelson
• Northland
• Otago
• Southland
• Taranaki
• Tasman
• Waikato
• Wellington
• West Coast

• ACT New Zealand [David SEYMOUR]
• Green Party [Marama DAVIDSON and James SHAW]
• New Zealand First Party or NZ First [Winston PETERS]
• New Zealand Labor Party [Chris HIPKINS]
• New Zealand National Party [Christopher LUXON]
• Te Pāti Māori [Debbie NGAREWA-PACKER and Rawiri WAITITI]
• Note: in the October 2023 general election, 11 additional parties won votes but no seats in Parliament

• no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent
• yes residency requirement for naturalization: 3 years

• New Zealand has two time zones: New Zealand standard time (UTC+12) and Chatham Islands time (45 minutes in advance of New Zealand standard time; UTC+12:45)

chief of mission

Ambassador Thomas Stewart UDALL (since 1 December 2021) note - also accredited to Samoa embassy: 29 Fitzherbert Terrace, Thorndon, Wellington 6011 mailing address: 4370 Auckland Place, Washington DC 20521-4370

telephone

[64] (4) 462-6000

FAX

[64] (4) 499-0490

Email address and website

• AucklandACS@state.gov
• https://nz.usembassy.gov/

consulate(s) general

Auckland

chief of mission

Ambassador Bede Gilbert CORRY (since 16 September 2022)

chancery

37 Observatory Circle NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone

[1] (202) 328-4800

FAX

[1] (202) 667-5277

Email address and website

• wshinfo@mfat.govt.nz
• https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/countries-and-regions/americas/united-states-of-america/

consulate(s) general

Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York