Government

The form of New Zealand’s government differs from most other parliamentary democracies.Its Parliament has only one house：the House of Representatives.Parliament has 120 seats，and any decisions made by the Parliament must have the consent of a majority of its European and Maori members.Members of parliament are elected at a general election which is held every three years.Seven of the 120 seats are reserved for Maori people although the Maori people can also enter election for the normal seats.The party holding a majority of seats in the Parliament forms a government headed by the Prime Minister，who is usually the leader of the majority party.Since 1953，parliamentary elections have been dominated by the National Party and the Labor Party.The current government is controlled by the National Party.The Prime Minister is responsible for forming a government cabinet.The cabinet consists ministers who lead different departments of the government.The Cabinet introduces most legislation to Parliament.Since the government is formed by the majority party in Parliament，its policies are seldom blocked in Parliament.

New Zealand is a member of the British Commonwealth，and recognizes the British Queen as its Head of State.Bills passed by the Parliament must be sent to the Governor⁃General for royal approval because the Governor⁃General is the Queen’s representative in New Zealand.However，this step is ceremonial，as the Governor⁃General is appointed by the Queen in consultation with the government of New Zealand，for a period of five years.His role in the government，is no more than that of a figurehead，or a servant of the majority party.It is only when the Parliament has no majority party，or when the majority party has no accepted leader，that the Governor⁃General may be able to exercise a degree of real power.However，this is unlikely to happen.

Parliamentary elections are held every three years，and everyone over the age of 18 has the right to vote.New Zealand’s parliamentary elections use a mixed member proportional（MMP）electoral system.In each election，voters cast two types of votes.One is called the Party Vote，which determines the share of each party in the 120 seats of the Parliament.The other is known as the Electorate Vote，which determines who will represent a particular electorate in the Parliament.

Most Members of Parliament usually represent one of the two major parties：the National Party or the Labor Party.The National Party is supported by businesses and by rural and urban people who share the same interests and can be generally described as a center⁃right party.The Labor Party represents the interests of trade unions and urban working people，as well as many of the Maori people.Its policies are generally considered center⁃left.

In addition to these two major parties，there are more than twenty other political parties of varying descriptions and backgrounds.Among them，the more influential ones include the Green Party which is committed to anti⁃war，anti⁃nuclear policies and environment protection;the New Zealand First party which puts the benefits of the nation and its people first through economic and social policies;the Māori Party，which aims to protect indigenous rights;and ACT New Zealand，which stands for individual freedom of choice and advocates a privatized economy totally free of government interference.

So far，governments have been formed by either the National Party or the Labor Party，though other parties have contributed Parliament members to each government.As a general matter，the degree of ideological conflict in New Zealand politics is relatively small，with the Labor and National parties largely agreeing on a considerable range of issues.So far this system has worked relatively well in New Zealand，as the great power bestowed on the Cabinet results in a strong government which is directly responsible to the people for all its decisions.

There are some 40 departments within the New Zealand government，each in charge of a certain aspect of administration.The government plays a very important role in people’s life as New Zealand is a welfare state and many things have to be coordinated by the central government.The administrative heads of the departments often hold permanent non⁃political appointments and thus do not change with the reshuffling of governments，which helps to ensure continuity of administration.

To prevent administrative abuses and corruption，the government has established an ombudsman’s office.The Ombudsman has the power to investigate any officials against whom complaints have been filed，and is directly responsible to the Prime Minister and Parliament.

Local governments oversee affairs at the provincial level.The powers of local government are decided by Parliamentary legislation and are subject to change by Parliament.

New Zealand’s legal system is to a large extent based on British common law，and the British Privy Council is the final court of appeal for New Zealand.The Ministry of Justice is responsible for administering the legal system.There are three levels of courts for handling civil and criminal cases：magistrates’courts，the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.The jury system is used in trials of criminal cases.Besides the common law courts，there are special courts to handle cases that are not covered by common law，such as Youth courts which handle juvenile delinquency cases.