New Zealand Parliament

The New Zealand Parliament is consciously modelled on the Westminster system of parliamentary representation, developed in the United Kingdom. This system can be traced back to the "Model Parliament" of 1295.[5]

Over the centuries, parliaments progressively limited the power of the monarchy. The Bill of Rights 1688 (which has been ratified as law in New Zealand)[6] established a system where parliaments would be regularly elected. Among its provisions, it set out parliament's role in taxation and supply. The Bill of Rights also confirmed absolute freedom of speech in parliament.[5]

As early as 1846 the British settlers in New Zealand petitioned for self-government.[7] The New Zealand Parliament was created by the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, an Act of the British Parliament,[8] which established a bicameral legislature officially named the "General Assembly",[9] but usually referred to as Parliament. It had a lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the Legislative Council.[8] The members of the House were elected under the first-past-the-post (FPP) voting system, while those of the Council were appointed by the governor. The first members were sworn in on 24 May 1854 in Auckland.[1]

The General Assembly House in Auckland, 1861

Initially, legislative councillors were appointed for life, but from the 1890s they were appointed for renewable seven-year terms.[10] This change, coupled with responsible government (whereby the premier advised the governor on Council appointments) and party politics, meant that by the 20th century, the government usually controlled the Council as well as the House, and the passage of bills through the Council became a formality.[11] In 1951, the Council was ended altogether, making the New Zealand legislature unicameral.[12] The Council sat for the last time on 1 December 1950, before it was formally abolished on 1 January 1951.[10]

At the time of its abolition the upper house had fifty-four members, including its own speaker.[13]

Under the Constitution Act, legislative power was also conferred on New Zealand's provinces (originally six in number), each of which had its own elected provincial council.[8] These provincial councils were able to legislate for their provinces on most subjects. New Zealand was never a federation comparable to Canada or Australia; Parliament could legislate concurrently with the provinces on any matter, and in the event of a conflict, the law passed by Parliament would prevail.[14] Over a twenty-year period, political power was progressively centralised, and the provinces were abolished altogether in 1876.[9]

New Zealand had representatives of the indigenous population in its parliament from an early date. Reserved Māori seats were created in 1867 during the term of the 4th Parliament;[8] Māori men aged 21 and over, whether or not they owned property, could vote to elect four Māori members of the House of Representatives.[9]

The Māori electorates have lasted far longer than the intended five years. In 2002, the seats increased in number to seven.[15]

One historical speciality of the New Zealand Parliament was the country quota, which gave greater representation to rural politics. From 1889 on (and even earlier in more informal forms), districts were weighted according to their urban/rural split (with any locality of less than 2,000 people considered rural). Those districts which had large rural proportions received a greater number of nominal votes than they actually contained voters – as an example, in 1927, Waipawa, a district without any urban population at all, received an additional 4,153 nominal votes to its actual 14,838 – having the maximum factor of 28% extra representation. The country quota was in effect until it was abolished in 1945 by a mostly urban-elected Labour government, which switched to a one-vote-per-person system.[16]

Chamber of the House of Representatives, c. 1900–1902

Originally the New Zealand Parliament remained subordinate to the British Parliament, the supreme legislative authority for the entire British Empire—although, in practice, Britain's role was minimal from the 1890s.[11] The New Zealand Parliament received progressively more control over New Zealand affairs through the passage of Imperial (British) laws such as the Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865, constitutional amendments, and an increasingly hands-off approach by the British government. In 1947, the New Zealand Parliament passed the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act, giving that parliament full power over New Zealand law,[11] and the New Zealand Constitution Amendment Act 1947, an Act of the British Parliament, allowed the New Zealand Parliament to regulate its own composition. In 1973 a further amendment, the New Zealand Constitution Amendment Act 1973, expanded the territorial jurisdiction of New Zealand's parliament.[17]

In 1986 a new Constitution Act was passed, finally removing the power for the British Parliament to pass laws affecting New Zealand (which was by then only with New Zealand's consent), restating the few remaining provisions of the 1852 Act, consolidating the legislation establishing Parliament, and officially replacing the name "General Assembly" with "Parliament".[18]

Beginning in the 1890s, when the New Zealand Liberal Party was established as the first formal political party in New Zealand, political power shifted from the House of Representatives to elections, parties and leaders. The conservative Reform Party was formed in 1909, and the New Zealand Labour Party in 1916. The New Zealand National Party emerged in 1936 from the amalgamation of Reform and a remnant of the Liberals, the United Party.[11] As of the 2020 general election, the current parties represented in the House of Representatives are National, Labour, the Green Party, ACT New Zealand, and the Māori Party.[19][20]

Labour Member of Parliament Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan was the longest-serving female MP (1967–1996) and was also the first MP to give birth while serving in office. National MP Ruth Richardson was the first MP to bring her baby into the debating chamber while fellow National MP Katherine Rich was the first MP to feed her baby in the House. During the 1990s, a child care centre was established for the children of MPs and parliamentary staff.[21][22] In November 2017, the Speaker of the House Trevor Mallard announced that Parliament would becoming more "baby friendly."[21][23] Family friendly policies have included making an atrium near the parliamentary chamber accessible to MP's children, giving carers and spouses the same security clearances as MPs, opening the Parliamentary swimming pool to the families of MPs and staff, and updating the family room to have baby-feeding and changing facilities, and a proposed play area on Parliament's lawn.[22][24][25]

House of Representatives crest, surmounted by a St Edward's Crown

The House of Representatives was established as a lower house and has been the Parliament's sole house since 1951.[4] Since the introduction of MMP in 1996, the House consists of 120 members of Parliament (MPs), elected to a three-year term. Parliamentary elections use the mixed-member proportional (MMP) system, a hybrid of first-past-the-post and party-list proportional representation; 71 MPs represent single-member electorates of roughly the same population,[32] while the remainder are list MPs.[33] These MPs assemble to represent the people, pass laws and supervise the work of government.[34][35] Members also form select committees of the House, appointed to deal with particular areas or issues.[36]

Ministers in the New Zealand Government are always drawn from amongst the members of the House of Representatives (before 1951, there were also ministers who sat in the Legislative Council). The government of the day, and by extension the prime minister, must achieve and maintain the support of the House in order to gain and remain in power.[4] The Government is dependent on Parliament to implement its legislative agenda, and has always required the House's approval to spend money.[34]

The Parliament does not have an upper house; there was an upper house up to 1951, and there have been occasional suggestions to create a new one.[36] The Legislative Council chamber continues to be used during the Opening of Parliament.[13] This is in keeping with the British tradition in which the monarch is barred from entering the lower house.[37][5]

The original Legislative Council was created by the Charter for Erecting the Colony of New Zealand on 16 November 1840,[38] which saw New Zealand established as a Crown colony separate from New South Wales on 1 July 1841.[38] Originally, the Legislative Council consisted of the governor, colonial secretary and colonial treasurer (who comprised the Executive Council), and three justices of the peace appointed by the governor.[39] The Legislative Council had the power to issue Ordinances (statutory instruments).[40]

With the passing of the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, the Legislative Council became the upper house of the General Assembly. The Legislative Council was intended to scrutinise and amend bills passed by the House of Representatives, although it could not initiate legislation or amend money bills. Despite occasional proposals for an elected Council, members of the Legislative Council (MLCs) were appointed by the governor, generally on the recommendation of the prime minister.[11] It was eventually decided that the Council was having no significant impact on New Zealand's legislative process; its final sitting was on 1 December 1950.[41]

In September 1950, the National government of Sidney Holland set up a constitutional reform committee to consider an alternative second chamber, chaired by Ronald Algie. A report produced by the committee in 1952 proposed a nominated Senate, with 32 members, appointed by leaders of the parties in the House of Representatives, according to the parties' strength in that House. Senators would serve for three-year-terms, and be eligible for reappointment.[42] The Senate would have the power to revise, initiate or delay legislation, to hear petitions, and to scrutinise regulations and Orders in Council, but the proposal was rejected by the Prime Minister and by the Labour opposition, which had refused to nominate members to the committee.[43]

After the 1990 election, the National government of Jim Bolger proposed the establishment of an elected Senate, thereby reinstating a bicameral system, and a Senate Bill was drafted. Under the Bill, the Senate would have 30 members, elected by STV, from six senatorial districts, four in the North Island and two in the South Island. Like the old Legislative Council it would not have powers to amend or delay money bills.[44] The intention was to include a question on a Senate in the second referendum on electoral reform. Voters would be asked, if they did not want a new voting system, whether or not they wanted a Senate.[45] However, following objections from the Labour opposition, which derided it as a red herring,[46] and other supporters of the mixed-member proportional (MMP) representation system,[47] the Senate question was removed by the Select Committee on Electoral Reform.[44]

In 2010, the New Zealand Policy Unit of the Centre for Independent Studies proposed a Senate in the context of the 2011 referendum on MMP. They proposed a proportionally-elected upper house made up 31 seats elected using a proportional list vote by region, with the House of Representatives elected by FPP and consisting of 79 seats.[48]

Each bill goes through several stages before it becomes a law. The first stage is a mere formality known as the first reading, where it is introduced without a debate. This is followed by the second reading, where MPs debate on the general principles of the bill. If the House opposes the bill, it may vote to reject the bill.[4]

If the bill goes through the second reading, it is sent to a select committee where every clause in the bill is examined. Members of Parliament who support the bill in principle but do not agree with certain clauses can propose amendments to those clauses at this stage. Following its report back to the House, the bill will be advanced to its third reading where only minor amendments will be allowed before it is passed or rejected.[4]

Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy giving Royal Assent to a bill for the first time. Government House, Wellington, 28 September 2016

If a bill passes its third reading, it is passed by the Clerk of the House of Representatives to the Governor-General, who will (assuming constitutional conventions are followed) grant Royal Assent as a matter of course. Some constitutional lawyers, such as Professor Philip Joseph, believe the governor-general does retain the power to refuse Royal Assent to bills in exceptional circumstances – specifically if democracy were to be abolished.[56] Others, such as former law professor and Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer and Professor Matthew Palmer argue any refusal of Royal Assent would cause a constitutional crisis.[57]

As a practical reality, because the Royal Assent to a bill must follow quickly after its passage by the House of Representatives, if there is any substantial issue about the constitutional validity of a bill, the issue must be considered by the Attorney-General before the bill is introduced into the House.[58]