Political History of New Zealand/The New Zealand Government Today
The New Zealand Government Today
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New Zealand is currently run by the National Party, under the leadership of John Key. The formal coalition comprises of the National Party and the Maori Party, but the New Zealand First, Act, and United Future parties provide confidence and supply to National in return for their leaders being ministers outside of cabinet.
The leader of the opposition is Phil Goff, who is the leader of the Labour Party. The Progressive Party and the Green Party are also in opposition of the Government.
Current Parties in Parliament
[edit | edit source]| Party | Number of Seats in Parliament | Leader(s) | Description of Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Party | 43 | Phil Goff | The New Zealand Labour Party was established in 1916 and first entered Parliament in 1919. The party has been in five Governments: 1935-1949, 1957-1960, 1972-1975, 1984-1990, and 1999-2008.
The party is represented by 43 members in the 49th Parliament — 21 represent electorates and 22 are drawn from the party list. The party leader is Hon Phil Goff, member for Mt Roskill.
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| National Party | 57 | John Key | The New Zealand National Party was established in May 1936 from the Reform-United Coalition. The party first entered Parliament that same year.
The party has been in five Governments: 1949–1957, 1960–1972, 1975–1984, 1990–1999, and 2008- The National Party has 58 members of Parliament — 41 representing general electorates and 18 drawn from the party list. The current party leader is the Hon John Key, Prime Minister and member for Helensville. After a record loss to Labour in the 2002 election, National made a remarkable recovery in the 2005 election under the leadership of Don Brash, only losing the election by 2 percent (one seat). |
| Green Party | 9 | Metiria Turei and Russel Norman | The Green Party is New Zealand's major environmentalist party. It promotes views on carbon emissions and other major environmental topics. The Greens, The Green Party of Aotearoa / New Zealand first registered with the Electoral Commission in August 1995 and entered Parliament in 1995. The party has not been in Government. The Green Party has nine members in the 49th Parliament, all elected from the party list. The party is led by co-leaders, Metiria Turei and Russel Norman.
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| Māori Party | 5 | Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples | The Maori party is based around the Maori population in New Zealand. It formed in 2004 around Tariana Turia, a former minister of the Labour Party. It promotes Maori rights in Parliament. The Māori Party registered with Electoral Commission in July 2004 and first entered Parliament the same year on a by-election. The Hon Tariana Turia and Hon Dr Pita Sharples are Ministers outside Cabinet in the National-led government from November 2008.
The party is currently represented in Parliament by five members; all representing Māori electorates. The current party co-leaders are Hon Tariana Turia and Hon Dr Pita Sharples.
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| United Future | 1 | Peter Dunne | United Future is a 'common sense' party based around family values. Although United Future had a strong Christian background, it does not promote its Christian side any longer. The party has a confidence and supply agreement with the Government. United Future formed in 2000 after a merger of Future New Zealand (formerly the Christian Democrats) and the United Party. The party registered with the Electoral Commission in December 2001 and first entered Parliament that same year.
The party is currently represented in Parliament by one member, the Hon Peter Dunne, who is the member for Ohariu. He is a Minister outside of Cabinet in the National-led government from November 2008. United Future previously had a confidence and supply agreement with the Labour-Progressive Coalition Government from 2005-2008.
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| ACT | 5 | Rodney Hide | The ACT Party is a classically liberal party. It promotes lower taxation, reducing government expenditure, and increasing punishments for crime. ACT New Zealand first registered with the Electoral Commission in February 1995 and entered Parliament in 1996. The Hon Rodney Hide and Hon Heather Roy are Ministers outside Cabinet in the National-led government from November 2008.
The party is currently represented in Parliament by five members — one represents an electorate, Epsom, and four are drawn from the party list. |
| Progressive Party | 1 | Jim Anderton | The Progressive Party has one elected MP, the party's leader, Jim Anderton, and has had a recent focus on employment and regional development. It is part of the coalition with the Labour Government. Jim Anderton’s Progressive formed in 2002 from part of the former Alliance Party. The party registered with the Electoral Commission in June 2002 and first entered Parliament that same year.
Progressive was in coalition with two Labour-led governments from its inception in 2002 until November 2008. The party is led and represented in Parliament by the Hon Jim Anderton, member for Wigram.
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