New Zealand Government

New Zealand Government

New Zealand Government is formed from a democratically elected House of Representatives. The Government advises the Sovereign (NZ head of State). By convention, the Sovereign, the source of all executive legal authority in New Zealand, acts on the advice of the Government in all but the most exceptional circumstances. This system is known as a constitutional monarchy.

New Zealand system is based on the principle that power is distributed across three branches of Government-Parliament, the Executive, and the Judiciary. Parliament makes the law. The Executive (Ministers of the Crown also known as the Government) administers the law. The Judiciary interprets the law through the courts. Supreme Court, High Court and the Court of Appeal have formed the judiciary of New Zealand.

New Zealand is a a democratic country under a structure of constitutional monarchy. Its political frame is based on Westminster system. The state is headed by British Queen Elizabeth II. But the Queen’s name appears as the New Zealand’s Queen, not the British Queen. The Prime Minister holds the main power of the government of New Zealand. The unique characteristic of its political and government structure is that, the country has no formal constitution.

House of Representatives is the legislature of New Zealand. It generally consists of 120 seats. New Zealand is the first country to grant voting right to women. Current Prime Minister is John Key.

Head of State

New Zealand’s head of State is the Sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II of New Zealand. The Governor-General is the Queen’s representative in New Zealand.

Government House

Government House Government House in Wellington is the official residence of the Governor-General of New Zealand, Lt Gen The Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae, GNZM, QSO, and Lady Janine Mateparae.

More than 15,000 visitors pass through Government House in Wellington each year, from foreign Heads of State, politicians and diplomats, to ordinary New Zealanders, young and old. Functions hosted by the Governor-General range from formal ceremonies, state dinners and honours investitures to garden parties, open days and tours of the House and gardens.

Government House has about 29 staff providing administrative and support services for the Governor-General to enable him to carry out the functions of the office and maintain the official residence and grounds in Wellington, as well as the smaller Government House in Auckland.