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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 WELLINGTON 000070 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EAP/ANP, EAP/RSP, EAP/EP, INR/EAP 
 
E.O. 12356: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL NZ
SUBJECT: THE NEW ZEALAND ELECTIONS 2005:  NEW ZEALAND'S 
ELECTORAL SYSTEM 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) This is the first in a series of reporting that 
Embassy New Zealand and ConGen Auckland will provide in the 
run-up to this year's Parliamentary elections.  Although no 
date has been set, the elections must occur before September 
¶2005. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Summary: The current Labour Government is 
cautiously optimistic about the possibility of returning to 
power for a historic third term.  Their main opponent, the 
National Party, is lagging behind, but hopes to improve on 
its abysmal showing in the 2002 elections.  Regardless of 
which party captures more votes, New Zealand's Mixed Member 
Proportional (MMP) System of elections and the inclusion of 
specially-designated seats for the minority Maori population 
virtually guarantee that the winner will need one or more 
coalition partners to govern.  This message explains the 
composition of the New Zealand government; some of its 
underlying institutions; and the complex MMP system and its 
possible implications for the election.  End summary. 
 
OVERVIEW AND ROLE OF THE CONSTITUTION 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) New Zealand is a sovereign state with a democratic 
parliamentary government based on the Westminster system. 
As in Canada and Australia, the British monarch is titular 
Head of State of New Zealand.  The Queen is represented by 
the Governor-General, typically a New Zealander, who is 
appointed by the Queen on the advice of the New Zealand 
Government.  Over the years, the Governor General's 
ceremonial responsibilities have increased, while 
constitutional duties have diminished.  The current Governor 
General is Dame Sylvia Cartwright. 
 
¶4. (U) New Zealand's constitutional history dates back to 
the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, when the 
indigenous Maori people ceded sovereignty over New Zealand 
to the British Queen in exchange for citizenship.  The New 
Zealand Constitution Act of 1852 provided for the 
establishment of a Parliament with an elected House of 
Representatives.  Universal suffrage was introduced in 1893. 
 
¶5. (U) As in the United Kingdom, constitutional practice in 
New Zealand is an accumulation of convention, precedent and 
tradition, and there is no single document that can be 
termed the New Zealand constitution.  The Constitution Act 
1986, however, updates, clarifies and consolidates in one 
piece of legislation the most important constitutional 
provisions that had been enacted in various statutes.  It 
provides for a legislative body, an executive and 
administrative structure and specific protection for the 
judiciary.  In 2004, PM Helen Clark introduced a Commission 
of Inquiry to address the effectiveness of NZ's 
constitutional arrangements.  Many believe that the Prime 
Minister's real aim is to use the Inquiry to change New 
Zealand's status from a constitutional monarchy to a 
republic. 
 
¶6. (U) Following the general election in July 2002, seven 
political parties are represented in Parliament.  The Labour 
Party and the Progressive Coalition formed a minority 
Coalition Government after the election.  The United Future 
Party has pledged to support the Coalition on confidence and 
supply (that is, they vote with the Government on crucial 
votes, including votes regarding spending).  An arrangement 
has also been reached with the Green Party for co-operation 
on a range of policy and legislative matters.  The Right 
Honourable Helen Clark, the Leader of the Labour Party, is 
Prime Minister and the Honourable Michael Cullen, Deputy 
Leader of Labour, is Deputy Prime Minister. 
 
PARLIAMENT 
---------- 
 
¶7. (U) Legislative power is vested in Parliament, a 
unicameral body designated the House of Representatives. 
There are currently 120 members, who are elected for three- 
year terms through the general elections.  All citizens and 
permanent residents 18 years and over are eligible to vote 
in elections.  The Prime Minister usually decides the exact 
election date, but elections must be held at regular three- 
year intervals.  The next New Zealand general election must 
be held before September 27, 2005. 
 
¶8. (U) Authority for raising revenue by taxation and for 
expenditure of public money must be granted by Parliament. 
Parliament also serves as a check on the Government by 
having the power to pass a resolution of no confidence or to 
reject any Government proposal made a matter of confidence. 
In such cases the Government would be expected to resign. 
 
¶9. (U) The executive branch of the Government of New Zealand 
(GoNZ) is represented by the Executive Council, a formal 
body made up of the Cabinet and the Governor-General, who 
acts on the Cabinet's advice.  The Cabinet itself consists 
of the Prime Minister and his/her Ministers, who must be 
chosen from among elected Members of Parliament.  Each 
Minister supervises and is responsible for particular areas 
of government administration.  Collectively, the Cabinet is 
responsible for all decisions of the Government.  The 
judicial system in New Zealand is based on the British 
model.  By convention and the Constitution Act 1986, the 
judiciary is independent from the executive. 
 
HOW PARLIAMENT IS ELECTED 
------------------------- 
 
¶10. (U) Each electorate has a roll - a list of everyone who 
is enrolled to vote.  By law, all New Zealand Citizens 18 
years or older, and eligible to vote, must be on the 
electoral roll.  Unlike Australia, however, it is not 
illegal not to vote in New Zealand.  Every New Zealand 
citizen who is enrolled as an elector (i.e., voter) is also 
eligible to be a candidate for election as a member of 
Parliament. 
 
¶11. (U) Voters of Maori descent are given an option to 
decide which electoral roll they want to be on -- the 
General roll or the Maori roll.  Voters on the latter roll 
elect candidates to fill the seven seats reserved for Maori 
MPs.  The numbers and boundaries of the General and Maori 
electorates are reviewed after each five-year census and 
after the voters of Maori descent decide which roll they 
want to be on. 
 
¶12. (U) As a result of a referendum held in conjunction with 
the 1993 election, New Zealand has since 1996 used the 
"Mixed Member Proportional" (MMP) system of elections to 
Parliament.  MMP is similar to the German Federal system's 
Lower House elections.  Under MMP, each voter has two votes, 
one for a local electorate MP, and one for a political party 
-- the latter represented by a list of candidates nominated 
by each party in advance of the elections.  Each registered 
party's total number of Party Votes decides its share of 
seats in Parliament. 
 
¶13. (U) A person can be a "dual candidate" by standing for 
an electorate seat as well as being on the party list.  A 
dual candidate who wins an electorate seat has his or her 
name deleted from the party list. 
 
¶14. (U) Before it is entitled to a share of Parliament 
seats, a party must first qualify by "crossing the 
threshold":  either it must win at least five percent of all 
the Party Votes cast at the election, or it must win at 
least one General or Maori electorate seat.  Each qualified 
party is allocated enough Party Vote ("list") seats to add 
to any electorate seats it has won so that its total number 
of seats is close to its share of all the eligible Party 
Votes cast.  Parties fill their list seats by drawing off 
the allocated number of candidates in the order in which 
they appeared on the party's list, and voters cannot change 
that order.  The MPs chosen in this way are hereafter called 
"list MPs." 
 
¶15. (U) If a party wins more electorate seats than it is 
entitled to have based on its share of all the Party Votes 
it does not receive any list seats.  It keeps the extra 
seats (known as "overhang" seats) and the size of Parliament 
increases by that number of seats until the next general 
election.  In the next (47th) Parliament, there will be 69 
electorate MPs (62 General electorates and 7 Maori 
electorates) and 51 list (i.e. Party Vote) MPs. 
 
¶16. (U) After the election, the Government is formed by the 
party or coalition, which can command a majority of the 
votes in the House of Representatives.  The leader of the 
winning party becomes Prime Minister (although formally the 
Prime Minister is selected by the Governor General).  In 
past years the PM has often chosen Ministers from coalition 
parties.  Both the Labour and National parties are likely to 
use the prospect of such appointments to gain coalition 
support from smaller parties in the 2005 election. 
 
WHAT'S IN STORE FOR 2005 
------------------------ 
 
¶17. (SBU) With the next General Elections less than 10 
months away, campaigning by political parties is already 
beginning to heat up.  It is likely that the two major 
parties -- Labour and National -- will be battling for the 
main honors.  Key issues likely to be on the agenda for 2005 
include:  trade (particularly a US/NZ Free Trade Agreement), 
tax reform (personal and company tax reduction), 
constitutional issues (surrounding the Treaty of Waitangi), 
health, education, crime and transport.  We will profile the 
various parties and report on their positions on campaign 
issues in the months ahead. 
 
Swindells