Seventh of eight articles TO this outsider, the way 3.6 million New Zealanders govern themselves seems surprisingly uncomplicated. It has the usual intrigues, power plays and looney scenarios. Overall, however, it seems much more open in a much simpler structure. New Zealand’s political
system is simplerPower rests in a 120-member Parliament that has had a single house since 1951. From its ranks are chosen the prime minister, deputy prime minister and 18 other cabinet members.
They are the big show. It is pretty easy to watch what they do. A governor-general appointed by Queen Elizabeth has the power to disapprove an act of Parliament or even call new elections, but uses it only on the advice of the prime minister.
Prime Minister Jim Bolger favors breaking ties with the United Kingdom and declaring New Zealand a republic. There will be no effort to act until after New Zealand's big neighbor, Australia, makes the first move.
New Zealand last year enlarged Parliament from 99 to 120 members and voted under a new system earlier ratified by the voters. It is called MMP for mixed member proportional.
It gives each voter two votes -- one for a political party, one for a specific member to sit in Parliament. In 1996 there were 65 members elected from single-member districts. There are no run-offs. Five of the districts were for Maori, based on the number who signed a special voter roll.
The remaining 55 seats were filled from prioritized party lists. These were prepared and publicized by the competing parties before the election. The requisite number of top names from these lists were then seated in Parliament to give each party final representation proportional to its preferred party votes.
An example: The National Party elected 30 members directly. In addition the top 14 persons on its list were declared elected to fill out its party preference quota. National's final 44 seats were not enough to form a government.
The National Party and Prime Minister Bolger stayed in power, as they have since 1990, only by going into coalition with the First New Zealand Party to attain a one-vote majority of 61. Slim as the margin is, observers expect the coalition to hold until the next scheduled election in 1999.
First New Zealand got the deputy prime ministership and five more cabinet appointments. It promises more attention to Maori, women and youth.
New Zealand was prodded to its system change by voter concern over elections where parliamentary representation bore little relationship to the overall popular vote. The new system was recommended by a commission and ratified by the voters. It closely follows a German model designed to prevent unbalanced representation. More coalition governments seem likely.
Apply the change to Hawaii and the Republican Party would have a far stronger voice. So might the Green Party and Libertarians.
IN 1996 a significant number of voters gave their party preference vote to a party different than that of the MP they voted for. It was a sign, some said, of voter shrewdness.
Maori fared well. They wound up with 16 seats, which is about their proportion of the population even though they were assured of only five. They are spread over five parties.
New Zealand's higher court judges are appointed for life by the government and protected from pay reductions. When the government announces the choices they are final. No public hearings are held. A few resignations have been forced by specific evidence of malfeasance.
The courts have been used advantageously by the Maori in a number of key instances affecting land claims and fishing. A controversial upcoming test will be an appeal from a lower court ruling that Maori need no license to fish for trout on tribal lands even though trout are an introduced species.
Tu Tangata Way
What: Presentation on Tu Tangata Way, by Kara Puketapu, managing director of Maori International and the Tu Tangata Team from New Zealand
THURSDAY: A Great Country New Zealand Series Archive
