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New Zealand Government
Māori: [Te Kāwanatanga o Aotearoa] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
New Zealand Government wordmark.svg
Overview
Leader Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
Appointed by Governor-General
Main organ
  • Executive Council
  • Cabinet
Ministries 32 ministries and departments
Responsible to House of Representatives
Annual budget NZ$119.3 billion (2018–19)
Headquarters The Beehive and other locations across Wellington
Website

The New Zealand Government (Māori: [Te Kāwanatanga o Aotearoa] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) is the central government through which political authority is exercised in New Zealand. As in most other parliamentary democracies, the term "Government" refers chiefly to the executive branch, and more specifically to the collective ministry directing the executive. Based on the principle of responsible government, it operates within the framework that "the Queen reigns, but the government rules, so long as it has the support of the House of Representatives". The Cabinet Manual describes the main laws, rules and conventions affecting the conduct and operation of the Government.

Executive power is exercised by ministers, all of whom are sworn into the Executive Council and accountable to the elected legislature, the House of Representatives. Several senior ministers (usually 20) constitute a collective decision-making body known as the Cabinet, which is led by the prime minister (currently Jacinda Ardern). A few more ministers (usually junior or supporting) are part of the Executive Council but are outside Cabinet. Most ministers have a portfolio of specific responsibilities such as departments or policy areas, although ministers without portfolio can be appointed.

The position of prime minister belongs to the person who commands the confidence of the majority of members in the House of Representatives. The position is determined also by several other factors, such as support agreements between parties and internal leadership votes in the party that leads the Government. The prime minister and other ministers are formally appointed by the governor-general (who is the Queen's personal representative in New Zealand). By convention, the governor-general acts on the advice of the prime minister in appointing ministers.

Terminology

The Beehive in June 2012
The Beehive, Wellington, is the seat of government (the executive branch)

In New Zealand, the term Government can have a number of different meanings. At its widest, it can refer collectively to the three traditional branches of government—namely, the executive branch, legislative branch (the Queen-in-Parliament and House of Representatives) and judicial branch (the Supreme Court and subordinate courts). Each branch operates independently of the others in an arrangement described as "separation of powers".

More commonly, the term is used to refer specifically to the executive branch. The largest party or coalition in the House of Representatives, with a sufficient number of MPs to win crucial parliamentary votes, will form a Cabinet—this is the sense intended when it is said that a political party "forms the government". The Constitution Act 1986, the principal part of New Zealand's constitution, locates the executive government in the Executive Council, which also includes ministers outside Cabinet.

The Executive Wing of Parliament Buildings, commonly called the "Beehive" because of the building's shape, houses many government offices and is also where the Cabinet meets. Thus the name Beehive is sometimes used metonymically to refer to the New Zealand Government. The official website of the New Zealand Government uses the web address beehive.govt.nz.

History

New Zealand was granted colonial self-government in 1853 following the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, which was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Governments were set up at both central and provincial level, with initially six provinces. The provinces were abolished by the Abolition of Provinces Act 1876, during the premiership of Harry Atkinson. For the purposes of the Act, the provinces formally ceased to exist on 1 January 1877.

The Sewell Ministry constituted the first responsible government, with control over all domestic matters other than native policy. Formed in 1856, it lasted from 18 April to 20 May. From 7 May onward, Henry Sewell was titled "Colonial Secretary", and is generally regarded as having been the country's first prime minister. The first ministry that formed along party lines did not appear until 1891, when John Ballance formed the Liberal Party and the Liberal Government. The prime minister became the leader and public face of the governing party. The status of the monarch's representative was upgraded from "Governor" to "Governor-General" in 1917 letters patent.

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