House of Representatives of New Zealand
The House of Representatives of New Zealand (English: New Zealand House of Representatives ) is part of the New Zealand Parliament.
The House of Representatives usually consists of 120 members (since 2005 from 121 deputies because of an overhang mandate ). Representatives shall be elected by a universal suffrage. New Zealand's political system follows the Westminster system of government and it is governed by a Cabinet and the Prime Minister, who is elected by the House of Representatives.
History
The Parliament was built by the British law New Zealand Constitution Act 1852. Initially there was the Parliament of a bicameral legislature with a lower and upper house. But the upper house, the Legislative Council was dissolved in 1951. Therefore, the New Zealand legislature of a unicameral. Parliament received 1947 full control over the foreign policy of New Zealand with the Statute of Westminst Adoption Act. The Parliament shall have its seat in the capital Wellington.
Until 1986, the official name for the House of Representatives ' General Assembly.
Members
Model of the House of Representatives of New Zealand is the model of the House of Commons. The seats in the chamber forms a horseshoe. The government parties sit opposite the opposition parties. The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall chair the meetings.
Since the general election on November 8, 2008, the 49th legislative period runs. John Key of the National Party is New Zealand Prime Minister. His government is supported in addition to his own party by the Maori Party, Act New Zealand and the United Future Party. The opposition is led by Phil Goff of the Labour Party.
Originally, the House of Representatives was elected by a pure majority voting. After two referendums the right to vote was changed with the election of 1996. Since then, the House of Representatives is elected according to the personalized proportional representation, similar to the German Bundestag. In New Zealand, the voters have two votes in the election, but their meaning is exactly the other way around as with elections in Germany: With the first vote, a party who elected the second for a constituency MP. Eight parties are represented in the 48th legislative period in the House of Representatives.