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New Zealand History
A British Colony since 1840, New Zealand declared national sovereignty
in 1947, but remains a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth
as head of state. Recently New Zealand replaced the previous 'first
past the post' electoral system with a new mixed member system of
proportional representation. There are now several mainstream political
parties - National and Labour, who were the 'traditional' parties
along with more recent political parties including New Zealand First,
the Alliance, and the Green Party. Labour forms the current government,
with agreed support from the Alliance Party and the United Futures
Party.
FORM OF NEW ZEALAND GOVERNMENT
New Zealand is a sovereign state with a democratic parliamentary
government based on the Westminster system. Its 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. The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 provided
for the establishment of a Parliament with an elected House of Representatives.
Universal suffrage was introduced in 1893. Just as with Canada and
Australia, the British Monarch acts as the titular Head of State
and is represented in New Zealand by the Governor-General, appointed
upon the advice of the New Zealand Government.
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