CHANGING DEMOCRACY

  BC and the politics of Middle Earth   

NEW ZEALAND'S PARLIAMENT

New Zealand has had three elections under MMP.  In all three, coalitions were established; one led by the National Party and two by the Labour Party. In New Zealand, elections must be held every three years, not every five years as is common in Canada. (BC is now the exception with a fixed election date every four years.)

New Zealand uses a very active system of
Parliamentary Standing Committees.
The "all party" committees review
government legislation (except finance bills and "urgent" bills) and invite public submissions.  Referenda have been frequently used in New Zealand. In 1999, Kiwis voted heavily in favour of reducing the number of MPs to 99 from 120, and to increase the severity of sentencing for criminals. The results of the referendum has so far been ignored.

2002 New Zealand Parliament

Labour	52 seats
National	27 seats
New Zealand First	13 seats
ACT	9 seats
Green Party	9 seats
United Future	8 seats
Progressive	2 seats