Charles III,
King of New Zealand

Cindy Kiro, Governor-General of New Zealand

Christopher Luxon, Prime Minister of New Zealand

New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy,^[150] although its constitution is not codified.^[151] Charles III is the King of New Zealand^[152] and thus the head of state.^[153] The king is represented by the governor-general, whom he appoints on the advice of the prime minister.^[154] The governor-general can exercise the Crown's prerogative powers, such as reviewing cases of injustice and making appointments of ministers, ambassadors, and other key public officials,^[155] and in rare situations, the reserve powers (e.g. the power to dissolve Parliament or refuse the royal assent of a bill into law).^[156] The powers of the monarch and the governor-general are limited by constitutional constraints, and they cannot normally be exercised without the advice of ministers.^[156]

The New Zealand Parliament holds legislative power and consists of the king and the House of Representatives.^[157] It also included an upper house, the Legislative Council, until this was abolished in 1950.^[157] The supremacy of parliament over the Crown and other government institutions was established in England by the Bill of Rights 1689 and has been ratified as law in New Zealand.^[157] The House of Representatives is democratically elected, and a government is formed from the party or coalition with the majority of seats. If no majority is formed, a minority government can be formed if support from other parties during confidence and supply votes is assured.^[157] The governor-general appoints ministers under advice from the prime minister, who is by convention the parliamentary leader of the governing party or coalition.^[158] Cabinet, formed by ministers and led by the prime minister, is the highest policy-making body in government and responsible for deciding significant government actions.^[159] Members of Cabinet make major decisions collectively and are therefore collectively responsible for the consequences of these decisions.^[160] The 42nd and current prime minister, since 27 November 2023, is Christopher Luxon.^[161]

A parliamentary general election must be called no later than three years after the previous election.^[162] Almost all general elections between 1853 and 1993 were held under the first-past-the-post voting system.^[163] Since the 1996 election, a form of proportional representation called mixed-member proportional (MMP) has been used.^[151] Under the MMP system, each person has two votes; one is for a candidate standing in the voter's electorate, and the other is for a party. Based on the 2018 census data, there are 72 electorates (which include seven Māori electorates in which only Māori can optionally vote),^[164] and the remaining 48 of the 120 seats are assigned so that representation in Parliament reflects the party vote, with the threshold that a party must win at least one electorate or 5% of the total party vote before it is eligible for a seat.^[165] Elections since the 1930s have been dominated by two political parties, National and Labour. More parties have been represented in Parliament since the introduction of MMP.^[166]

New Zealand's judiciary, headed by the chief justice,^[167] includes the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, the High Court, and subordinate courts.^[168] Judges and judicial officers are appointed non-politically and under strict rules regarding tenure to help maintain judicial independence.^[151] This theoretically allows the judiciary to interpret the law based solely on the legislation enacted by Parliament without other influences on their decisions.^[169]

New Zealand is identified as one of the world's most stable and well-governed states.^[170] As of 2017,^[update] the country was ranked fourth in the strength of its democratic institutions,^[171] and first in government transparency and lack of corruption.^[172] LGBT rights in the nation are also recognised as among the most tolerant in Oceania.^[173] New Zealand ranks highly for civic participation in the political process, with 82% voter turnout during recent general elections, compared to an OECD average of 69%.^[174] However, this is untrue for local council elections; a historically low 36% of eligible New Zealanders voted in the 2022 local elections, compared with an already low 42% turnout in 2019.^[175]^[176]^[177] A 2017 human rights report by the United States Department of State noted that the New Zealand government generally respected the rights of individuals, but voiced concerns regarding the social status of the Māori population.^[178] In terms of structural discrimination, the New Zealand Human Rights Commission has asserted that there is strong, consistent evidence that it is a real and ongoing socioeconomic issue.^[179] One example of structural inequality in New Zealand can be seen in the criminal justice system. According to the Ministry of Justice, Māori are overrepresented, comprising 45% of New Zealanders convicted of crimes and 53% of those imprisoned, while only being 16.5% of the population.^[180]^[181]

Regions and external territories

The early European settlers divided New Zealand into provinces, which had a degree of autonomy.^[182] Because of financial pressures and the desire to consolidate railways, education, land sales, and other policies, government was centralised and the provinces were abolished in 1876.^[183] The provinces are remembered in regional public holidays^[184] and sporting rivalries.^[185]

Since 1876, various councils have administered local areas under legislation determined by the central government.^[182]^[186] In 1989, the government reorganised local government into the current two-tier structure of regional councils and territorial authorities.^[187] The 249 municipalities^[187] that existed in 1975 have now been consolidated into 67 territorial authorities and 11 regional councils.^[188] The regional councils' role is to regulate "the natural environment with particular emphasis on resource management",^[187] while territorial authorities are responsible for sewage, water, local roads, building consents, and other local matters.^[189]^[190] Five of the territorial councils are unitary authorities and also act as regional councils.^[190] The territorial authorities consist of 13 city councils, 53 district councils, and the Chatham Islands Council. While officially the Chatham Islands Council is not a unitary authority, it undertakes many functions of a regional council.^[191]

The Realm of New Zealand, one of 15 Commonwealth realms,^[192] is the entire area over which the king or queen of New Zealand is sovereign and comprises New Zealand, Tokelau, the Ross Dependency, the Cook Islands, and Niue.^[150] The Cook Islands and Niue are self-governing states in free association with New Zealand.^[193]^[194] The New Zealand Parliament cannot pass legislation for these countries, but with their consent can act on behalf of them in foreign affairs and defence. Tokelau is classified as a non-self-governing territory, but is administered by a council of three elders (one from each Tokelauan atoll).^[195] The Ross Dependency is New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica, where it operates the Scott Base research facility.^[196] New Zealand nationality law treats all parts of the realm equally, so most people born in New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, and the Ross Dependency are New Zealand citizens.^[197]^{[n 8]}

Foreign relations

During the period of the New Zealand colony, Britain was responsible for external trade and foreign relations.^[199] The 1923 and 1926 Imperial Conferences decided that New Zealand should be allowed to negotiate its own political treaties, and the first commercial treaty was ratified in 1928 with Japan. On 3 September 1939, New Zealand allied itself with Britain and declared war on Germany with Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage proclaiming, "Where she goes, we go; where she stands, we stand".^[200]

In 1951, the United Kingdom became increasingly focused on its European interests,^[201] while New Zealand joined Australia and the United States in the ANZUS security treaty.^[202] The influence of the United States on New Zealand weakened following protests over the Vietnam War,^[203] the refusal of the United States to admonish France after the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior,^[204] disagreements over environmental and agricultural trade issues, and New Zealand's nuclear-free policy.^[205]^[206] Despite the United States's suspension of ANZUS obligations, the treaty remained in effect between New Zealand and Australia, whose foreign policy has followed a similar historical trend.^[207] Close political contact is maintained between the two countries, with free trade agreements and travel arrangements that allow citizens to visit, live and work in both countries without restrictions.^[208] In 2013^[update] there were about 650,000 New Zealand citizens living in Australia, which is equivalent to 15% of the population of New Zealand.^[209]

New Zealand has a strong presence among the Pacific Island countries, and enjoys strong diplomatic relations with Samoa, Fiji, and Tonga, and among smaller nations.^[210] A large proportion of New Zealand's aid goes to these countries, and many Pacific people migrate to New Zealand for employment. The increase of this since the 1960s led to the formation of the Pasifika New Zealander pan-ethnic group, the fourth-largest ethnic grouping in the country.^[211]^[212] Permanent migration is regulated under the 1970 Samoan Quota Scheme and the 2002 Pacific Access Category, which allow up to 1,100 Samoan nationals and up to 750 other Pacific Islanders respectively to become permanent New Zealand residents each year. A seasonal workers scheme for temporary migration was introduced in 2007, and in 2009 about 8,000 Pacific Islanders were employed under it.^[213] New Zealand is involved in the Pacific Islands Forum, the Pacific Community, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum (including the East Asia Summit).^[208] New Zealand has been described as a middle power in the Asia-Pacific region,^[214] and an emerging power.^[215]^[216] The country is a member of the United Nations,^[217] the Commonwealth of Nations^[218] and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),^[219] and participates in the Five Power Defence Arrangements.^[220]

Today, New Zealand enjoys particularly close relations with the United States and is one of its major non-NATO allies,^[15] as well as with Australia, with a "Trans-Tasman" identity between citizens of the latter being common.^[16] New Zealand is a member of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing agreement, known formally as the UKUSA Agreement. The five members of this agreement compromise the core Anglosphere: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.^[221] Since 2012, New Zealand has had a partnership arrangement with NATO under the Partnership Interoperability Initiative.^[222]^[223]^[224] According to the 2024 Global Peace Index, New Zealand is the 4th most peaceful country in the world.^[225]

Military

New Zealand's military services—the New Zealand Defence Force—comprise the New Zealand Army, the Royal New Zealand Air Force, and the Royal New Zealand Navy.^[226] New Zealand's national defence needs are modest since a direct attack is unlikely.^[227] However, its military has had a global presence. The country fought in both world wars, with notable campaigns in Gallipoli, Crete,^[228] El Alamein,^[229] and Cassino.^[230] The Gallipoli campaign played an important part in fostering New Zealand's national identity^[231]^[232] and strengthened the ANZAC tradition it shares with Australia.^[233]

In addition to Vietnam and the two world wars, New Zealand fought in the Second Boer War,^[234] the Korean War,^[235] the Malayan Emergency,^[236] the Gulf War, and the Afghanistan War. It has contributed forces to several regional and global peacekeeping missions, such as those in Cyprus, Somalia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Sinai, Angola, Cambodia, the Iran–Iraq border, Bougainville, East Timor, and the Solomon Islands.^[237]