New Zealand government

I

Constitution Act 1986 · Letters Patent 1983

The Crown & the executive.

The King reigns; the Governor-General acts for him; ministers decide. Executive power rests on convention as much as on statute.

The Sovereign

King Charles III, since 8 September 2022

Term: Hereditary, for life
Chosen by: Succession to the Crown
How: New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy: the King of the United Kingdom is separately King of New Zealand. He takes no part in day-to-day government; almost all of his powers are exercised by the Governor-General.

Governor-General

Dame Cindy Kiro, since 21 October 2021

Term: By convention about five years; serves at the King's pleasure
Chosen by: The King, on the Prime Minister's advice
How: Gives royal assent to bills, summons and dissolves Parliament, issues the writ for an election and appoints ministers — always on ministers' advice, except for the rarely used reserve powers (for example, choosing a Prime Minister when no one clearly commands the House). Dame Cindy Kiro's term was extended to 31 March 2027 so that a new appointment would not fall during the election and government formation (RNZ, 13 September 2025).

Prime Minister & Cabinet

Christopher Luxon, since 27 November 2023 · National; leads a National–ACT–NZ First coalition

Term: As long as the government keeps the confidence of the House
Chosen by: The Governor-General appoints whoever can command a majority in the House
How: Nobody votes for a Prime Minister directly. After an election parties negotiate; the leader who can show majority support on confidence and supply votes is appointed. Ministers must be MPs (a non-MP can hold office only briefly), sit in Cabinet or outside it, and are bound by collective responsibility — coalition agreements can let partners 'agree to disagree' on named issues.

Photos: Dame Cindy Kiro — New Zealand Government, Office of the Governor-General, CC BY 4.0 . Others public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.

II

Parliament = the King + the House

The House of Representatives.

A single chamber of 120-plus MPs, elected every three years at most. There is no senate, no upper-house veto and no state legislature to check it.

House of Representatives

120 seats plus any overhang · 71 electorates (7 Māori) + 49 list

Term: At most three years from the return of the writs (Constitution Act 1986 s17)
Chosen by: Voters, by mixed-member proportional representation
How: One chamber since the appointed Legislative Council was abolished from 1 January 1951. The Prime Minister chooses the election date within the three-year limit. The House elects a Speaker, scrutinises bills in select committees, and must pass the government's budget (supply). Under the Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Act 2018 an MP who leaves their party can lose their seat if the party leader notifies the Speaker with the backing of two-thirds of the caucus — used in 2024 for a former Green list MP.

The 54th Parliament · at dissolution, 1 October 2026

Government 67 · opposition 55

National, ACT and NZ First governed with 67 of 122 seats; 62 make a majority. Build your own coalition →

62 needed for a majority

National 48
ACT 11
NZ First 8
Independent 2
Te Pāti Māori 4
Green 15
Labour 34

25 November 2023 Port Waikato by-election: Andrew Bayly (National) elected; the House reaches 123.
22 October 2024 Darleen Tana (ex-Green) removed under the party-hopping law; her list seat returned to the Greens. (unverified)
6 September 2025 Tāmaki Makaurau by-election after Takutai Tarsh Kemp's death: Oriini Kaipara holds the seat for Te Pāti Māori.
10 November 2025 Te Pāti Māori expels Tākuta Ferris and Mariameno Kapa-Kingi; both sit as independents.
14 May 2026 Judith Collins resigns Papakura; no by-election so close to the general election.

Composition and changes: Wikipedia, 54th New Zealand Parliament ↗, not yet checked against parliament.nz (which blocked automated reading).

Try it · How a bill becomes law in New Zealand

Pass a bill through one chamber.

There is no upper house to stop it: whoever commands a majority in the House can pass almost any law. Set the votes, choose the kind of bill, and see where it stops.

House of Representatives · 67 ayes of 122 voting MPs voting Ayes at each reading

Entrenched rules (Electoral Act 1993 s268) include the three-year term, the Representation Commission and electorate boundaries, the voting age and the secret ballot. Stages are simplified from Parliament's Standing Orders; parliament.nz blocked automated reading for this edition, so the timings (such as the usual six months in select committee) are unverified against it.

III

Senior Courts Act 2016 · Bill of Rights Act 1990

The courts.

Judges interpret Parliament's laws and review the government's decisions, but under parliamentary sovereignty they cannot overturn an Act.

Supreme Court

Term: Judges serve to age 70
Chosen by: The Governor-General, on the Attorney-General's advice
How: Created by the Supreme Court Act 2003; from 2004 it replaced appeals to the Privy Council in London as New Zealand's final court.

Court of Appeal · High Court · District Court

Term: To age 70
Chosen by: Governor-General on the Attorney-General's advice; ministers do not choose judges on party lines
How: The District Court hears most criminal and civil cases; the High Court hears serious crime and judicial review of government decisions; the Court of Appeal hears most appeals. Specialist courts include the Māori Land Court, Employment Court and Environment Court.

Bill of Rights Act 1990

Term: An ordinary Act, not entrenched
Chosen by: Parliament
How: Courts cannot strike down an Act of Parliament (s4). They must prefer a meaning consistent with the rights it affirms (s6), and the Attorney-General must report to the House when a bill appears inconsistent (s7). Since Taylor (2018) the senior courts can also declare an Act inconsistent without invalidating it.

The courts' and the Bill of Rights Act's own sites blocked automated reading for this edition; these summaries are unverified against the primary texts.

Te Tiriti o Waitangi · 6 February 1840

A founding
agreement.

The Treaty of Waitangi was signed between the British Crown and Māori rangatira (chiefs) at Waitangi and around the country in 1840, in English and te reo Māori versions that differ in meaning — notably between "sovereignty" and kāwanatanga (governorship), and the guarantee of tino rangatiratanga (full chieftainship).

Waitangi Tribunal

Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975

A permanent commission of inquiry that hears Māori claims that the Crown has breached the Treaty. Its recommendations are mostly not binding; settlements are negotiated with the government and passed as Acts.

In law

Not supreme law

The Treaty is not itself enforceable in court unless an Act incorporates it; many statutes require decision-makers to "give effect to" or "take into account" its principles.

In Parliament

Māori seats since 1867

Seven Māori electorates in 2026. Voters of Māori descent choose to enrol on the Māori roll or the general roll; the number of Māori seats follows how many do.

Treaty facts are summarised from secondary sources; the Tribunal's own site was reachable, other government pages were not.

Te Kaitiaki Take Kōwhiri

Who runs
the election.

The Electoral Commission is an independent Crown entity: ministers cannot direct it. It keeps the electoral rolls, registers parties and their logos, runs general elections and by-elections, allocates public broadcasting money to parties and polices donation and spending rules. Electorate boundaries are drawn after each census by a separate Representation Commission.

Electoral Act 1993

The rulebook

MMP, enrolment, voting, counting, donations and spending. Its core rules are entrenched (s268): changing them needs 75% of all MPs or a referendum.

Electoral Amendment Act 2025

New for 2026 · unverified against the Act's text

Enrolment closes 13 days before polling day; no prisoner may vote; advance voting is fixed at 12 days; the annual donation disclosure threshold rises to $6,000.

Representation Commission

Boundaries · last redrawn August 2025

South Island general electorates are fixed at 16; the North Island and Māori counts move with population. 2025: 48 North Island, 16 South Island and 7 Māori electorates.

Local Government Act 2002 · triennial elections

Seventy-eight
councils.

Below Parliament there is only one tier of elected government with general powers — no states or provinces. 78 councils: 11 regional, 61 territorial (11 city and 50 district) and 6 unitary councils that do both jobs (Auckland, Chatham Islands, Gisborne, Marlborough, Nelson, Tasman).

11Regional councils

Rivers, air and water quality, regional land transport, civil defence, biosecurity. Chair elected by the councillors.

61City & district councils

Roads, water and wastewater, rubbish, building consents, parks, libraries. Mayor elected directly by voters.

6Unitary councils

Both roles in one council. Auckland Council also has 21 elected local boards.

Postal voting

2025 · closed 11 October 2025

Local elections are run by post over about three weeks. Turnout in 2025 was 39.48% (1,362,667 votes).

FPP or STV

15 councils used STV in 2025

Each council chooses first-past-the-post or the single transferable vote, and voters can demand a binding poll to change it. Most still use FPP.

Next elections

October 2028

Councils, community boards, licensing trusts and some other bodies are elected together every three years.

Council counts from LGNZ; 2025 turnout and STV count from Wikipedia (unverified against the Department of Internal Affairs, whose local-government pages have moved).

Binding polls · October 2025

Keep or remove
Māori wards?

Councils can create Māori wards, elected by voters on the Māori roll. A 2024 law (unverified against its text) required councils that had created them without a poll to hold one at the 2025 elections. 42 councils polled: 18 kept their wards and 24 voted to remove them. Nationally 50.25% voted keep (542,134) and 43.37% remove (467,923).

Keep Remove · the rest is informal or blank

Porirua CC Territorial · Kept 66.8%
Kawerau DC Territorial · Kept 66.4%
Wellington CC Territorial · Kept 64.6%
Gisborne DC Territorial · Kept 60.5%
Hutt CC Territorial · Kept 60.5%
Greater Wellington RC Regional · Kept 58.4%
Whakatane DC Territorial · Kept 58.4%
Far North DC Territorial · Kept 54.4%
Nelson CC Territorial · Kept 54.1%
Palmerston North CC Territorial · Kept 53.4%
Kapiti Coast DC Territorial · Kept 52.7%
Rotorua Lakes DC Territorial · Kept 52.1%
South Wairarapa DC Territorial · Kept 52.0%
Hamilton CC Territorial · Kept 50.4%
Masterton DC Territorial · Kept 50.3%
Ruapehu DC Territorial · Kept 48.8%
Whanganui DC Territorial · Kept 48.7%
Waikato DC Territorial · Removed 48.2%
Horowhenua DC Territorial · Removed 47.1%
Northland RC Regional · Removed 47.0%
Rangitikei DC Territorial · Removed 46.2%
Hastings DC Territorial · Removed 45.6%
Horizons RC Regional · Kept 45.5%
Ōtorohanga DC Territorial · Removed 44.5%
South Taranaki DC Territorial · Removed 43.7%
Whangarei DC Territorial · Removed 43.3%
Tararua DC Territorial · Removed 42.8%
Hawke's Bay RC Regional · Removed 42.7%
New Plymouth DC Territorial · Removed 42.1%
Manawatu DC Territorial · Removed 41.6%
Napier CC Territorial · Removed 41.5%
Taranaki RC Regional · Removed 41.1%
Tasman DC Territorial · Removed 40.7%
Waipa DC Territorial · Removed 39.9%
Hauraki DC Territorial · Removed 39.1%
Central Hawke's Bay DC Territorial · Removed 38.6%
Western Bay of Plenty DC Territorial · Removed 38.5%
Taupo DC Territorial · Removed 38.2%
Marlborough DC Territorial · Removed 37.7%
Thames-Coromandel DC Territorial · Removed 37.6%
Stratford DC Territorial · Removed 35.8%
Matamata-Piako DC Territorial · Removed 33.0%

Results per council: Wikipedia's tabulation of the councils' declarations (unverified against each council). Kaipara and Upper Hutt had already removed their wards and did not poll.