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History and Government
History: New Zealand was first settled at least 1000 years ago, by the Polynesian Maori, a well ordered tribal society led by hereditary chiefs and a powerful priesthood. The first European arrival was Dutchman Abel Tasman in 1642, although it was not until the voyages of Captain James Cook, in 1769 and 1779, that the islands were charted and explored.
British settlers began to emigrate after British sovereignty was established in 1840; Wellington was founded soon afterwards. New Zealand was granted internal self-government in 1852. The later years of the century saw a rapid growth in investment, communications and agricultural production. In 1893, New Zealand became the first country in the world to extend the vote to women. In 1907, New Zealand became a Dominion and its forces took part in both World Wars.
The country is a member of the Commonwealth and also several other international organisations, including ANZUS, the Five Power Defence Agreement and the South Pacific Forum. Membership of Western alliances was suspended, however, when Labour Prime Minister David Lange, elected in 1984, declared New Zealand nuclear free and prevented US and British vessels that might be nuclear powered or carrying nuclear weapons from entering New Zealand’s ports. While these policies put the small country on the international stage, Lange’s government was engaged in radical economic reform at home. Lange eventually resigned at the beginning of August 1989, to be replaced by one of his Cabinet members, Geoffrey Palmer. Palmer himself resigned in early September 1990, just weeks before the scheduled general election at the end of October 1990. This was won by the opposition National Party, which had been out of office for a decade. The new Government quickly reversed the Labour government’s policy on visiting warships but continued to express strong opposition to French nuclear tests in the South Pacific – politically essential after the Rainbow Warrior affair, in which French military personnel bombed the Greenpeace vessel of the same name, killing one person. The tests ended in 1995 and New Zealand resumed diplomatic relations with France in 1997.
Following a sharp recession in the early 1990s, the economy had recovered sufficiently by October 1993 – when the next general election was due – for the National Party to be returned to office with a narrow majority. After several close calls, the government survived until the first general election to be held under New Zealand’s new electoral system (see Government below) in October 1996. The outcome was striking for the remarkable increase in the number of Maori MPs – from six to 15 – which came close to giving Maori a representation proportional to their presence in the community as a whole. But with no party enjoying an overall majority, an alliance was agreed between the National Party and New Zealand First (NZF), a newly formed party with a nationalist agenda. Jim Bolger continued as Prime Minister, with NZF’s Winston Peters as his deputy and treasurer. Bolger resigned in November 1997, in the face of a leadership challenge from one of his cabinet ministers, Jenny Shipley, who subsequently became New Zealand’s first woman Prime Minister. Shipley faced the electorate two years later, with another woman, academic Helen Clark, leading the Labour Party. A closely fought campaign was eventually won by Labour, although, lacking an overall majority, the party relied on the support of the small left-wing environmentalist Alliance Party to sustain the government. The result was all but repeated at the most recent poll, held in July 2002, although Labour is now reliant on the two representatives of the Progressive Coalition to maintain its hold on power.
Government: Legislative power is held by the unicameral 120-seat House of Representatives, which is elected for a three-year term. A system of mixed member proportional representation was introduced at the election of October 1996, when the legislature increased from 99 to 120 seats. As in the UK, the leader of the largest party in the House normally becomes Prime Minister and holds executive power at the head of an executive council (cabinet). The British monarch is the Head of State, represented by the governor-general.
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