Someone please explain to me New Zealands Constitutional Monarchy with a Parliamentary Democracy?

Question

I'm doing research for a project and one of the has to be on the political atmosphere of New Zealand. One of the questions that had to be answered was what kind of government our country had. I know its a Constitutional Monarchy with a Parliamentary Democracy but I really dont understand what it means. Can someone please explain it to me in the easiest way possible thank you. (7th grade Honors Social Studies)

Answer 1

A Parliamentary democracy is run by Parliament. Parliament is elected, so it is democratic. A usual feature of a Parliamentary system is that the head of government is not elected separately, he or she is chosen indirectly as a consequence of election results. The leader of the winning party is appointed Prime Minister, and then he or she chooses ministers to make a government. This is also often known as the Westminster system because it's exactly what the UK does, and the UK's Parliament sits in the Palace of Westminster. As NZ used to be a British colony, not surprisingly it got given the same thing (and so did Canada and Australia).



A monarchy simply means that there is a king or queen at the top. In a constitutional monarchy, they reign in accordance with the constitution and don't interfere with democracy. And Queen Elizabeth II does just that. So it's not much of a role, but you need that separate head of state to appoint the Prime Minister, give final approval to new laws, and generally be a kind of backstop. The Queen obviously isn't in NZ much as she lives on the other side of the world, so she appoints a New Zealander to be Governor-General and her representative there.



A constitutional monarchy is one thing, and a parliamentary democracy is another thing. Let's imagine NZ decided it didn't want a monarchy any more. (This is much debated in Australia and in 1999 they had a vote on it.) That would be fairly easy to do. Just replace the Queen and the Governor-General with a President, chosen or elected in whatever way seems best. Then you have a parliamentary democracy and a republic. There are many countries in Europe that work just like this.

Answer 2

I'll try to explain it but maybe someone else can do it more succinctly than me.



A Constitutional Monarchy is one thing, and a Parliamentary Democracy is another thing and NZ has both.



A Constitutional Monarchy Is a Monarchy that is limited to the powers given to it by the constitution. It is largely a ceremonial function, but officially has the power to veto legislation. THis has never happened. It is filled by His Excellency, the Right Honorable Governor General, currently Sir Jerry Mataparae. Although he is the representative of (viceroy) the Queen of New Zealand (Elizabeth II), she does not have the power to influence his decisions. He also has the power to veto a government, if after elections it is found to not have more than 50% of the votes or if the prime minister or his cabinet lose the confidence of the majority of its elected ministers.



Whereas a parliamentary democracy is a democratically elected government in which members of the cabinet are nominated to their positions by the prime minister who in turn in nominated by his party. Parliament has two main functions: passing law and governing ministries. Unlike most parliamentary democracies, NZ no longer has an upper house who could veto legislation. It does have a Cabinet who hold responsibility for each government portfolio (ministry), eg: social welfare, education and justice system. Potential Legislation in the form of a Bill is read, debated and voted on in the House of Representatives (parliament) three times during which it is also sent to committtes (first a select committee and then a full house committee) to hash out the wording and nuts and bolts of the Bill. If it is passed after the Third Reading then all that remains is for the Governor General to (rubber stamp) give royal assent to it before it becomes legislation (law).

Answer 3

The Queen of England is the supreme ruler of New Zealand and can sack the Parliament and the PM.

Answer 4

http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchUK/HowtheMonarchyworks/Whatisconstitutionalmonarchy.aspx



Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a king or queen acts as Head of State.



The ability to make and pass legislation resides with an elected Parliament, not with the Monarch.



As a system of government, constitutional monarchy separates the Head of State’s ceremonial and official duties from party politics.



A constitutional monarchy also provides stability, continuity and a national focus, as the Head of State remains the same even as governments change.



The Sovereign/Monarch governs according to the constitution - that is, according to rules, rather than according to his or her own free will. The United Kingdom does not have a written constitution which sets out the rights and duties of the Sovereign, they are established by conventions. These are non-statutory rules which can be just as binding as formal constitutional rules.



As a constitutional monarch, the Sovereign must remain politically neutral.



On almost all matters the Sovereign acts on the advice of ministers. However, the Sovereign retains an important political role as Head of State, formally appointing prime ministers, approving certain legislation and bestowing honours.



The Sovereign has other official roles to play such as Head of the Armed Forces.



http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchAndCommonwealth/NewZealand/NewZealand.aspx



New Zealand is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy with The Queen as Sovereign.



As a constitutional monarch, The Queen abides by the decisions of the New Zealand Government, but she continues to play important ceremonial and symbolic roles.



http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchAndCommonwealth/NewZealand/NZGovGen.aspx

The Governor-General is The Queen's representative in New Zealand. As such, he or she performs the same constitutional role in New Zealand as The Queen does in the United Kingdom.



The current incumbent is Lt Gen Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae.



The Governor-General has three overlapping roles - constitutional, ceremonial and community-related.



Constitutional roles include receiving the writ that dissolves Parliament before a general election is held; formally requesting the leader of the political party which gains the support of a majority in Parliament to form a government; and assenting to the enactment of legislation.



Ceremonial duties include opening new sessions of Parliament; presenting honours at Investitures; welcoming visiting Heads of State; receiving the credentials of foreign diplomats; and attending Waitangi Day commemorations.



The Governor-General also provides non-partisan leadership in the community, acting as patron of many charitable, service, sporting and cultural organisations, and attending functions throughout the country, from Northland to Stewart Island, and from Fiordland to the Chatham Islands.



Although the day-to-day affairs of state are delegated to the Governor-General, The Queen continues to have a close and personal relationship with New Zealand and her people.



The Queen and Governor-General both send messages to members of the public celebrating notable birthdays and wedding anniversaries.

http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchAndCommonwealth/NewZealand/TheQueensroleinNewZealand.aspx







New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy with The Queen as Sovereign.



The Sovereign and the House of Representatives together make up the Parliament of New Zealand.



As a constitutional monarch, The Queen of New Zealand acts entirely on the advice of New Zealand Government Ministers. She is fully briefed by means of communications from her Ministers, and has audiences with them where possible.



The Queen is responsible for appointing a Governor-General for New Zealand, which she does on the advice of the country's Prime Minister.



This is The Queen's personal representative in New Zealand, who usually serves for a term of five years.



The Queen recognises events affecting in New Zealand - for example, sending messages for national celebrations or tragedies. She also honours New Zealand achievements at events in the UK - for example, holding a reception for members of the All Blacks rugby team at Buckingham Palace in 2005.



As Head of the Armed Forces, The Queen holds colonelcies in a number of New Zealand regiments, and commemorates the service of New Zealanders in various conflicts throughout the past century.



When The Queen visits New Zealand, she performs many of the duties normally delegated to the Governor-General - for example, presiding over the opening of Parliament.



She also makes a pointing of travelling widely throughout the islands, meeting New Zealanders from as many different walks of life as possible.



The Queen of New Zealand's formal title is: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of New Zealand and Her Other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.



In the Maori language, The Queen is known as Kotuku, which means "the white heron", a cherished bird rarely seen in New Zealand.