New Zealand

National Flag

1.Union Jack Member of Commonwealth 2.South Cross Constellation Located in the Southern Pacific Ocean

National Emblem

1.Crown Head of State is the British Monarchy. 2.White Woman: European offspring 3. Maori: Indigenous people 4. Wheat: Agriculture 5. Axe: Industry and Mining 6. Sheep: Animal Husbandry 7. Sailing: Maritime Trade

Three Large Cities No.1 Auckland Capital before 1865 Population: 1.1 Million No.2 Wellington Present Capital with population of 0.45M On the south edge of North Island No.3 Christchurch The largest city in South Island Population: 0.32M

Auckland

Wellington

Christchurch

The Treaty of Waitangi admits the Maori’s ownership of land and culture and declares the establishment of New Zealand. Also, New Zealand became the colony of Britain and Maoris were governed by English laws.

Maoritanga Maoritanga means “Maori culture”, and embraces the language, customs and traditions that make up rich heritage of the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand.One in seven people identify themselves as New Zealand Maori.

Constitution The Constitution Act 1986 defines the relationship between the legislative (parliament), executive( government agencies) and judicial (the courts) roles of the government.

The head of State is the British monarchy Queen Elizabeth II in her capacity as Queen of New Zealand, represented by a Governor-General. The Governor-General’s agreement is required for an At of Parliament to become law.

Since 1950, Parliament has had a single chamber, the House of Representatives, which follows British Westminster traditions. Important functions include passing laws, supervising the government’s administration and receiving petitions from citizens with grievances.

General Election From the age of 18, every New Zealand citizen or permanent resident must enroll on the Electoral Roll and is entitled to vote in the elections. These are secret ballots held every three years. Enrolment is compulsory, but voting is not.

Mixed Member Proportional Representation Under MMPR, each voter has 2 votes, the 1st for the candidate in their electorate, the 2nd for a political party. The 2nd vote, counted over the whole country, decides the number of seats that each party, National Party (center-right) and the Labor Party (center-left), will take in Parliament.

For more than half a century, the two main parties in the House of Representatives have been the National Party (centre- right) And the Labor Party (centre-left). The present Prime Minister is John Key from the National Party.

Education Education in New Zealand is compulsory between the ages of 6 to 16, and the tuition in state schools is free to New Zealand residents. There are nine universities in New Zealand and the most famous one is Auckland University.