“today, the Bill of Rights is an integral part of our jurisprudence and represents
one of the major legal developments of the modern era”.3
5
Then came the Mixed Member Proportional representation election system known
in New Zealand as MMP. Now, under the Electoral Act 1993, every New
Zealander has two votes. One vote is a party vote. The other is for a constituency
MP. It is the party vote that determines the composition of the Parliament. This
is very similar to the electoral system of Germany. The New Zealand system was
established and set up as a result of a Royal Commission that reported in 1986,
recommending the system.4
6
The election of 2005 in New Zealand was the fourth held under the new electoral
system. The results were as follows:5
Labour Party
50 seats
National Party
48 seats
New Zealand First Party
7 seats
Green Party
6 seats
Maori Party
4 seats
United Future New Zealand
3 seats
ACT New Zealand
2 seats
Jim Anderton’s Progressive
1 seat
7
All of you can see from those results that the situation is an interesting one. Seven
parties are represented in the Parliament.
3
Phillip A Joseph Constitutional and Administrative Law in New Zealand (2 ed, Brookers,
Wellington, 2001) 1018.
4
Royal Commission on the Electoral System Towards a Better Democracy [1986] AJHR
H3.
5
2005 General Election – Official Result <http://www.electionresults.govt.nz> (last accessed
14 August 2006).
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