selective, collective responsibility certainly has elements of novelty to it. But by and large so far it seems to have worked tolerably well and the Government has been stable. 14 Indeed, what the New Zealand experience demonstrates is the need for politicians to act together in a way that produces a Government.  After all, the first duty of the Parliament is to produce a stable Government.  In New Zealand, when MMP was introduced, the Governor-General has made it clear that the first duty is on the politicians to ensure that the election result is translated into practical action that works. He said: ¹² The formation of a Government is a political decision and must be arrived at by politicians. My task as Governor-General is to ascertain where the support of the House lies.   In an unclear situation, that may require me to communicate with the Leaders of all the parties represented in the new Parliament. Once    political    parties    have    reached    an    adequate    accommodation,    and    a Government is able to be formed or confirmed, I expect that the parties will make that clear by appropriate public announcements of their intentions.  At that point it may  be  necessary  for  me  to  talk  again  with  some  party  leaders.    I  would  then expect to have sufficient information to be able to appoint a new Prime Minister, if that were required. Throughout this period of negotiation, the incumbent Prime Minister will remain in office, governing in accordance with the Caretaker Convention. 15 It is sometimes easy to forget that is not the role of every MP to be a member of the  Government.    The  attraction  of  Cabinet  Office  seems  very  considerable, particularly in the Pacific, but in a mature democracy we have to remember that Cabinet  is  accountable  to  the  Parliament.    This  means  opposition  members,  as well  as  Government  back-benchers.    There  is  an  emerging  trend  in  the  New Zealand  Parliament,  which  now  has  121  members,  for  MP’s  to  seek  satisfying careers  as  back-benchers  or  as  Chairs  of  Select  Committees.    These  can  be significant careers that influence events, but do so from the Parliament, rather than the halls of the Executives.                                                  12   Sir  Rt  Hon  Michael  Hardie  Boyes,  Speech  to  the  Annual  Dinner  of  the  Institute  of International Affairs, Wellington, 24 May 1996, page 10.     C:\Documents and Settings\TMcGlennon\Desktop\CPA Australian and Pacific Conf. 15 August.doc 16/08/2006 10:43 7