Australian and New Zealand Parliamentary System

Senate, House of Representatives, or State Government

Nov 4, 2009

The Australian Parliamentary system is much more complex than that of New Zealand, thus, making it confusing for imigrants used to a more straightforward system.

Arriving in a foreign country, having to learn about new laws and how the new Government works can be a daunting process for some people. The Australian parliamentary system is more complicated than New Zealand’s reasonably simple system, closely resembling America’s.

The Australian Governmental System

The Commonwealth Government of Australia is represented by the Prime Minister The Minister's territory incorporates the whole of Australia, of which is made up - six states and two territories, New South Wales (NSW), Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia (WA), Queensland, Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory (ACT). Norfolk Island Legislative assembly is also governed by the Australian Government.

Parliament of Australia consists of a Governor-General, who, at present is addressed as Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce, AC. Her role consists of constitutional and statutory duties, formal ceremonial and non-ceremonial duties. The Governor-General is appointed by the Queen by advice from the Prime Minister and the position has no fixed term, but in general usually lasts for about 5 years. Powers of the Governor-Generals role derive from the constitution.

The Senate – comprises - President of the Senate, eight Senate Ministers representing the prime Minister and policies plus 76 other senators.

The house of Representatives has a speaker, 150 members, Parliamentary Secretaries, Senate Officeholders, senate party leaders, Whips and Officers of the Senate.

Each state has its own Parliamentary State Government, which includes the Premier and his/her various ministers with their portfolios. The Premier of each state is voted in by public vote, in the same manner as Government politicians and the Premier then picks which politicians he/she wants in cabinet. Queensland created history in May 2009 by electing in their first female Premier, she is addressed as – The Honourable Anna Bligh MP.

A Simpler system for New Zealand

New Zealand is made up of two Islands, the North and South Islands. These Islands are not seperated as states so the New Zealand Government governs the whole country - both Islands, plus Stewart Island off the Sourhtern Coast of New Zealand.

New Zealand’s political system has a Governor-General and House of Representatives, consisting of the Prime Minister and his cabinet; drawn from an elected parliament of around 120 Members it has no Senate. Each MP is elected by public vote in the area the minister lives and represents.

The political system in New Zealand is represented by MMP (Mixed Member Proportional representation), which replaced replace first past the post about fifteen years ago. MMP was voted in by public vote to give wider representation by parties other than the two main parties - Labour or National. This meant there could be more than one party representing parliament, thus, giving greater representation in times of voting policies in or out of parliament.

In 2011 New Zealander’s will be asked their opinion regarding MMP by referendum, although a referendum is not binding, it can be a costly exercise by the Government to find out what the public think of the current political systems.

The copyright of the article Australian and New Zealand Parliamentary System in Aus/NZ/Oceania Affairs is owned by Rhonda Chalmers. Permission to republish Australian and New Zealand Parliamentary System in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.