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For the third time since the new millennium, New Zealand is undertaking a significant investigation into its constitutional arrangements. The latest development was the release in December 2013 of the final report of the Constitutional Advisory Panel established by the New Zealand government to consider constitutional issues. Among the report’s recommendations is the invitation for all of us to ‘continue the conversation about our constitutional arrangements’. This article seeks to contribute to that conversation by drawing a link between our beliefs about the authority of government – its right to rule – and the shape and manner in which our government is constituted. It is contended that this provides some much-needed context, revealing why the conversation is important and offering an opportunity to set some direction for continued dialogue in terms of exploring our beliefs about governmental authority and how those beliefs are or should be embodied in constitutional detail. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article examines turnout and voting choices at general elections among Pacific peoples in New Zealand between 1996 and 2011 and investigates this further through a secondary analysis of data from the New Zealand Election Study. It finds that turnout is lower among Pacific peoples compared to other electors, but that this is mainly accounted for by political-psychological and socio-demographic factors. It finds strong support for the Labour Party among Pacific peoples, who were twice as likely as other electors to vote Labour. Reasons for the strong attachment to Labour are explored, and the implications of lower turnout among Pacific peoples are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

International policing is a phenomenon on the rise. Encompassing a range of activities such as transnational police liaison, response to disasters and post-conflict peace-building, such seemingly technical practices can have significant political implications. A consideration of New Zealand’s recent experiences provides an opportunity to examine some of the sites of promise and difficulty at play in the practice of international policing. Focusing on how international policing activities contribute to New Zealand’s national foreign policy objectives, this article also provides a useful lens through which to consider some of the broader sites of contention in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

How and how well do different parties manage similar environmental changes? How do organizations shape parties’ adaptation to change? In 1996 New Zealand replaced its Single Member Plurality (SMP) electoral system with a Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system. MMP added an overriding proportional tier to national elections and compelled the major incumbent parties, Labour and National, to undertake new tasks: the creation of national lists of candidates and the construction of nationwide campaigns for the ‘party vote’. This paper compares how Labour and National organized candidate selection in response to MMP. It demonstrates how and why Labour possessed organizational capacities to meet these challenges that National lacked before the advent of MMP and for several years after it. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Historically, few Māori have been elected to local government. In the last 10 years the Crown has created two opportunities for local government to increase the number of Māori elected: the Local Electoral Act 2001 allows a local government to change its electoral system from the first-past-the-post (FPP) to the single transferable voting (STV) system; and the Local Electoral Amendment Act 2002 allows a local government to create local Māori wards and Māori constituencies (replicating the model of Māori representation in the House of Representatives). Very few local governments have implemented either option. A small (and declining) number of councils have changed to STV. A few councils have polled their electors on the matter of establishing Māori wards, but each poll rejected them. In 2010 the Crown renewed its commitment to the ‘option’ of local electoral reform in establishing the new Auckland City Council. The Crown rejected a Royal Commission recommendation to guarantee Māori representation in the reconstituted council, preferring to allow the council and Auckland voters to engage in electoral reform if they wish to do so. Following the 2010 local government elections, Māori are still chronically under-represented amongst elected councillors. This article argues that the Crown is failing in its duty of active protection of Māori in laws relating to Māori representation in local government. Drawing on Kymlicka’s arguments about group representation, the article argues that the Crown has dual obligations to Māori in relation to local representation. It must recognize Māori as a community of interest in local electoral boundaries and it also must increase the number of Māori elected to local government. Both obligations can be met through the mandatory creation of Māori wards in all local government. This article also defends guaranteed local Māori representation against some common objections. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article examines the theory and practice of government formation,with particular reference to the experience of New Zealand since the introduction of the mixed member proportional (MMP) system in the mid-1990s. As predicted by coalition theory, virtually all the coalitions and related multi-party governance arrangements under MMP have been ideologically connected. But contrary to certain theories, they have not all been minimum-winning in nature. Moreover, by international standards, some aspects of government formation under MMP have been highly unusual. These include the negotiation of many different types of formal inter-party agreements and novel multi-party governance arrangements, most notably the adoption of very flexible approaches to the management of inter-party dissent. The unusual bargaining outcomes, it is argued, can be attributed to the flexible nature of New Zealand's constitutional arrangements (including the accommodating institutional rules which govern inter-party bargaining), a pragmatic political culture, a party system characterized by a degree of multi-dimensionality, and the complex parliamentary arithmetic which followed several MMP elections. Whether the recent models of multi-party governance will become enduring features of New Zealand politics remains unclear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Works on coalition formation and survival have traditionally focused on tactical and policy considerations at the elite level, and frequently neglected the role of voters. This study draws attention to how policy preferences among supporters may constrain parties' coalition choices and affect their subsequent electoral performance. New Zealand and Japan, which have seen both significant party systemchanges and the emergence of previously unfamiliar coalition cabinets as the newnormsince the 1990s, provide suitable cases for hypothesis testing. Analysis of cross-temporal survey data demonstrates that the distance between the ideological mean of each coalition partner (measured by its supporters' left-right positions) and the coalitionmean is negatively correlatedwith its vote share change in the following election. Parties participating in or supporting an ideologically distant cabinet, especially when alternative coalition choices are possible, face particularly heavy electoral sanctions. These findings highlight a micro-political explanation complementing existing coalition theories, and confirm the ideal of democratic representation that governments are held accountable by their voters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new wave of information communication technologies is transforming politics around the world. A growing international literature notwithstanding, however, scholarship on the relationship between politics and the internet in New Zealand remains scant. The purposes of this article are to review the published academic literature regarding the impact of the internet on politics in New Zealand and to sketch a future research agenda which will address the gaps in that scholarship. The focus throughout is on research conducted on or about the New Zealand case - whether by New Zealand scholars or others - and on formal institutional politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article seeks to critically examine and document the Mt Albert by-election within the context of New Zealand by-elections and MMP, and further aims to update the literature on the subject of New Zealand parliamentary by-elections. This account of the Mt Albert by-election places emphasis on the Labour Party perspective towards the by-election. The article argues that the propositions regarding New Zealand by-elections under the FPP electoral system, and the actors who contest them, still hold true for MMP by-elections. However, the introduction of MMP has changed - for better or for worse - the dynamic of these events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing sense of urgency internationally about cutting greenhouse gas emissions. If New Zealand is to continue to position itself as a truly sustainable nation, it will need to take radical and effective steps to reduce its transport-related carbon dioxide emissions. Even if New Zealand were not to take early action, it is likely that it would come under strong international pressure to stay in step with progressive countries. The government has recently committed, in principle, to cutting domestic transport related emissions by 50 percent by 2040, but it is not yet clear that the measures the government has proposed will get New Zealand to this target. This paper examines the policy opportunities provided by urban form and transport, arguing that these issues have been little explored to date in New Zealand in terms of their potential to reduce carbon emissions, and provide co-benefits such as health gains and cost savings. Ensuring that urban development and transport policies are highly innovative and integrated will be critical to the sustainability transition that New Zealand is now beginning to make, including the transition to low-carbon transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent times, the New Zealand government has publicly strengthened its commitment to combating climate change by adopting a range of strategies, ambitious targets and an emissions trading scheme. Moreover, it has proclaimed an aspiration for New Zealand to become the first 'truly sustainable' country in the world. The article assesses these initiatives and claims against the background of the government's performance with regard to the promotion of sustainable development which, the author argues, has been weak. The measures adopted to combat climate change are largely of a technical and managerial nature and do not address the underlying causes of the wider environmental problematique. Although the policies adopted may help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, they are likely to fall short of the reductions required. Furthermore, on their own, they will not set New Zealand on the path to become a 'truly sustainable' country; following that path is an increasingly difficult task given a globalised economy and the continuing dominance of the belief that infinite economic growth is both desirable and possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines why the ACT New Zealand political party has experienced an overall lack of success since entering Parliament in 1996. ACT'S lack of success is represented by the fact that despite high expectations and continued confident predictions from within the party, it has thus far failed to receive the substantial share of the vote for which it hoped. Moreover, the party's support was slashed at the most recent election in 2005, when the party went from nine to just two MPs. This research considers several different explanations for why ACT failed to grow and latterly declined. Three different plausible hypotheses are tested, which respectively suggest reasons related to policy, branding and internal decay. Both primary and secondary sources are used to evaluate the validity of each theory. From the research, it is established that components from all three theories may explain the lack of success of ACT. Over time, the party's policies became less distinctive and were adopted by other parties. In addition, an image problem in place from the beginning prevented ACT from expanding its support beyond a small niche. Furthermore, ACT came to be seen as increasingly irrelevant by voters and suffered from internal decay in its organisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under proportional representation, New Zealand has frequently been governed by minority governments backed by a support party on matters of confidence and supply. This article seeks to analyze the 'policy influence differential' - the influence a party in government may exert, as opposed to the influence exerted by a support party in the context of New Zealand coalition politics. While individual personalities clearly influence the performance of minority coalition governments, parliamentary institutions and informal political norms shape New Zealand's policy influence differential. This article examines this topic in the context of the 1999-2002 Labour-Alliance government and analyses enactment of one particularly important piece of legislation. The policy influence differential remains substantial in New Zealand due to the persistence of first-past-the-post institutions and political culture. As a result, small parties pay a significant cost in policy influence when remaining outside government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though the process that led to the adoption of MMP in New Zealand in 1993 has been studied widely, one key step in that process—the National Party's decision in 1990 to promise a referendum on electoral reform—has received less attention. It has commonly been assumed that that promise was motivated by short-term electoral calculation. In fact, however, the evidence suggests that reality was more complex and that the principled support of some leading National Party politicians for constitutional reform also played an important role. This article weighs the evidence for the various individual motivations that may have underlain the decision to make the promise, before offering a mixed-motivation interpretation according to which short-term self-interest, genuine belief in constitutional reform, and recognition of the medium-term need to respond to public disquiet all contributed. It finally draws out implications for our understanding of the origins of MMP in New Zealand and for the study of electoral reform more widely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents additional information to Thomas Brechtel and André Kaisers' report about political space dimensionality in the electoral reform of New Zealand. The author demonstrates and explains how political scientists can acquire benefits from their involvement in the electoral reform which offers reciprocal gains as well as the influence of secondary issue dimensions on the understanding of political dynamics. He adds that the political struggle experienced by the country can be perceived in terms of multi-dimensional political space and political involvement which can be used for development.

Has the first MMP election in New Zealand in 1996 led to a new party system? We argue that the post-reform party system has changed its format while its mechanics remain virtually unchanged because the underlying competition logic stays bipolar. The fundamental variable that decides if this is a correct description is the existence of a permanent and genuine centre party. In order to assess the potential for establishing such a party we look at three aspects: (1) Based on an expert survey we find that the dimensionality of the party system and party positions have not changed dramatically. This leaves little scope for a change to multipolar party competition. (2) Applying a range of formal coalition theories shows that those theories based on the size principle are particularly successful in predicting the actual outcome of the coalition formation. We argue that the office-seeking motivation plays an important role with those actors located in the centre of the party system. (3) As to the characteristics of the ‘new’ parties in the system, we interpret these parties as ‘Schumpeterian’ political entrepreneurs who instead of being genuine centre parties strategically place themselves in the centre in order to enhance their bargaining power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the democratic experiment of the New Zealand government with Citizens' Initiated Referendum (CIR) petitions in New Zealand. These CIR petitions are from the Firefighters Union and from the New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and are presented to the Parliament. As a response to the petitions, the national government promised to introduce CIR as part of the policy on improving the country's democracy to reform the electoral and parliament systems and provide members of the public to influence the decisions made by the government. Furthermore, it was stated that the CIR was claimed as widening the power of the people over their elected representatives.

The article presents the author's response to a comment to his article entitled "Age, Equality, and the Prime of Life." The article looks into the provisions in the Human Rights Act in New Zealand He emphasizes that he emphasizes that one could not reject age discrimination on the grounds that it was inegalitarian. He cites the view of Geoffrey Cupit regarding the possibility for the policies to be rejected on grounds of justice by appealing to an argument from status. Meanwhile, he presents his perspectives on the discrimination in act.

The article presents the author's view concerning the argument of T. M. Wilkinson on the issue of age discrimination for human rights legislation in New Zealand. It is stated that Wilkinson argues that a commitment to equalizing opportunities requires a commitment to avoiding age discrimination. However, the author asserts that the point of prohibiting age discrimination is not to equalize opportunities between age groups but to promote equality of opportunity between the said group. He adds that the idea of prohibiting age discrimination do not apply to individuals under 16 years of age.

The article discusses the role of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (PCE) department in New Zealand in 1986. It is stated that the function of the department is to tackle issues relevant to environmental administration. Here, it highlights three interpretations concerning the role of the PCE which include as an environmental ombudsman, environmental auditor or an environmental system guardian. Also, it provides information regarding the achievements of the office from its establishment. According to the author, the challenge to PCE during its first five-year as a department from 1987 to 1992 is to clarify and define its role to establish its credibility.

The article discusses the history of the poll concerning the idea of a liquor referendum in New Zealand. It is stated that the Women's Christian Temperature Union (WCTU) and the New Zealand Alliance for the Suppression of the Liquor Traffic often called The Alliance led the poll. According to the author, the poll was intended to civilize and tame the society where drunkenness was common. Here, it examines the ending of the liquor polls as well as the possibility of the voting fluctuation regarding the three options asked to be chose including the total prohibition of alcoholic beverages, the control of liquor purchasing and the national continuance of liquor trading.

The article analyzes the consequences of the fourth Labor Government's choice of election campaign strategies, which caused its eventual defeat during the 1990 New Zealand national election. It discusses the disjointed election campaign of the Labor Party by citing modern campaign strategies that reflect the inefficacy of partisan disunity and programmatic intransigence in swaying electoral votes. Moreover, it analyzes the organizational structure of the Labor Party's campaign strategy that resulted to its supporters being alienated from the party's objective and ideology.

The article focuses on the 1993 New Zealand general election and the referendum to change the country's voting system. It analyzes the results of the general election as well as the referendum by citing official statistic results generated during the event. Moreover, it discusses the campaign strategies employed by the four political parties to ensure their victories as well as the initiatives established by the government to disseminate information regarding the referendum. Furthermore, it analyzes the distribution of votes during the general election and the referendum, which reflects the desire of the citizens for a new style of governance.

The article analyzes the failure of the New Zealand government in implementing its plan to integrate targeting of social assistance. It discusses some of the important philosophical and policy issues that should have been addressed by the targeting proposals applied to pensions, housing, healthcare, and student loans. Moreover, it probes into the underlying factors that contributed to the failure of the government's reform policy in terms of its magnitude, organization, bureaucracy, and public response. Furthermore, it analyzes the complexity in the procedures of implementing comprehensive national reforms that are commonly ignored by policy makers.