Tuesday 3rd April - Wellington to Tongariro
Up early again and wrote up the blog for the previous day. Then I went down to the nearby coffee shop just around the corner from the hotel and which has been recommended as one of the best in Wellington. That was right for sure. They actually roast and grind the beans on site and the smell is ambrosial. I bought a couple of 'flat whites' and two muffins and brought them back to the room. We received confirmation at about 9 a.m. that we would be able to join the tour of Parliament at 10 a.m. So we finished packing and left the bags in the room to head over the street to the Parliament building. We soon checked in and had to put our cell phones and cameras into storage for the duration of the tour. Our guide, Kim introduced herself and showed us a short video which was narrated by the House of Representatives Speaker. This described the function of Parliament and something of how it works. Kim filled in some details of the complex and developing way that New Zealand politics has evolved.
I will give some brief details of this here and maybe add some more later. The system is unicameral with no upper chamber as most other parliamentary systems have. The electoral system has changed from 'first past the post' to an MMP system similar to Germany with some members being elected to represent constituencies and some elected from Party Lists. There are about 120 members of Parliament but this can vary. The electoral system, which has a three year span, usually results in a coalition government. The present Government is led by the Labor Party with the Prime Minister being Jacinda Arden a young 37 year old lady.
This is an excerpt from the NZ Parliament website giving a brief description of the system:
Quote
"Our Government is formed from a democratically elected House of Representatives. The Government advises the Sovereign (our head of State). By convention, the Sovereign, the source of all executive legal authority in New Zealand, acts on the advice of the Government in all but the most exceptional circumstances. This system is known as a constitutional monarchy.
The buildings of Parliament are very diverse with the modern and the old blended together. One of the committee rooms is called the Maui-Tilitiki-a-Taranga which is the Maori Affairs Committee Room and it is decorated with woven wall decorations called tukutuku, wooden carvings and kowhaiwhai which are painted rafter patterns. Maori language is spoken in this room and an interpreter can be available for this who do not speak the language. This room is very impressive indeed. The room is dedicated to the Maori demi-god Maui.
No photos were allowed on our tour so I had to 'steal' these from Google
This was a most interesting tour and it culminated with a visit to the basement of the old Parliament Building where the 'base isolators' which will protect the building from an earthquake of up to a Category 7 on the Richter Scale by allowing the building to flex on these special isolators. The next post gives more details of this system and the way it was retrofitted into the building.
It was well worth the time and the free tour to learn more about the way in which this country is governed and the way in which, since the mid 1800's, the development from a British Colony to a Dominion has evolved and morphed into the present system which may not be perfect but has many good points about it. Without doubt, the country which is resourceful, pragmatic and practical will adapt over time and refine and improve the system. One point made during our tour was that the lack of written Constitution (a facet which it shares with UK and Israel), gives it the flexibility to change with the times in a more efficient manner. Food for thought.
After leaving the Parliament Building we returned to the hotel to collect our bags and the car. We drove the short distance to the Te Papa Museum where MAC wanted to dedicate one of the memorial poppies at the Gallipoli exhibit to one of her former UN colleagues, Mirel who had just passed away.
We then set off northward for our trip to Tongariro and the Chateau Tongariro Hotel which is our next stop, about 4 1/2 hours drive away.
The drive was reasonably uneventful and the scenery was quite different from that of the South Island. There were large areas of plains and many more farms and habitation than we had seen in the south. We stopped for lunch at Viv's Cafe which is at Sanson where Route 1 and Route 3 meet. I was persuaded to have the 'Big Brekkie' breakfast even though it was 2 p.m.!! It turned out to be enormous!! It also turned out to be delicious but it was more than I really needed. We switched drivers here and MAC drove the rest of the way.
We arrived at the amazing Chateau Tongariro Hotel in the National Park at about 5 p.m. after a good drive. The volcano, near which the hotel is situated was not visible due to low cloud but we are hoping that it will be in the morning.
We decided to have dinner at the hotel as there is not a lot of alternatives in the National Park. We dined at the small Pihanga Cafe instead of the rather grand Ruapehu Room.
I will give some brief details of this here and maybe add some more later. The system is unicameral with no upper chamber as most other parliamentary systems have. The electoral system has changed from 'first past the post' to an MMP system similar to Germany with some members being elected to represent constituencies and some elected from Party Lists. There are about 120 members of Parliament but this can vary. The electoral system, which has a three year span, usually results in a coalition government. The present Government is led by the Labor Party with the Prime Minister being Jacinda Arden a young 37 year old lady.
This is an excerpt from the NZ Parliament website giving a brief description of the system:
Quote
"Our Government is formed from a democratically elected House of Representatives. The Government advises the Sovereign (our head of State). By convention, the Sovereign, the source of all executive legal authority in New Zealand, acts on the advice of the Government in all but the most exceptional circumstances. This system is known as a constitutional monarchy.
Our system is based on the principle that power is distributed across three branches of government — Parliament, the Executive, and the Judiciary. Parliament makes the law. The Executive (Ministers of the Crown also known as the Government) administers the law. The Judiciary interprets the law through the courts.
Head of State
New Zealand’s head of State is the Sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II of New Zealand. The Governor-General is the Queen’s representative in New Zealand.
Constitutional arrangements
New Zealand has no single written constitution or any form of law that is higher than laws passed in Parliament. The rules about how our system of government works are contained in a number of Acts of Parliament, documents issued under the authority of the Queen, relevant English and United Kingdom Acts of Parliament, decisions of the court, and unwritten constitutional conventions.
Parliament
New Zealand’s Parliament consists of the Sovereign and the House of Representatives. The Sovereign’s role in Parliament includes opening and dissolving Parliament, and giving the Royal assent to bills passed in the House of Representatives.
New Zealand’s Parliament is unicameral. This means it has only one chamber (the House of Representatives) and there is no upper house such as a senate.
The House of Representatives consists of members of Parliament who are elected as the people’s representatives for a term of up to 3 years. The usual number of members of Parliament is 120, but there are electoral circumstances when this could vary.
Responsible government
‘Responsible government’ is the term used to describe a system where the Government is formed by appointing Ministers who must first be elected members of Parliament. It means that in New Zealand the Government can stay in power only while it has the support (‘confidence’) of the majority of House of Representatives. This support can be tested in a confidence vote, such as passing the Budget. Ministers are responsible to Parliament, both collectively for the overall performance of the Government, and individually for the performance of their portfolios.
Proportional representation electoral system
New Zealand’s House of Representatives is elected using the mixed member proportional representation (MMP) voting system. Each elector has two votes — one for a local member of Parliament and one for a preferred political party. Political parties are represented in Parliament in proportion to the share of votes each party won in the party vote in the general election."
Unquote
One of the many things of which New Zealand is very proud is that they were the first country that gave votes to women in the 1890's. The story of how this occurred led by a lady called Kate Shepherd and assisted by a temperance campaigner from the USA is quite interesting. A bust of Kate is prominently displayed in the Parliament Building.
Our tour of the buildings which comprise Parliament House, the so-called 'Beehive' which is the Executive Wing and the Parliamentary Library. We started with the Banqueting Hall and then moved on to the Chamber itself which is based upon the Westminster system with green benches where the sovereign or her representative cannot approach and the same layout with Speaker, Sergeant at Arms, a mace symbolizing the Crown, etc. Although the New Zealand system is a Constitutional Monarchy, there have been developments over the years. The old upper chamber was abolished in 1950 although there are, periodically, moves to re-institute it. To prevent long-term Governments from getting too much power, the electoral period was reduced from 6 to three years.
The legislative system is also similar to that of the UK. A bill is introduced and voted upon in the Chamber. If it passes the first reading it goes to Select Committee where the public is allowed to comment and suggest amendments. It is then presented, as amended, for a second reading and if it passes this vote, then it goes to the Finance Minister who has the right of veto if the bill is considered to be damaging economically. If the bill emerges from this review, it will be given the thrid reading which passes it. The bill will then go to the Governor General as the representative of the Queen for final signature. The Governor General is 'technically' appointed by the Queen but it is always the Prime Minister's choice and that is almost never refused by the Queen. Although Australia does vacilate with becoming a republic, there seems to be little interest in this in New ZealandOur tour of the buildings which comprise Parliament House, the so-called 'Beehive' which is the Executive Wing and the Parliamentary Library. We started with the Banqueting Hall and then moved on to the Chamber itself which is based upon the Westminster system with green benches where the sovereign or her representative cannot approach and the same layout with Speaker, Sergeant at Arms, a mace symbolizing the Crown, etc. Although the New Zealand system is a Constitutional Monarchy, there have been developments over the years. The old upper chamber was abolished in 1950 although there are, periodically, moves to re-institute it. To prevent long-term Governments from getting too much power, the electoral period was reduced from 6 to three years.
The buildings of Parliament are very diverse with the modern and the old blended together. One of the committee rooms is called the Maui-Tilitiki-a-Taranga which is the Maori Affairs Committee Room and it is decorated with woven wall decorations called tukutuku, wooden carvings and kowhaiwhai which are painted rafter patterns. Maori language is spoken in this room and an interpreter can be available for this who do not speak the language. This room is very impressive indeed. The room is dedicated to the Maori demi-god Maui.
No photos were allowed on our tour so I had to 'steal' these from Google
 |
| Showing how the old and the new have been combined |
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| The seating chart for the present coalition Government |
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| The chamber, so redolent of Westminster after which it follows. |
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| The Maui-Tilitiki-a-Taranga - Maori affairs room with amazing wood carvings and tapestries. |
This was a most interesting tour and it culminated with a visit to the basement of the old Parliament Building where the 'base isolators' which will protect the building from an earthquake of up to a Category 7 on the Richter Scale by allowing the building to flex on these special isolators. The next post gives more details of this system and the way it was retrofitted into the building.
It was well worth the time and the free tour to learn more about the way in which this country is governed and the way in which, since the mid 1800's, the development from a British Colony to a Dominion has evolved and morphed into the present system which may not be perfect but has many good points about it. Without doubt, the country which is resourceful, pragmatic and practical will adapt over time and refine and improve the system. One point made during our tour was that the lack of written Constitution (a facet which it shares with UK and Israel), gives it the flexibility to change with the times in a more efficient manner. Food for thought.
After leaving the Parliament Building we returned to the hotel to collect our bags and the car. We drove the short distance to the Te Papa Museum where MAC wanted to dedicate one of the memorial poppies at the Gallipoli exhibit to one of her former UN colleagues, Mirel who had just passed away.
We then set off northward for our trip to Tongariro and the Chateau Tongariro Hotel which is our next stop, about 4 1/2 hours drive away.
The drive was reasonably uneventful and the scenery was quite different from that of the South Island. There were large areas of plains and many more farms and habitation than we had seen in the south. We stopped for lunch at Viv's Cafe which is at Sanson where Route 1 and Route 3 meet. I was persuaded to have the 'Big Brekkie' breakfast even though it was 2 p.m.!! It turned out to be enormous!! It also turned out to be delicious but it was more than I really needed. We switched drivers here and MAC drove the rest of the way.
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| The over-aptly named 'Big Brekkie' |
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| Viv's Kitchen, home of the famous cream horn!! |
We arrived at the amazing Chateau Tongariro Hotel in the National Park at about 5 p.m. after a good drive. The volcano, near which the hotel is situated was not visible due to low cloud but we are hoping that it will be in the morning.
We decided to have dinner at the hotel as there is not a lot of alternatives in the National Park. We dined at the small Pihanga Cafe instead of the rather grand Ruapehu Room.
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