Home > Political parties in New Zealand
New Zealand national politics feature a pervasive party system. Usually, all members of Parliament's unicameral House of Representatives belong to a political party, although the current House includes one MP who became an independent after her party expelled her. Independent MPs occur relatively rarely. Unlike some democracies, New Zealand no longer has an entrenched two-party arrangement - while two primary parties do indeed dominate the political landscape, smaller groups can reasonably expect to play a role in government. As of 2004 eight parties have representatives in parliament.
1 History
Political parties in New Zealand evolved towards the end of the 19th century out of interest groups and personal cliques. Most historians regard the Liberal Party, which began its rule in 1891, as the first real party in New Zealand politics. During the long period of Liberal Party control the party's more conservative opponents founded the Reform Party, forming the original duopoly in the New Zealand parliament.
Gradually, Liberal and Reform found themselves working together more often, mostly in opposition to the growing Labour Party. After Labour eventually won office in 1935, the Liberals and Reform came together to form the National Party. Labour and National currently exist as the two main parties of New Zealand politics.
Over the years, a number of "third parties" or so-called "minor parties" developed - notably the Social Credit Party, the New Zealand Party, the Values Party, and the AllianceCurrent Alliance logo The Alliance when referring to New Zealand politics, refers to a left-wing political party. The party is currently outside parliament, but has previously been a significant presence there. It suffered a major defeat after Jim Anderto. However, the "first past the post" electoral system meant that no matter how many votes a party gained nation-wide, it could not win a seat without a majority in a particular electorate (voting district). Under such conditions, these parties mostly performed poorly in terms of making an impact in Parliament.
With the introduction of the MMP electoral system for the 1996 elections, however, it became much easier for smaller parties to enter parliament - and more difficult to gain election as a non-party independent. Since the change to MMP, Parliament has consistently had significant numbers of MPs representing parties other than Labour and National.
2 Registration of Parties
Political parties in New Zealand can be either registered or unregistered. Registered parties must have five-hundred paying members, each eligible to vote in general electionA general election is an election in which all members of a given political body are up for election. The term is generally used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.s. If a party registers, it may submit a party list, enabling it to receive party votes in New Zealand's MMP electoral system. Unregistered parties may still nominate candidates for individual electorates, however.
