25
votes
Accepted
How would the Crown change New Zealand's name to Aotearoa in order to help restore the status the Māori language?
The Crown-in-Parliament would legislate to the effect that the name of the country would be Aotearoa as of some date. This would be the typical New Zealand parliamentary process as for other laws:
A ...
- 593
17
votes
Accepted
Why don't neutral countries like New Zealand purchase any strategic equipment from Russia?
New Zealand is not a neutral country. After WWII it saw the United States as its best chance of protection, and hence supported the US during the 50s and 60s. During the 1970s it became disenchanted ...
- 20.7k
15
votes
How is judicial independence maintained under the principle of parliamentary sovereignty / supremacy?
I will reference the United Kingdom in my answer, which uses the principle of parliamentary sovereignty.
In the United Kingdom, the role of the judiciary is not to determine whether a law is valid. ...
- 27.8k
13
votes
Accepted
Aren't PMs resigning months before the end of their term tactically beneficial to their successors?
Well yes, Key even explicitly mentioned this factor in his resignation speech:
It gives the Cabinet and caucus plenty of time to settle in with a
new leader before heading into the next election with ...
CDJB♦
- 105k
11
votes
Accepted
Why do countries keep the British Monarch as their head of state?
In part this is tied to the notion of the Commonwealth of Nations. Unlike the US, nations of the Commonwealth gained independence through civil and legal procedures as the British colonial system ...
- 67.7k
9
votes
How is judicial independence maintained under the principle of parliamentary sovereignty / supremacy?
Here is a fourth question with basically the same answer:
The executive branch is fundamentally the most powerful one, because it has guns while the others don't. Why does the executive branch simply ...
- 1,457
8
votes
Can people use the Maori language instead of English for New Zealand citizenship?
There is no language "test" for New Zealand citizenship. There is a requirement to
be able to hold a basic conversation in English
which is assessed at the interview (by holding that basic ...
- 593
8
votes
Why do countries keep the British Monarch as their head of state?
Not all countries are the same, and may have different reasons. The reasons given for Australia in this answer are likely to be common across other countries. To summarize:
For a lot of people having ...
- 15.2k
7
votes
How would the Crown change New Zealand's name to Aotearoa in order to help restore the status the Māori language?
(Only addressing NZ => Aotearoa country name change. Not efforts at promoting the language, customs and local place names)
If, by "the Crown" it refers to the Head of Commonwealth and ...
6
votes
How would the Crown change New Zealand's name to Aotearoa in order to help restore the status the Māori language?
The government (i.e., the Crown) can do whatever Parliament agrees to do. There have been lots of name changes over the years. For example, as the decolonization of Africa happened, South West ...
- 1,516
6
votes
Accepted
Is this a Maori interlocution at the beginning of Chlöe Swarbrick's speech? What is its significance?
A draft transcript of the speech (all the speeches) is available.
Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill — Second Reading
CHLÖE SWARBRICK (Green): E Te Māngai, tēnā koe. Tēnā koutou ...
- 34.4k
6
votes
Has New Zealand announced any investigation or punishment/censure for MP Swarbick for her saying "OK, boomer"?
Has New Zealand announced any investigation or punishment/censure for MP Swarbick for her saying "OK, boomer"?
Not likely to ever happen. Such repartee and interruptions are not that ...
- 34.4k
5
votes
Accepted
How much of an influence did Port Arthur have on New Zealand?
It triggered Sir Thomas Murray Thorp being given the task of reviewing the situation. His review was published in 1997 as the Thorp Report.
No actual changes in the law happened as a result of the ...
- 1,935
5
votes
Accepted
Why did New Zealand adopt Māori electorates?
Why did New Zealand adopt Māori electorates?
(Looking for an answer drawing from credible and/or official sources.)
While the Wikipedia article Māori electorates provides an overview, the source at ...
- 34.4k
5
votes
Accepted
How was the ACT party's 2005 proposal to repeal the nuclear propulsion ban in New Zealand defeated?
How was the ACT party's 2005 proposal to repeal the nuclear propulsion ban in New Zealand defeated?
Motion not agreed to.
The debate is in New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms ...
- 34.4k
4
votes
How is judicial independence maintained under the principle of parliamentary sovereignty / supremacy?
The UK uses practical steps rather than a written constitution to maintain judicial separation from the executive
One of the key difficulties many have in judging the UK constitution is that the rules ...
- 3,629
4
votes
Accepted
Have there been cases in New Zealand in which the consequences for unparliamentary speech have been more than a (forced) apology?
Have there been any examples in which (extremely) unparliamentary language was not withdrawn and so has led to some other, more serious consequences?
Naming (parliamentary procedure)
Naming is a ...
- 34.4k
4
votes
Is it known what the intervening MP was saying when Swarbrick retorted "OK, boomer"?
Apparently the exchange went like this
Swarbrick had been talking about how for decades world leaders have "known what is coming but have decided that it is more politically expedient to keep it ...
- 145k
3
votes
Can people use the Maori language instead of English for New Zealand citizenship?
Technically, yes. It is one of three official languages in New Zealand (English and NZ Sign language being the other two). In practice, this probably doesn't happen all that often as the language ...
- 16.1k
2
votes
Accepted
Does New Zealand's parliament have rules for expelling members?
Does New Zealand's parliament have rules for expelling members?
Not the parliament. However, the parliament may suspend an MP and a party may expel a member.
Are there any parliamentary procedures ...
- 34.4k
2
votes
How is judicial independence maintained under the principle of parliamentary sovereignty / supremacy?
How does the judicial branch conduct constitutional review under
parliamentary supremacy? If judges can't strike down laws on the
ground that they violate constitution, does that mean Parliament is
...
- 73.4k
2
votes
How is judicial independence maintained under the principle of parliamentary sovereignty / supremacy?
(UK)
But how can a judiciary be independent if the Parliament can just overrule its decision any time? Doesn't that make the judiciary essentially toothless?
This relies on a "gentleman's ...
- 22k
1
vote
Have there been cases in New Zealand in which the consequences for unparliamentary speech have been more than a (forced) apology?
It's not likely to be the kind of consequences you're thinking of, but in 2007 Trevor Mallard punched Tau Henare after Henare "made a remark in the debating chamber about the minister's private ...
- 1,456
1
vote
Why do parties wait to release their election year policies?
There's two main reasons for a lack of details on policy.
Firstly, the media. Going through the numbers on a particular tax proposal just isn't going to get many views.
Secondly, the parties have ...
- 931
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible