New Zealand parliament

New Zealand Parliament Pāremata Aotearoa
51st New Zealand Parliament
Type
Type	Unicameral
Houses	House of Representatives
History
Founded	24 May 1854
Leadership
Monarch	Elizabeth II Since 6 February 1952
Governor-General	Dame Patsy Reddy Since 28 September 2016
Speaker of the House of Representatives	David Carter, National Party Since 1 February 2013
Leader of the House	Gerry Brownlee, National Party Since 19 November 2008
Structure
Seats	121
Political groups	Government (63)      National (59) Supported by (4)      ACT (1)      United Future (1)      Māori (2) Opposition (57)      Labour (31)      Green (14)      NZ First (12)
Meeting place
Parliament House, Wellington, New Zealand
Website
www.parliament.nz/en-NZ

Government (63)

Supported by (4)

Opposition (57)

The New Zealand Parliament (Māori: Pāremata Aotearoa) is the legislative branch of New Zealand, consisting of the Queen of New Zealand (Queen-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. Before 1951, there was an upper chamber, the New Zealand Legislative Council. The Parliament was established in 1854 and is one of the oldest continuously functioning parliaments in the world.

The House of Representatives is a democratically elected body whose members are known as Members of Parliament (MPs). It usually consists of 120 MPs, though sometimes more due to overhang seats. 70 MPs are elected directly in electorate seats and the remainder are filled by list MPs based on each party's share of the party vote. Māori were represented in Parliament from 1867, and in 1893 women gained the vote. New Zealand does not allow sentenced prisoners to vote.

The Parliament is closely linked to the executive branch. New Zealand's government comprises a prime minister (leader of the government) and ministers in charge of government departments; per the tenets of responsible government, these ministers are drawn from the governing party or parties in the House of Representatives.