The House of Representatives

The House of RepresentativesThe HouseNew Zealand's Parliament dates back to 1854, just 14 years after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and the beginning of the European settlement of the country. For most of its history as a nation state, New Zealand has had some form of elected government.Throughout this time the country's Parliament has made laws, scrutinised the government and represented New Zealanders. Few countries in the world can boast such a long and uninterrupted history of democracy.Quick history - House of RepresentativesParliament has two parts. One is the head of state 国家元首, Queen Elizabeth II, who is represented in Parliament by the Governor-General 总督.The other part is the House of Representatives 众议院. This comprises Members of Parliament (MPs) who are elected by people aged 18 and over. Elections are held every three years, and New Zealand has a mixed member proportional (MMP) electoral system.A political party or parties with the support of the majority of votes in the House form a government that administers the country. The government answers to Parliament for its policies and actions, which are debated in the House and examined in select committees.OriginsThe settlers who came to New Zealand after 1840 brought with them the British parliamentary tradition, known as the Westminster system. This included regular elections, politicians representing local constituencies 选民, a Speaker, rules of procedure 议事规则and a prime minister wielding power through a Cabinet (the executive). Political parties competed for power, attained by a simple majority in the House.Setting up ParliamentBetween 1840 and 1854, a governor (representing the Queen) ruled New Zealand, but settlers wanted an elected or representative government. The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 provided this, with a General Assembly 会员大会thatcomprised the governor, an elected House of Representatives and a Legislative Council 议会上院whose members were nominated by the governor. Six provincial legislatures were subordinate to the General Assembly. Elections were held in 1853, and the first General Assembly met in Auckland in 1854. Only men, Pakeha and Maori, aged 21 and over who owned property or occupied a house of a certain value were entitled to vote (from 1879, the property qualification was dropped). Maori men could vote for their own four Maori MPs from 1868. Adult women, Maori and Pakeha, could vote from 1893. Granting the vote to women was a landmark, and New Zealand was the first country in the world to do this, making it the world's first true democracy.Settlers also wanted responsible government – a government formed from a majority in the House. This came about in 1856, and Edward Stafford led the first stable, responsible ministry. Parliament moved to Wellington in 1865, where it has remained. The provinces continued to exist until 1876, while the governor and Legislative Council increasingly lost power through the 19th century.PartiesMPs initially formed factions 小派别based on regional or personal interests. Political parties appeared in the 1890s, with the Liberals. By 1916 two other parties had emerged – Reform (1909) and Labour (1916); from the mid-1930s, there were just two – Labour and National.Formal parties altered things. Sessions became longer, and government dominated the business of the House. Changes to the way the House worked meant that government legislation was virtually guaranteed to pass, and the executive dominated Parliament.Parliamentary reformToday's Parliament is still based on the Westminster system, but there have been key changes, especially since the 1950s. The Legislative Council was abolished in 1951, and rules about the way Parliament worked were amended. The Speaker became more powerful from the 1980s, and there were changes to the servicing of Parliament. Sessions began early in the year, and select committees were reorganised.From the 1980s New Zealanders demanded changes to the electoral system, and this came in the 1996 election that was run on the MMP system. This brought 120 MPs and more parties into the House, and the style of politics and Parliament itself changed again.Parliament - House of RepresentativesThe structure of ParliamentToday there are two parts to Parliament – the House of Representatives (or the Lower House) and the Governor-General, but between 1854 and 1951 there was a third part, the Legislative Council (or the Upper House).Legislative CouncilThe Legislative Council was made up of members who were appointed rather than elected. Its major role was to amend or revise the legislation passed in the House of Representatives.The council was meant to be New Zealand's equivalent of the British House of Lords and play an independent and influential role. This did not happen, and the council never had too much to do. Once governments could appoint its members – a role they soon took from the governor, although he still approved the nominees – the council's independence weakened, especially when governments stacked it to suit their own purposes.Every now and again council members bucked against 反对the government. The big showdown 摊牌came in 1891 when the council obstructed the policies of the Liberal government. Trying to stack the council backfired when the governor refused to approve the nominees; Britain finally ordered him to co-operate. From then on, there would be no chance of an independent council, but it gave governments an attractive way of rewarding loyal Members of Parliament (MPs).Governor and Governor-GeneralThe Governor-General (or, before 1917, the governor) summons and dissolves 结束Parliament and assents to 同意legislation it passes. The Governor-General also appoints the prime minister and attends the Executive Council to receive advice about government decisions. It is a convention 惯例that the Governor-General accepts the advice of a prime minister who is supported by a majority of the House.Between 1840 and 1854 the governor, appointed from Britain, ruled New Zealand on behalf of the Queen. The settlers had little time for rule by a governor and wanted to elect their own government. After the elections in 1853, Governor George Grey angered the settlers by delaying the calling of Parliament. Grey's temporary successor, R.H. Wynyard, did not help when he refused to give power to a government formed from a majority in the House. This issue was not resolved until 1856.After this, the House asserted itself, although the governor kept an important role in military matters and Maori policies. Things reached a head in the 1860s, especially when the spiralling [spaiərəliŋ]不断加剧的costs of the wars in the North Island led the country into financial trouble. In the end, New Zealand undertook to pay for its military affairs and the governor's reserved powers over Maori affairs were removed. The governor became a largely symbolic figurehead 挂名的首脑.Opening ParliamentThe Governor-General plays an important part in the official or state opening of Parliament. There have been changes over the years, and openings now generally occur only every three years (or after a general election). The basic format has remained largely unchanged since the first Parliament in 1854.There is a 21-gun salute, guard of honour and trumpet fanfare 仪式上的短曲to greet the arrival of the Governor-General outside Parliament. Since 1984, there has also been a significant Maori dimension, with a karanga (call for people to enter the area), a haka (ritual challenge) and a powhiri (formal welcome ceremony).The state opening takes place in the Legislative Council Chamber, and it is a colourful affair that involves considerable ceremony and some very old traditions. The Governor-General follows Black Rod黑杖侍卫into the chamber, and then Black Rod summons the MPs from the Debating Chamber of the House of Representatives. It is part of the Westminster tradition that the Governor-General, who represents the monarch, does not enter the House, which is independent of the Crown. Black Rod knocks three times on the locked door of the debating chamber of the House, and then the MPs follow Black Rod, the Serjeant-at-Arms 警卫with the mace 权杖, and the Speaker to the Council Chamber. The Governor-General reads the Speech from the Throne, and as she or he leaves the buildings, there is usually singing and the national anthem is played.Doing business - House of RepresentativesHow the House worksThe House of Representatives comprises the elected Members of Parliament (MPs) who represent the people of New Zealand. Until 1951, the House of Representatives was also known as the Lower House. A political party or parties with the majority of votes in the House form a government, which answers to the House for its policies and actions.Sittings and sessionsUntil 1996 the House needed a quorum 法定人数of members in the debating chamber for the day's business to begin. Getting a quorum could be a problem in the early years: some MPs did not attend sittings because of travel problems; some left before the session had finished for the year; and others failed to turn up at all.The House used to start its sessions in the middle of the year to suit the many MPs who were farmers. Sessions lasted two or three months to allow them to get home for Christmas. As the House got busier, sessions became longer, and there would often be a rush of work at the end. The mid-year start continued until 1984, but now Parliament sits through much of the year, with periodic adjournments 休会and sessions that last for the government's full term.In the 1850s the House began (or sat) at noon three days a week and ended (or rose) in the evenings. As the business of government grew from the 1860s, the House had to sit later from early afternoon. When the practice of stonewalling 妨碍议程became common, the House would often keep sitting until early the next morning – 3 a.m. or even later. From 1928 the House rose at 10.30 p.m., but it was not until the late 1930s that sitting beyond midnight largely disappeared.Saying prayersSince the House first met in 1854, each sitting day has opened with a prayer. Some of the MPs at that first session of the House thought that a prayer suggested there was a state religion, and others worried about which prayer would be used. In the end, the House accepted that prayers were common in other countries. The Speaker, Charles Clifford, declared that the first clergyman who could be found, whatever his denomination 教派, should be invited into the House to say the opening prayer. Clifford, who was a Roman Catholic, had already arranged for his friend, the Reverend F.J. Lloyd, an Anglican, to be waiting outside the House, and he said the prayer. Since then, the Speaker has said the prayer.Making decisionsThe House makes decisions on motions before it. A formal vote or division 分组表决into those for or against a motion takes place whenever MPs want to slow down or disrupt 扰乱proceedings, record their views or see whether the government has majority support.The traditional system for taking divisions continued until 1996. When division bells were rung, MPs absent from the chamber would have a few minutes to return before the doors were locked. Sometimes the keys to the chamber were temporarilymislaid so that latecomers could arrive in time to vote! MPs went into the Ayes 赞成or Noes 否决票lobbies on either side of the chamber and had their names ticked off 用记号勾出a list. The Speaker would then announce the result, and the doors would be unlocked.Since 1996, MPs have not had to be physically in the chamber to vote because parties can declare their total votes, including the proxy 代理votes of absent members.The great raceThe sound of the bells ringing through Parliament Buildings signals to MPs that it is time to move to the chamber. In the early years a two-minute sand-glass was used to time the interval between ringing the bells and locking the doors of the chamber.A messenger would go around the buildings clanging a large bell or warning members of an impending 即将发生的division. The installation of electric bells in the 1870s put an end to this informal, but more personal, style of notifying MPs that a division was about to occur. After a fire largely destroyed the buildings in 1907, MPs had to walk much further to get to the chamber, and the time was extended to three minutes. In 1979 it was increased to five minutes, a mark set by timing how long it took the oldest messenger to walk to the chamber from the upper floors of the just-completed Beehive. A similar exercise in 1996 set the allowance at seven minutes.Some governments had near misses at division time. In 1958 the Labour government only had a majority of one and nearly lost its first division. Labour MP Warren Freer was in the shower and did not hear the division bells. Luckily for the government, an Opposition MP was out of the building, allegedly shopping for toothpaste, and Labour scraped through 勉强通过. From then, Labour used the term 'dirty debate' to warn MPs to stay within earshot 在听得见声的地方.Organising votesMPs known as whips organise members of parties into blocs 集团to vote and speak in debates. The whip's job has been described as 'keeping a House'. They monitor the day's order paper, grant leave from the House and make sure there is a quorum. Whips act as the eyes and ears of a government, and they need a thorough knowledge of what goes on in the chamber. For this reason, they traditionally sit near the front bench.Did you know?In the chamber, members of the Upper and Lower houses were not able to refer directly to their counterparts or to debates in the other house. Instead they had to refer to 'another place'.For much of Parliament's history, whips also organised 'pairs'. Pairing was the informal agreement between MPs on different sides that when one was absent, the other would not vote. This was a way to ensure that the business of the House could be conducted fairly when MPs were away or ill. Whipping and pairing were processes based on trust and co-operation between MPs. Those MPs who unwittingly broke their pairs by being in the chamber had to vote with the other side. Pairing was not officially recognised in the House's standing orders until 1951. It was abolished in 1996 and replaced by the party vote system because the many parties in the House under the mixed member proportional system (MMP) made the previous system unworkable.Select committeesAn important part of Parliament's business is done in select committees, which are made up of small groups of MPs who discuss and report on matters referred to them. The House requires committees to hear evidence in public. Committees consider bills and deal with many other things, including petitions 请愿书presented to the House, finance and expenditure or how the House works. Since 1979 all bills have been sent to a select committee as well.The select committee structure was overhauled 彻底检查in 1985, and the role of committees was expanded to provide fuller consideration of government policies and expenditure. Under MMP from 1996, select committees have become more important, and the government's control of them has weakened. Committee chairpeople come from different parties, and membership across all the committees is in proportion to the number of MPs in each party.。