| New Zealand is a Parliamentary democracy, and a member of the British Commonwealth, offering a safe political environment for international students and visitors. They have a single chamber of parliament and the Governor- General, who is democratically elected, has the same authority and power as the queen. New Zealand has elections for local government bodies such as local authorities, district health boards and school trustees as well. New Zealand now has a mixed member proportional (MMP) Parliament of 120 seats. It has a population of only 3.8 million and is similar in size to the United Kingdom or Japan. The majority of New Zealanders are of British descent, and the largest minority is New Zealand's indigenous Maori who make up around 14 percent of the population. There are two official languages, English and Maori, with English being the predominant language
New Zealand's European constitutional history began in 1840 when Mäori and the Crown signed the Treaty of Waitangi and New Zealand became a British colony. Mäori were confirmed in the rights they understood to be part of rangatiratanga (chieftainship). European settlers, however, effectively became the country's administrators within 12 years, and by 1860 Mäori had started to form parallel movements for Mäori self-government, first the King movement and later Kotahitanga. These declined in the early 1900s but the Mäori struggle for control over their affairs has continued. New Zealand moved from colonial to Dominion status in 1907, gaining full independence from Britain. New Zealand is an independent state within the Commonwealth. New Zealand now has an industrialized, free market economy that competes globally. Its biggest exports are milk, butter, cheese, meat, logs, wood, and crude oil, trading mostly with Australia and then China and the United States. They have a low unemployment rate (6.3%) and the economy grows almost consistently every year, at about a rate of 2%. They are very active in trading and economies around the world, and are closely tied to the Asian and Australian markets. |