The Realm of New Zealand is the entire area in which the Queen in right of New Zealand The monarchy of New Zealand – also referred to as The Crown in Right of New Zealand, Her Majesty in Right of New Zealand, or The Queen in Right of New Zealand – is the constitutional system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of the Realm of New Zealand, forming the core of the country's Westminster- is head of state. The Realm comprises New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori language name for New Zealand is Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud. The Realm of New Zealand also, the Cook Islands The Cook Islands /ˈkʊk ˈaɪləndz/ (Cook Islands Māori: Kūki 'Āirani) is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand. The fifteen small islands in this South Pacific Ocean country have a total land area of 240 square kilometres (92.7 sq mi), but the Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers 1.8, Niue Niue is an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean. It is commonly known as the "Rock of Polynesia", and natives of the island call it "the Rock" for short. Niue is 2,400 kilometres northeast of New Zealand in a triangle between Tonga to the southwest, the Samoas to the northwest, and the Cook Islands to the southeast. The, Tokelau Tokelau is a territory of New Zealand that consists of three tropical coral atolls with a combined land area of 10 km2 and a population of approximately 1,400 in the South Pacific Ocean. The atolls lie north of the Samoas, east of Tuvalu, south of the Phoenix Islands, southwest of the more distant Line Islands (both islands groups belonging to and the Ross Dependency The Ross Dependency is a region of Antarctica defined by a sector originating at the South Pole, passing along longitudes 160° east to 150° west, and terminating at latitude 60° south. It forms part of the Realm of New Zealand, although New Zealand's claim is held in abeyance under the terms of the Antarctic Treaty. The Dependency takes its in Antarctica,[1] and is defined by a 1983 Letters Patent Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of an open letter issued by a monarch or government, granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or to some entity such as a corporation. The opposite of letters patent are letters close (Latin: litterae clausae), which are personal in nature and sealed so that only constituting the office of Governor-General of New Zealand The Governor-General of New Zealand is the representative of the Sovereign in right of New Zealand (currently, Queen Elizabeth II). The Governor-General acts as the Queen's vice-regal representative in New Zealand and is often viewed as the de facto head of state.[2]
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Governor-General
Main article: Governor-General of New Zealand The Governor-General of New Zealand is the representative of the Sovereign in right of New Zealand (currently, Queen Elizabeth II). The Governor-General acts as the Queen's vice-regal representative in New Zealand and is often viewed as the de facto head of stateThe Governor-General of New Zealand represents the head of state (Elizabeth II Elizabeth II is the queen regnant of 16 independent sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms, listed here in order of length of possession by the Crown: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,, in her capacity as Queen of New Zealand) in the area of the Realm. Essentially, Governors-General take on all the dignities and reserve powers In a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government, a reserve power is a power that may be exercised by the head of state without the approval of another branch of the government. Unlike a presidential system of government, the head of state is generally constrained by the cabinet or the legislature, and most reserve powers are usable of the head of state. As of 2006[update] the Governor-General is Sir Anand Satyanand.
Sovereignty within the Realm
Cook Islands and Niue
Both the Cook Islands and Niue are said to be self-governing in free association with New Zealand. The New Zealand Parliament The Parliament of New Zealand consists of the Queen of New Zealand and the New Zealand House of Representatives and, until 1951, the New Zealand Legislative Council. The House of Representatives is often referred to as "Parliament" is not empowered to unilaterally pass legislation in respect of these countries. In foreign affairs and defence issues New Zealand acts on behalf of these countries but only with their advice and consent.
As the Governor-General is resident in New Zealand, the Cook Islands Constitution provides for the distinct position of Queen's Representative. This individual is not subordinate to the Governor-General and acts as the local representative of the Queen in right of New Zealand. As of 2005[update] Sir Frederick Tutu Goodwin is the Queen's Representative to the Cook Islands.
According to the Niue's Constitution of 1974, the Governor-General of New Zealand acts as the Queen's representative.
In the Cook Islands and Niue the New Zealand High Commissioner is the diplomatic representative from New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori language name for New Zealand is Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud. The Realm of New Zealand also. As of 2009[update], Tia Barrett is the New Zealand High Commissioner to the Cook Islands and Anton Ojala is the New Zealand High Commissioner to Niue.
Despite their close relationship to New Zealand, both the Cook Islands and Niue maintain some diplomatic relations in their own name. Both countries maintain High Commissions in New Zealand and have New Zealand High Commissioners resident in their capitals. In Commonwealth practice, High Commissioners represent their governments, not the Head of State.
New Zealand
New Zealand proper consists of the following island groups:
- the North Island The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the South Island by Cook Strait. The island is 113,729 square kilometres (43,911 sq mi) in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island. It has a population of 3,287,600 (June 2009 estimate), South Island The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean. The territory of the South Island covers 151,215 square kilometres (58,384 sq mi) and is influenced by a and neighbouring coastal islands, all contained within the 16 regions of New Zealand The region is the top tier of local government in New Zealand. There are 16 regions of New Zealand. Twelve are governed by an elected regional council, while four are governed by territorial authorities which also perform the functions of a regional council and thus are known as unitary authorities. The Chatham Islands Council is similar to a
- the Chatham Islands The archipelago of the Chatham Islands (Rekohu in Moriori; Wharekauri in Māori) is a New Zealand territory in the Pacific Ocean consisting of about ten islands within a 40 kilometres (25 mi) radius, the largest of which are Chatham Island and Pitt Island. These remote islands, over 800 kilometres (500 mi) east of southern New Zealand, have to the east, contained within the Chatham Islands Territory
- the Kermadec Islands to the north and sub-Antarctic islands to the south, all outside local authority boundaries and inhabited only by a small number of research and conservation staff
Tokelau
Tokelau has a lesser degree of de jure independence than the Cook Islands and Niue have, and had been moving toward free association status. New Zealand's representative in Tokelau is the Administrator An Administrator in the constitutional practice of some countries in the Commonwealth is a person who fulfills a role similar to that of a Governor or a Governor-General of Tokelau and has the power to overturn rules passed by the general fono.
Ross Dependency
The Ross Dependency is constitutionally part of New Zealand.[3] The Governor-General of New Zealand is also the Governor A governor is a governing official, usually the executive (at least nominally, to different degrees also politically and administratively) of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state. In federations, a governor may be the title of each appointed or elected politician who governs a constituent state of the Ross Dependency. The Ross Dependency includes McMurdo Station McMurdo Station is an American Antarctic research center located on the southern tip of Ross Island on the shore of McMurdo Sound in New Zealand territory, 2,200 miles due south of the New Zealand mainland. It is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program, a branch of the National Science Foundation. The station is, operated by the United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language, which does not recognize New Zealand sovereignty of Ross Dependency.
Summary
Future of the Realm
Within New Zealand there exists some support[4][5] for a New Zealand republic Republicanism in New Zealand is either an expression of political dissent against the existing government, or a theoretical political concept, the implementation of which would result in changing New Zealand's current status as a Commonwealth realm and constitutional monarchy to that of a republic. Should New Zealand become a republic it will retain the Ross Dependency and Tokelau as dependent territories A dependent territory, dependent area or dependency is a territory that does not possess full political independence or sovereignty as a State and the Realm of New Zealand would continue to exist without New Zealand, the Ross Dependency and Tokelau[6]. This would not be a legal hurdle to a New Zealand republic as such, and both the Cook Islands and Niue would retain their status as associated states with New Zealand, as New Zealand shares its Head of State with the Cook Islands and Niue in the same way the Commonwealth realms A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state within the Commonwealth of Nations that has Elizabeth II as its monarch. The sixteen current realms have a combined land area of 18.8 million km² , and a population of 134 million; all but about two million live in the six most populous states, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Papua New Guinea, New share a Head of State. However, a New Zealand republic would present the issue of independence to the Cook Islands and Niue. Thus, a number of options for the future of the Realm of New Zealand exist:
- A New Zealand republic with the Cook Islands and Niue remaining in free association with New Zealand, but retaining the Queen of New Zealand as their head of state;
- A New Zealand republic with the Cook Islands and Niue having a new republican head of state as their head of state;
- A New Zealand republic with the Cook Islands and Niue having their own heads of state, but retaining their status of free association with New Zealand.
See also
- Dominion of New Zealand
- Commonwealth realm A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state within the Commonwealth of Nations that has Elizabeth II as its monarch. The sixteen current realms have a combined land area of 18.8 million km² , and a population of 134 million; all but about two million live in the six most populous states, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Papua New Guinea, New
External links
- Letters Patent constituting the office of Governor-General of New Zealand — gives explanation for "Realm of New Zealand"
- "Cook Islands" (NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
- "Niue" (NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
- "New Zealand and the Tokelau Islands" (NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
- "Ross Dependency" (NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
References
- ^ New Zealand's Constitution, New Zealand government, retrieved 20 November 2009
- ^ Letters Patent Constituting the Office of Governor-General of New Zealand (SR 1983/225), New Zealand Parliamentary Counsel Office, retrieved 20 November 2009
- ^ http://www.mfat.govt.nz/Foreign-Relations/Antarctica/1-New-Zealand-and-Antarctica/index.php
- ^ A July 2005 poll published in The Press showed 27% support for the question "Do you support New Zealand becoming a republic?", and 67% opposition.
- ^ A Sunday Star-Times poll, published 20 January 2006, stated there was 47% support for a New Zealand republic, and 47% support for the monarchy.
- ^ Townend, Andrew (2003) "The Strange Death of the Realm of New Zealand: The Implications of a New Zealand Republic for the Cook Islands and Niue" Victoria University of Wellington Law Review 34, retrieved 20 November 2009
| Administrative divisions of New Zealand | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supranational level | Realm of New Zealand | ||||||||||
| National level | New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori language name for New Zealand is Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud. The Realm of New Zealand also | Tokelau Tokelau is a territory of New Zealand that consists of three tropical coral atolls with a combined land area of 10 km2 and a population of approximately 1,400 in the South Pacific Ocean. The atolls lie north of the Samoas, east of Tuvalu, south of the Phoenix Islands, southwest of the more distant Line Islands (both islands groups belonging to | Cook Islands The Cook Islands /ˈkʊk ˈaɪləndz/ (Cook Islands Māori: Kūki 'Āirani) is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand. The fifteen small islands in this South Pacific Ocean country have a total land area of 240 square kilometres (92.7 sq mi), but the Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers 1.8 | Niue Niue is an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean. It is commonly known as the "Rock of Polynesia", and natives of the island call it "the Rock" for short. Niue is 2,400 kilometres northeast of New Zealand in a triangle between Tonga to the southwest, the Samoas to the northwest, and the Cook Islands to the southeast. The | Ross Dependency The Ross Dependency is a region of Antarctica defined by a sector originating at the South Pole, passing along longitudes 160° east to 150° west, and terminating at latitude 60° south. It forms part of the Realm of New Zealand, although New Zealand's claim is held in abeyance under the terms of the Antarctic Treaty. The Dependency takes its | ||||||
| Regions The region is the top tier of local government in New Zealand. There are 16 regions of New Zealand. Twelve are governed by an elected regional council, while four are governed by territorial authorities which also perform the functions of a regional council and thus are known as unitary authorities. The Chatham Islands Council is similar to a | 12 non-unitary regions | 4 unitary regions | Chatham Islands | Kermadec Islands | sub-Antarctic islands | ||||||
| Territorial authorities | 16 cities and 57 districts | ||||||||||
| Notes | Some districts lie in more than one region | These combine the regional and the territorial authority levels in one | Special territorial authority | Areas outside regional authority; these, plus the Chatham Islands and the Solander Islands, form the New Zealand outlying islands | State administered by New Zealand | States in free association with New Zealand | Claimed by New Zealand | ||||
Categories: Government of New Zealand | Constitution of New Zealand | Realm of New Zealand | States and territories established in 1983
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