Constrained parliamentarism in the New Zealand regime

Abstract

In this article the ways in which the original Ackerman framework may be used in the assessment of checks and balances in New Zealand are considered. Does New Zealand conform to the ideals of constrained parliamentarism? In order to tackle this question, the eight institutional specifics of governance identified by Ackerman are looked into. The eight institutional specifics are (1) Parliamentary democracy, (2) Federal structure, (3) Strong upper house, (4) Professional public service, (5) Independent judiciary, (6) Human rights, (7) Integrity of major institutions and (8) Referenda. This framework facilitates a better understanding of governance in New Zealand.

Keywords:

• New Zealand
• parliament
• executive
• democracy
• Westminster system

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the two anonymous peer reviewers and Dr Margaret Hayward for their helpful comments.

Notes

See Power (2012) and Pierre (2012).

It should be noted that there are examples of MPs elected from the General Roll that have represented constituencies with minority identities.