New Zealand Parliament in the context of "Legislative Council"

A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in which a "private member" is any member of parliament (MP) who is not a member of the cabinet (executive). Other labels may be used for the concept in other parliamentary systems; for example, the label member's bill is used in the Scottish Parliament and the New Zealand Parliament, the term private senator's bill is used in the Australian Senate, and the term public bill is used in the Senate of Canada. In legislatures where the executive does not have the right of initiative, such as the United States Congress, the concept does not arise since bills are always introduced by legislators (or sometimes by popular initiative).

In the Westminster system, most bills are "government bills" introduced by the executive, with private members' bills the exception; however, some time is set aside in the schedule for reading such bills. They may be introduced by non-ministerial MPs from government-supporting parties (backbenchers), by members of opposition parties (frontbencher or backbencher), or by independents or crossbenchers. The Israeli Knesset has a long history of enacting private members' bills: a slight majority of the laws passed by it originated as private members' bills, and thousands more are introduced without being passed. In contrast, the Oireachtas (parliament) of the Republic of Ireland rarely passes private members' bills, with the overwhelming number of bills being passed being introduced by members of the cabinet.

A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the British (former) colonies. However, it has also been used as designation in other (non-Commonwealth) nations. A member of a legislative council is commonly referred to as an MLC.

A legislative council was generally the first legislative body of a British colony, with members who were all appointed by the viceregal representative (who also presided over the council). Gradually, with the passage of time and increasing levels of self-governance, legislative councils were supplemented by a lower, elected chamber (often called a legislative assembly or house of assembly). This resulted in either the abolition of the council to form a unicameral and wholly elected legislature (as done in New Zealand in 1951, Southern Rhodesia in 1923, Singapore in 1955 and Ceylon in 1931) or the democratisation of and a gradual decrease in powers exercised by the council, as done in India in 1919 and in Australian states throughout the twentieth century.

The governor-general of New Zealand (Māori: Te kāwana tianara o Aotearoa) is the representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently King Charles III. As the King is concurrently the monarch of 14 other Commonwealth realms and lives in the United Kingdom, he, on the advice of his New Zealand prime minister, appoints a governor-general to carry out his constitutional and ceremonial duties within New Zealand.

Governors-general typically serve a five-year term of office, subject to a possible short extension, though they formally serve "at the monarch's pleasure". The incumbent governor-general is Dame Cindy Kiro, since 21 October 2021. Administrative support for the governor-general is provided by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Constitutional functions include presiding over the Executive Council, appointing ministers and judges, granting royal assent to legislation, and summoning and dissolving parliament. These functions are generally exercised only according to the advice of an elected government. The governor-general also has important ceremonial roles: hosting events at Government House in Wellington, and travelling throughout New Zealand to open conferences, attend services and commemorations, and generally provide encouragement to individuals and groups who are contributing to their communities.

Joseph Gordon Coates MC* PC (3 February 1878 – 27 May 1943) served as the 21st prime minister of New Zealand from 1925 to 1928. He was the third successive Reform prime minister since 1912.

Born in rural Northland, Coates grew up on a farm, which he took charge of at a young age due to his father's mental illness, before becoming a member of Parliament in 1911. He maintained a focus on farming issues and stood as an independent candidate. After distinguished service during World War I, he was appointed as Minister of Justice and Postmaster-General in the Reform government of William Massey (1919); he served as Minister of Public Works (1920–26) and Native Affairs (1921–28) and became prime minister in 1925 on Massey's death.

The constitution of New Zealand is the sum of laws and principles that determine the political governance of New Zealand. Unlike many other nations, New Zealand has no single constitutional document. It is an uncodified constitution, sometimes referred to as an "unwritten constitution", although the New Zealand constitution is in fact an amalgamation of written and unwritten sources. The Constitution Act 1986 has a central role, alongside a collection of other statutes, orders in Council, letters patent, decisions of the courts, principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, and unwritten traditions and conventions. There is no technical difference between ordinary statutes and law considered "constitutional law"; no law is accorded higher status. In most cases the New Zealand Parliament can perform "constitutional reform" simply by passing acts of Parliament, and thus has the power to change or abolish elements of the constitution. There are some exceptions to this though – the Electoral Act 1993 requires certain provisions can only be amended following a referendum.

After decades of self-governance, New Zealand gained full statutory independence from Britain in 1947. It is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy. The monarch of New Zealand is the head of state – represented in the Realm of New Zealand by the governor-general – and is the source of executive, judicial and legislative power, although effective power is in the hands of ministers drawn from the democratically elected New Zealand House of Representatives. This system is based on the "Westminster model", although that term is increasingly inapt given constitutional developments particular to New Zealand. For instance, New Zealand introduced a unicameral system within a decade of its statutory independence.

The following is a list of the governors and governors-general of New Zealand. As the personal representative of the New Zealand monarch, the governor-general performs many of the functions vested in the Crown, such as summoning and dissolving Parliament, granting or withholding the Royal Assent, making state visits, and receiving ambassadors. These functions are performed on the advice of the head of government, the prime minister.

From William Hobson's appointment in 1841, a total of 37 individuals have served as governor, governor-in-chief (1848–1853), or governor-general (since 1917). Sir Arthur Porritt was the first New Zealand-born governor-general, although he had been living in Britain for 31 years at the time of his appointment. All governors-general since Sir Denis Blundell in 1972 have been New Zealand residents and, with the exception of Sir David Beattie, New Zealand-born. The list does not include lieutenant-governors of the provinces of New Ulster and New Munster that existed between 1848 and 1853. The table also does not include administrators of the government, who fulfil viceregal duties between the terms of governors-general, or at other times when the governor-general is overseas or otherwise unable to carry out the role. The role of administrator is normally undertaken by the chief justice.

New Zealand has a unitary system of government in which the authority of the central government defines sub-national entities. Local government in New Zealand has only the powers conferred upon it by the New Zealand Parliament. Under the Local Government Act 2002, local authorities are responsible for enabling democratic local decision-making and promoting the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of their communities, as well as more specific functions for which they have delegated authority.

As of 2020, seventy-eight local authorities cover all areas of New Zealand. Local authorities are positioned within a two-tier structure of territorial authorities (district and city councils) and superimposed regional councils. In addition, until their abolition in 2022, district health boards were locally-elected bodies with responsibilities for oversight of health and disability services within a specified area, although these boards were not generally considered to be local authorities in the conventional sense.

The Executive Council of New Zealand (Māori: Te Komiti Matua o Aotearoa) is the full group of "responsible advisers" to the governor-general, who advise on state and constitutional affairs. All government ministers must be appointed as executive councillors before they are appointed as ministers; therefore all members of Cabinet are also executive councillors. The governor-general signs a warrant of appointment for each member of the Executive Council, and separate warrants for each ministerial portfolio.

To be an executive councillor, one must normally be a member of Parliament (this was codified in the Constitution Act of 1986). However, one may serve up to thirty days without being in Parliament; this is to allow for the transition of members not yet sworn in and members who have retired or been defeated. Each executive councillor must take the relevant oaths or affirmations set out in legislation.