Following the General Election, a new government has been formed.
The final election tallies gave National 1,058,636 party votes (47.31%) of the total list votes (down from the election night tally of 47.99%) to win 59 MPs, one less than the election night result.
Labour gained 27.48% of the list votes (up from 27.13%) to win 34 MPs.
The Greens gained an extra MP to give them 14 with 11.06% of the party vote (up from 10.62%), while New Zealand First won 6.59% (down from 6.81%) and eight MPs.
The Maori Party won 1.43% (up from 1.35) and three MPs, the Mana Party 1.08% (up from 1%), ACT 1.07% and United Future 0.6%, each returning one MP. The biggest party outside of Parliament was the new Conservative Party, which won 59,236 votes (2.65%) of the party vote, down from 2.76% on election night.
As a result of the confidence and supply agreements that National signed with ACT and United Future, (Prime Minister) John Key has the numbers to govern. With a total of 61 votes secured (out of a total of 121) for crucial Parliamentary votes such as the budget, he was able to inform Governor General Sir Jerry Mateparae that he could form a new government.
While National needs the support of both ACT and United Future to govern, it is not reliant on the support of the Maori Party, meaning that despite the deal with National, it is not the ‘kingmaker.’
Strange bedfellows
In practice, this distinction might not mean much since during their last term of government, National took the radical step of sacrificing New Zealand’s publicly owned coastline in favour of Maori ownership and control, even though it did not technically need the support of the Maori Party to govern.
This means National may once again be prepared to ignore the rights of the majority of New Zealanders in order to satisfy the Maori Party’s separatist demands just to look more inclusive.
All three coalition partners have negotiated agreements that give their leaders ministerial positions outside the Cabinet.
Act MP John Banks is the Minister for Regulatory Reform and Small Business and Associate Minister of Education and Commerce. United Future MP Peter Dunne is the Minister of Revenue and Associate Minister of Health and Conservation. Maori Party MP Pita Sharples is the Minister of Maori Affairs and Associate Minister of Education and Corrections. His colleague Tariana Turia is the Minister responsible for Whanau Ora, Disability Issues and Associate Minister of Health, Housing and Social Development and Employment.
Business reforms
ACT’s Confidence and Supply agreement is focused on improving business competitiveness and raising productivity growth by reducing intrusive government regulation and excessive government spending.
The Treasury will provide an annual report on the progress of reducing the income gap with Australia and the Regulatory Standards Bill to lower the regulatory burden on businesses and individuals will be passed into law.
The Public Finance Act will be amended to include a spending cap limiting government spending to the rate of population growth multiplied by the rate of inflation and the ACC’s Work Account will be opened up to competition.
In addition, the Resource Management Act, which is seen as a major barrier to investment, jobs, and prosperity, will undergo further reform, particularly in the area of planning to ensure there is only one ‘unitary’ plan for each district.
Education choice
In the social policy area, charter schools will be introduced as a trial in South Auckland and Christchurch. These schools will operate independently but qualify for government funding.
They would have the potential to lift the outcomes of disadvantaged students through performance contracts that focus on improving student achievement and rewarding teacher excellence (usually through performance pay).
These schools will remain externally accountable.
The recommendations of the Welfare Working Group to provide budgeting support, income management and intensive parenting services disadvantaged families will be enacted, and employment services will be contracted out to private sector and community organisations.
Parties gain
The confidence and supply agreement of United Future continues many of the initiatives developed in the previous parliament.
The concessions include reinstatement of the Income Sharing Bill to allow married couples to split their income for tax purposes, an enhanced role for pharmacists in patient medicines management and reduction in elective surgery waiting lists by greater use of private hospitals.
The agreement also allows free annual health-check up for those above 65 years (when fiscal circumstances allow), downsizing of the Families Commission to a single Commissioner and provision of parenting and relationship education in secondary schools.
Other measures include ‘Youth One Stop Shop’ support services, introduction of alcohol and drug dependency assessments for prisoners appearing before the Parole Board and the establishment of the Game Animal Council as a Statutory Body.
The government will also investigate United Future’s ‘Flexi-Superannuation,’ to allow early retirement option at a reduced rate of super, or later at a higher rate depending on their individual circumstances and preferences.
The agreement with the Maori Party has been called a ‘Relationship Accord’ to allow the party to vote against key National policies such as partial asset sales.
Essentially, the party’s concessions include boosting Whanau Ora to incorporate a standalone commissioning agency, establishing a Ministerial Committee on Poverty and doubling the funding for the treatment of rheumatic fever.
The Agreement also provides for home insulation to 20,000 low-income homes and older state houses and increase Maori participation in early childhood education and achievement in primary, secondary and tertiary education.
The above is the edited version of the views expressed by Dr Muriel Newman, Director of the New Zealand Centre for Political Research, in her web-based free weekly Newsletter, NZCPR Weekly. For full text, visit www.nzcpr.com
Governor General Sir Jerry Mateparae administered the oath of office to Prime Minister John Key and his colleagues inside and outside the Cabinet at the Government House in Wellington on December 14, 2011.
The pictures shows on the front row (from left) Tony Ryall, Steven Joyce, Bill English, John Key, Sir Jerry, Gerry Brownlee, Judith Collins, Hekia Parata
Second Row: Dr Jonathan Coleman, Murray McCully, David Carter, Christopher Finlayson, Paula Bennett, Dr Nick Smith, Anne Tolley, Phil Heatley
Third Row: Jo Goodhew, Maurice Williamson, Craig Foss, Kate Wilkinson, Nathan Guy, Amy Adams, Chris Tremain, Chester Borrows
Fourth Row: Rebecca Kitteridge (Clerk of the Executive Council), John Banks, Dr Pita Sharples, Tariana Turia, Peter Dunne
