New Zealand political hierarchy works in an immense structure of a monarchy associated with parliamentary representative democratic. The basic layout and the system closely follow on the pattern of the Westminster system. Many modifications and significant changes have been made, but the basic resemblance still exists. The head of the state is honorable Queen Elizabeth II and is represented by the Governor – General. The head of the government is the Prime Minister, the official who chairs the Cabinet drawn from an elected Parliament.
Following are the levels of New Zealand political hierarchy:
- The Executive Division
- The Legislature Division
- The Judiciary Division
- Local Government and the Administrative Division
The Executive Division
The Executive Division is the highest level of the New Zealand political hierarchy and further categorized as below:
- Head of the State – The head of the state is the heir of the royal family and currently honorable Queen Elizabeth II is the current Queen of the New Zealand along with the Realm of New Zealands. But the monarchy of the New Zealand has been distinct from the monarchy of the British since the Statute of the Westminster Adoption Act in the year 1947. Even all the official business of royal heiress in New Zealand is conducted in the name of the Queen of New Zealand, not the Queen of the United Kingdom.
- Head of the Government – The Prime Minister is the head of the government and also the head of most senior policy making body, the Cabinet. New Zealand Cabinet is responsible to the Parliament of New Zealand, from which its members are attained. The current Prime Minister of the New Zealand is honorable Mr. John Key.
The Legislature Division
The legislative body of New Zealand is the House of Representative that is a unicameral Parliament. The House of Representatives meets in Parliament House.
The Judiciary Division
The judicial body of the New Zealand political hierarchy incorporates four level of justice court and they are:
- The Supreme Court of New Zealand – The Supreme Court for justice was established in the year 2004 and further replaced the Judicial Committee of the Privacy Council in London as the final Court of Appeal of New Zealand.
- The Court of Appeal – The Court of Appeal gets the escalated appeals from the High Court.
- The High Court – The High Court deals law enforcement at the national level, and also considers subordinate courts appeals.
- The District Court (including the Youth Court) – The lower and basic court available in all districts.
Local Government and the Administrative Division
New Zealand is basically not a federation but a unitary state. The regions here are created by the authority of the central government rather than the central government being created by the authority of the regions. Local government in New Zealand has only the powers provided to it by the country’s Parliament. Though these provided powers have traditionally been quite fewer than in some other countries.