Political System

The geographical position of New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the Southwest Pacific Ocean. It lies about 1600 km southeast of Australia and about 10 500 km southwest of California. New Zealand belongs to a large island group called Polynesia. The country is situated on two main islands — the North Island and the South Island — and several dozen smaller islands. Most of the smaller islands are hundreds of kilometers from the main ones.

Wellington is the capital of New Zealand and Auckland is the largest city. English is the official language of New Zealand and is spoken throughout the country. Many native people speak their own language» Maori, in addition to English.

The country once belonged to the British empire. Today it is an independent member of the Commonwealth of Nations, an association of Britain and a number of its former colonies.

New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy. The British Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, is the monarch of New Zealand. She appoints a governor general to represent her, but the governor general has little power. The legislation, prime minister, and Cabinet run the national government.

Britain gave New Zealand a constitution in 1852, when it was a British colony. But through the years the New Zealand legislature has changed almost all its provisions. Today, the nation has no written constitution.

The first people who settled in New Zealand were a brown-skinned people called Maoris. They came from Polynesian islands located northeast of New Zealand. The country was discovered by Europeans in 1642, but they did not start to settle in the islands until the late 1700's. Today, most New Zealanders are descendants of the early European settlers. Maoris make up about 12 % of the country's population

New Zealand has one of the highest standard of living in the world. For many years, the economy of the country depended largely on agriculture. Today agriculture, manufacturing, and service industries are all important to the economy. New Zealand's economy depends on trade with many countries — Australia, Britain, Japan and the United States.

Language

English and Maori are the official languages, although the country is predominantly English-speaking. Almost all of the Maori speak English, and only about 15% are considered fluent Maori speakers. Most immigrants of foreign tongue adopt English as a second language, and their children are educated in English. Substantial efforts are being made to increase interest in Maori language and traditions. In 1987 Maori was declared an official language.

New Zealand English is different from Australian English – it is pure and clear; it is easily understood everywhere in the world. At the same time the English spoken in New Zealand is somewhat similar to that of Australia.

There are no regional dialects in New Zealand English, there are only minor idiomatic and semantic variations between the islands. Between North and South Islands there are observable differences. For one thing, Maori (related to Malayo-Polynesian languages) has a greater number of speakers and more influence in North Island. A number of Maori words have found their way into common usage, most noticeably in place-names, which often refer to peculiar features of the local geography or food.

Maori place names are widely used. The Maori word for New Zealand, Aotearoa, means “land of the long white cloud”. The South Island town of Kaikoura is famous for its crayfish – and the word means “to eat crayfish”. A Polynesian noun tapu “sacred” has entered the English language as taboo. Another Maori word frequently used is pakeha. It means a non-Maori. The Maori greeting is kia ora, which means “goodbye”, “good health”, or “good luck”. Borrowings from Maori include: aroha (love, sympathy), haka (a ceremonial men’s dance), poi (a ceremonial women’s dance), whare (house, hut), hongi (the ritual of pressing noses), hangi (steamed food), etc.

New Zealand English has many borrowings from Polynesian languages: kiwi, moa, tui — birds, kauri, rata, maire — trees, etc.

Political System

Canada is a self-governing federal parliamentary state and a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations. The form of the government of Canada is a constitutional monarchy. The Queen of Great Britain, Elizabeth II, is the official head of the state, but the Governor General acts as her representative. Canada combines the American federal form of government with the British cabinet system.

As a federation, Canada is made up of ten provinces and two territories. Canadian central government in Ottawa represents all the peoples of Canada. Each province has its own government and parliament.

Parliament of Canada consists of two houses, the Upper House called the Senate, and the Lower House called the House of Commons. The Senate has 104 members. Senators are appointed by the Governor General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. Senators can serve until they retire at the age of 75. The Senate has less power than the House of Commons. 295 members of the House of Commons are elected by universal suffrage for five years. The cabinet system of Canada unites the legislative and the executive branches. The Prime Minister and the Cabinet are usually members of the House of Commons. The Cabinet consists of 20 or more ministers, chosen by the Prime Minister from leaders of the majority party in the House of Commons.

Today most of the Governor General’s powers have disappeared and he follows the directions of the Cabinet. The leading figure in the political life of the country is the Prime Minister. The judges are also appointed by the Prime minister.

There five major political parties in Canada: Progressive Conservative, Liberal, Unionist, New Democratic and Conservative. They differ only in foreign policy, their attitude to the USA, to the question of the French and English population and to provincial policies.

The Constitution of the country was only adopted in 1982.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-04