The Impact of Proportional Representation on Government Effectiveness: The New Zealand Experience

It is often claimed that proportional representation (PR) undermines government effectiveness, including decisional efficacy, fiscal prudence, electoral responsiveness and accountability. Drawing on New Zealand's experience since the introduction of a mixed-member proportional (MMP) electoral system in 1996, this article examines the impact of the new voting system on government effectiveness. Although government durability has been substantially reduced and the policy-making process has become more complex, governments under MMP appear to be no less able to address major policy problems or respond to changing economic circumstances. Moreover, New Zealand has maintained continuous fiscal surpluses under MMP — a radical departure from the protracted, and often large, deficits that characterised the previous two decades under a majoritarian electoral system.     

Governing strategically: the New Zealand experience

This article describes the evolution of New Zealand's approach to the strategic direction of its public service during a decade of reform. Problems of atomization and short-termism which emerged from the first phase of reform were addressed through the adaptation of the Cabinet and central agency processes for policy, budget and management. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

New Zealand

European Journal of Political Research -     

New Zealand

European Journal of Political Research -     

New Zealand

European Journal of Political Research -     

E-Government in New Zealand

Abstract

Although it has just 4 million people and an economy which is almost entirely based on agriculture, New Zealand has been nominated by the UN as the world's third most advanced in e-government.

That might surprise foreigners but not Kiwis, who have always had a rapid uptake of new technology. Leading the country into an electronic world is the E-Government Unit, which is charged with coordinating and integrating e-services across all government agencies. Some of the solutions are original but New Zealand has not hesitated to scour the world for best-of-practices solutions and modify them to its own environment.