Parliament is all 120 elected MPs together. It makes laws, votes on money, and asks questions of those in charge. The Government is the smaller group of MPs, led by the Prime Minister, that actually runs the country day to day. The Government only stays in office while Parliament has confidence in it.
Parliament is all 120 elected MPs together. It makes laws, votes on money, and asks questions of those in charge. The Government is the smaller group of MPs, led by the Prime Minister, that actually runs the country day to day. The Government only stays in office while Parliament has confidence in it.
Parliament = every MP, including the ones who disagree with each other.
Government = the ministers who run departments.
Every minister is also an MP, so they sit in both.
Parliament can remove a government by voting no confidence.
Parliament is where laws are debated and passed. It includes government MPs, opposition MPs, and MPs from smaller parties. Even an MP whose party lost the election is a full member of Parliament with a vote.
Parliament also holds the Government to account, which is a formal way of saying it makes ministers explain themselves in public. That is what Question Time is for.
The Government is formed by whichever party or group of parties can get the support of a majority of MPs. Its leader becomes Prime Minister and hands out portfolios such as Health, Education or Transport.
Ministers can make decisions and propose laws, but they cannot pass a law by themselves. Parliament has to vote for it.
The parties that are not in government form the Opposition. Their job is not simply to disagree, it is to check the Government's work, offer alternatives and be ready to govern if the next election goes their way.
Can a government lose power without an election?
Yes. If it loses a confidence vote in Parliament, it can no longer govern.
Is the Prime Minister the head of state?
No. The King is head of state, represented in New Zealand by the Governor-General.