Political agreements

In 1996, New Zealand held its first mixed-member proportional (MMP) election.

When there is uncertainty over who has ‘confidence in the House’, the MMP process requires the Governor-General to draw on political statements, verbal or written, in order to form a view as to whether confidence in the House is attained and the tests of quantity and clarity have been achieved. As part of this process, the Governor-General is able to rely on verbal public assurances, although signed written documents are preferred. Although there is no requirement on a political party to make a signed agreement public, there is a political and ethical obligation to do so.

There are a number of ways a change of government can come about. See our diagram ‘How a change in government eventuates’ for a breakdown of the process by phases; depending on the circumstances some of these phases can take place over different time periods. Political agreements (verbal and/or written) can play a role in phase 2, the formation of government. The process is set out in the 2017 Cabinet Manual.

Importantly, agreements mentioned in the ‘speech from the throne’ do not necessarily form part of the appointment of government (by then the appointment process has been completed). Instead they are owned by the political parties concerned and are therefore not parliamentary papers or government agency records, which means there is no official record kept.

Under MMP, four types of government are likely to eventuate (although other permutations involving confidence and supply and/or co-operation agreements are possible):

• Majority single-party (single party with over 50% or more of the seats in the House held by one political party)
• Minority single-party (single party with 50% or less of the seats in the House held by one political party)
• Majority coalition (multiple parties with over 50% or more of the seats in the House govern together)
• Minority coalition (multiple parties with 50% or less of the seats in the House govern together)