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New Zealand

Monthly Event Reports

August 2023 | Government to introduce pay gap reporting

New Zealand’s government announced it would follow Australia, France, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom in requiring companies to report on their gender pay gap. The rule will initially cover only companies with more than 250 employees, but will be expanded to those with more than 100 employees in four years. The announcement was welcomed but called “overdue” by Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Saunoamaali'i Karanina Sumeo, who cited the need for parliament to draft and pass the relevant legislation and the current lack of reporting on ethnic or disability-related pay gaps, which the government said it is interested in investigating, as an area for necessary improvement.

June 2023 | Independent panel recommends sweeping electoral changes

The Independent Electoral Review Panel examining New Zealand’s electoral law recommended lowering the voting age from 18 to 16, lowering the parliamentary threshold to 3.5 per cent, as well as other changes. The draft recommendations are the result of 58 public meetings and more than 1700 submissions from New Zealand citizens, a process commissioned by former Justice Minister Kris Faafoi in 2022. The expert panel is due to submit its final recommendations to the government in November. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said there are no plans to hold a referendum to assess public opinion of the changes before general elections in October.

March 2023 | Teachers strike over pay and resources

Most schools were closed on 15 March as 50,000 primary, secondary, and kindergarten teachers walked out after negotiations with the Ministry of Education reached an impasse over what teacher unions argued was a lack of resources to allow teachers to provide quality education to all students and pay rises that did not keep pace with inflation. It was the second time that both primary and secondary teachers went on strike together, and the first to include kindergarten teachers.

January 2023 | Ardern steps down

Chris Hipkins was sworn in as New Zealand’s 41st prime minister on 25 January, after his predecessor, Jacinda Ardern announced her resignation on 19 January. Ardern’s resignation came as a surprise to most observers, and she cited professional burnout as the reason for her decision. Hipkins will lead the Labour Party in New Zealand’s 14 October general election.

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GSoD Indices Data 2013-2022

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Basic Information

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Population Tooltip
5 122 600
System of government
Parliamentary system
Head of government
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins (since 2023)
Head of government party
Labour Party
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
Mixed Member Proportional system
Women in lower or single chamber
49.2%
Women in upper chamber
Not applicable
Last legislative election
2020
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
3.04
Head of state
King Charles III
Selection process for head of state
Hereditary or election by hereditary state rulers
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
21/01/2019
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
82.47%
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Human Rights Treaties

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State Party State party
Signatory Signatory
No Action No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
State Party
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
State Party
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
State Party
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
State Party
Convention on the Rights of the Child
State Party
International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
No Action
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
No Action
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
State Party
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
No Action
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
State Party
Equal Remuneration Convention
State Party
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
State Party
Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
No Action
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
State Party
in
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Categories of Democratic Performance

Representation neutral Representation
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Representation neutral Rights
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Representation neutral Rule of law
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Representation neutral Participation
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Global State of Democracy Indices

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Representation
Representation
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/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rights
Rights
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rule of Law
Rule of Law
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Participation
Participation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Annual value

Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time

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