His Majesty's Loyal Opposition, commonly called the Official Opposition, in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

is usually the largest political party or coalition which is not a member of the ruling

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

—it does not provide ministers. This is usually the second-largest party in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

, although in certain unusual circumstances it may be the largest party (due to a larger government bloc) or even a third or fourth party. The Official Opposition forms a shadow cabinet headed by the

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

and comprising senior MPs with the same

portfolio Portfolio may refer to: Objects * Portfolio (briefcase), a type of briefcase Collections * Portfolio (finance), a collection of assets held by an institution or a private individual * Artist's portfolio, a sample of an artist's work or a c ...

interests as the government's ministers. Unlike in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, where members of the shadow cabinet are called "shadow ministers," the members of New Zealand's shadow cabinet are called "opposition spokespeople."

Overview

The Opposition aims to hold the government accountable and to present itself to the national electorate as a credible government in waiting. For example, during

Question Time A question time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers (including the prime minister), which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be ca ...

, Opposition spokespersons will ask questions of ministers with the aim of highlighting a weakness or embarrassing the government. Oppositions also engage in parliamentary gestures such as refusal to grant confidence or voting down the

budget A budget is a calculation play, usually but not always financial, for a defined period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including time, costs and expenses, environme ...

. With the introduction of MMP in 1996 (after referendums in 1992 and 1993), there was consideration to remove the official role of the Opposition; with several parties outside the government, it was no longer clear which party, if any, was ''the'' Official Opposition. This is complicated more by parties which occasionally act with the government and at other times vote against it. The unusual positioning that developed after the 2005 election – in which minor parties supported the government and received ministers but remained outside the Cabinet – further complicated the concept of 'opposition'. However, the continued dominance of the political scene by the National and Labour parties means that the Official Opposition has been retained, and inevitably the Official Opposition is whichever of the National and Labour parties is not leading a government at the time. Parties and members of parliament outside the government which do not work with the Official Opposition party are said to "sit on the cross-benches".

Grand coalition A grand coalition is an arrangement in a multi-party parliamentary system in which the two largest political parties of opposing political ideologies unite in a coalition government. The term is most commonly used in countries where there are ...

s have been formed only twice in New Zealand, and on both occasions with the aim of forming a national response to a crisis. The first was the War Cabinet of 1915–1919, involving the

Reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...

and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Parties, under the leadership of Reform Prime Minister

William Massey William Ferguson Massey (26 March 1856 – 10 May 1925), commonly known as Bill Massey, was a politician who served as the 19th prime minister of New Zealand from May 1912 to May 1925. He was the founding leader of the Reform Party, New Ze ...

. The second was the Coalition Government of 1931–1935 to combat the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, between the United Party (successor to the Liberal Party) and the Reform Party, and led by United leader George Forbes. In both cases, Labour formed the official Opposition. (It is however anachronistic to speak of a Labour Party until 1916; in 1915, the handful of MPs who were to become part of the Labour Party had been elected as "independent" candidates on behalf of several different social-democratic organisations.) The National Party currently form the Official Opposition.

Shadow Cabinet

List of Shadow Cabinets

Below is a list of the shadow cabinets of New Zealand from 1965 to the present date.

References

{{Parliament of NZ Politics of New Zealand Parliamentary opposition