New Zealand

House of Representatives

Political system
Parliamentary system
Structure of parliament
Unicameral
IPU membership
Yes

About parliament

Basic information such as the official name of parliament and details of its structure and leadership. Also includes the current breakdown of MPs by sex and age, and provisions for quotas and reserved seats.

Parliament name
House of Representatives
Chamber name
House of Representatives
Structure & status of parliament
Lower chamber
Parliamentary term (years)
3

IPU membership

Affiliation periods
from 1959
IPU Geopolitical Group/s
Asia-Pacific Group
Twelve Plus Group

Notes: Geopolitical group affiliation in case of elections: Twelve Plus Group

Speaker

Official title
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Speaker
Gerry Brownlee (Male)
Date of birth: 04 Feb 1956
Term
05 Dec 2023
Additional information

Elected on 5 Dec. 2023.

Speaker terms

No information available

Secretary general

Official title
Clerk
Secretary General
David Wilson (Male)
Term
06 Jun 2015
Notes

6 July 2015 - 5 July 2029

Appointed on 7 May 2015 for a seven-year term effective from 6 July 2015; re-appointed on 3 May 2022 for a further seven-year term effective from 6 July 2022 (i.e. until 5 July 2029).

Members

Statutory number of members
120

Notes: In addition to the 120 statutory members, there three overhang seats.

Principal mode of designation of members
Directly elected
Directly elected members
123
Current number of members
123
Men
67
Women
56
Percentage of women
45.5%
Statutory number of members per country
120
Population (in thousands)
5,173
Inhabitants per parliamentarian
43,108

Age

Data on the age of parliamentarians is collected at the start of the legislature, following the most recent elections. This data is not updated during the legislature, except when parliament notifies the IPU of a change in the youngest or oldest member.

Average age of all members
49.1
(2023-12)
Youngest member
Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke (Female)
Youngest member (years)
21
Oldest member
Winston Peters (Male)
Oldest member (years)
78
Number of members, by age (2023-12)
Breakdown of members by age and gender
18 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 45 46 - 50 51 - 60 61 - 70 71 - 80 81 - 90 91 and over Totals per gender
Male 0 1 11 14 7 24 10 1 0 0 68
Female 0 4 6 14 8 17 5 0 0 0 54
Totals per age interval 0 5 17 28 15 41 15 1 0 0 122
Total <= 45: 50 Total >= 46: 72
Percentage of members, by age
Age at the last election or renewal Overall Male Female
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger
4.1% 0.8% 3.3%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger
18.0% 10% 8.2%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger
41.0% 21% 19.7%

Reserved seats and quotas

There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
No
Minorities
-

Notes:

The Māori Representation Act of 1867 established four Māori electorates, guaranteeing seats in Parliament for Māori voices. However, the Electoral Act of 1967 removed this guarantee by permitting any New Zealander, Māori or not, to stand for election in either a general or Māori electorate.

Currently, there are seven Māori electorates. As it stands, it is the electors for Māori electorates in New Zealand who must be of Māori descent while those elected to parliament may be of any ethnicity. As such, the electorates cannot be equated with reserved seats for Māori, although, a non-Māori candidate has yet to be successful in a Māori electorate.

Sources: http://www.nzlii.org/nz/legis/hist_act/eaa19671967n149210/

Electoral quota for women
Yes

Notes: Voluntary political party quotas.

Sources: Individual political party statutes.

Youth quota
No

Links to additional information

Parliamentary website
List of members
Rules of procedure/Standing Orders
Constitution

Historical data for IPU membership

Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No