THE NEW ZEALAND OFFICIAL YEAR-BOOK, 1967

EARLY HISTORY: General—When New Zealand was discovered by Europeans in 1642 it was found to be inhabited by a race of Polynesians called Maoris, who had migrated to these islands at least 300 years previously. It is generally accepted that the Maoris came originally from South-East Asia, whence, as proto-Polynesians, they moved eastwards from island to island until they reached the eastern Pacific, where they settled the islands now known collectively as Polynesia. From Polynesia the ancestors of the Maori sailed south-west in ocean-going canoes to reach New Zealand and these voyages were probably spread over several generations, perhaps several centuries. Oral Maori history and genealogy support the view that there was a final wave of migration of considerable magnitude about A.D. 1350. Adapting themselves to a new physical environment, in isolation from the outside world, the Maoris produced forms of social and economic organisation and material culture which were significantly different from their Polynesian prototypes.

Coming from tropical latitudes, the Maoris mainly confined themselves to the warmer North Island, and when discovered by Europeans were in a high state of neolithic civilisation, with marked superiority in the arts of wood carving and military engineering. Their principal social unit was the family group, and from combinations of the numerous groups were formed the subtribes and tribes. They had highly developed social and ritualistic customs, and their system of land tenure and methods of cultivation were communal within the subtribes. Inter-tribal and intra-tribal warfare was common, and as individuals they displayed exceptional courage and intelligence.

The immediate effect of European contacts on the Maoris was the outburst of a series of tribal wars waged with greater ferocity and a vastly greater loss of life than was customary in pre-European tribal engagements. The high mortality could, of course, be credited to the acquisition of a more lethal weapon, the musket. The advantage lay originally with the coastal tribes as a result of their earlier contact with Europeans, the wars continuing until all tribes were equally well armed. These wars were later followed by wars against the colonists, but after 1870 the story has been one of unbroken peace between Maoris and Europeans.

The introduction of European diseases and firearms, and the impact of European civilisation on the traditional way of life and customs of the Maoris, had such an adverse effect that their numbers must have been reduced by over half during the nineteenth century. However, the virility of the race gradually asserted itself, and from the beginning of the twentieth century the Maori population has been rapidly increasing.

Other island groups, such as the Cook Islands, Niue Island, and the Tokelau Islands, had also long been inhabited by Polynesians from various successive migrations extending over considerable periods prior to their discovery by Europeans.

Discovery by Europeans—On 13 December 1642, Abel Janszoon Tasman, a navigator of the Dutch East India Company, discovered the country to which he gave the name of Staten Land, and which later became known as "Nieuw Zeeland''. Tasman had left Batavia on 14 August 1642, and, after having discovered Tasmania, he steered eastward and sighted the west coast of the South Island, described by him as a high mountainous country. Sailing north, he had the misfortune to come into conflict with the Maoris at Golden Bay, on the north coast of the South Island, so that, though he continued his northward journey until he reached the northern tip of the country, he did not again attempt to land. His exploration was of necessity very cursory, for having explored only part of one coast he had no knowledge of the country's, extent or shape.

There is no record of any European visit to New Zealand after Tasman's departure until Captain Cook sighted land on 6 October 1769, at Young Nick's Head, near Gisborne. On his first voyage Cook spent six months exploring the New Zealand coastline, and he completely circumnavigated the North and South Islands. His activities can be best described by saying "he found New Zealand a line on the map, and left it an archipelago''. Not only was Cook's ability shown by his cartographical accuracy, but also in his peaceful dealings with the truculent Maoris. He returned to New Zealand again in 1773, in 1774, and in 1777.

Several other explorers also visited New Zealand during the latter portion of the eighteenth century, amongst whom may be mentioned M. de Surville 1769, M. Marion du Fresne 1772, Captains Vancouver and Broughton 1791, Captain Raven 1792-93, Alejandro Malaspina and Jose de Bustamente y Guerra 1793, and Lieutenant Hanson 1793.

The European discovery of many of the islands of the Cook Group was made by Captain Cook in 1773. Rarotonga and Mauke were not officially discovered for another 50 years, although there were records of earlier visits by the Bounty under the control of the mutineers in 1789 and later, in 1814, by the Cumberland. Niue Island was discovered by Cook in 1774. The first recorded discovery of the Tokelau Islands was made by Quiros in 1606. Of the remaining islands of the group, Atafu was discovered in 1765, Nukunono in 1791, and Fakaofa in the 1840s.

European Settlement and Colonisation—So far as is known, the first instance of Europeans being left in New Zealand to their own resources occurred in 1792, when Captain Raven of the Britannia landed a sealing party at Facile Harbour, on the west coast of the South Island, where they remained a little over 12 months before being called for.

In the years that followed, whaling stations sprang up along the coast, and a trade with New South Wales began not only in whale oil and seal skins, but also in flax and timber. Attracted to New Zealand were deserters from whaling vessels and escaped convicts from Australia, who, in the absence of any jurisdiction, soon became notorious for their extreme lawlessness. In 1914 Samuel Marsden, chaplain to the Governor of New South Wales, obtained permission to send two of his protégés, Kendall and Hall, to the Bay of Islands to consider the desirability of establishing a mission station. Later they returned to Sydney for Marsden, who arrived in New Zealand to preach his first sermon at the Bay of Islands on Christmas Day, 1814. Of the many admirable activities undertaken by the missionaries, their action in having the Maori language "reduced to a rational orthography'' deserves special mention.

In 1825 three separate, but abortive, attempts were made to found colonies; however for some years the only settlements were those round the principal whaling stations, although a number of Europeans gradually penetrated inland and resided there permanently, many marrying Maori women.

The first body of immigrants under a definite scheme of colonisation arrived in Port Nicholson in January 1840, there to found the town of Wellington, just one week before Captain William Hobson arrived at the Bay of Islands as Governor to proclaim British sovereignty (see later). These settlers were brought out from England by the New Zealand Company, whose moving spirits was Edward Gibbon Wakefield.

It was hoped that, by producing a proper balance of capitalists and artisans, self-contained communities could be successfully established. However, owing to the unsatisfactory nature of the land purchases, considerable difficulty was experienced in these initial settlements, and friction grew up not only between settlers and the Maoris, but also between the Governor and the settlers. Before his death in 1842 Governor Hobson had transferred his capital from Russell to Auckland, but this transfer was of little assistance to the colonists, who had extended their settlements to Wanganui, New Plymouth, and Nelson.

Following the death of Hobson, the existence of the colony became precarious, for, through lack of funds and weak administration, Maori aggression became a real menace. To cope with the situation, the Colonial Office appointed Captain George Grey as Governor. Being well equipped with troops and funds, as well as being a man of vigour and perception, Grey soon restored order and won the confidence of both the settlers and the Maoris. During Grey's term two further organised settlements were made. In co-operation with the New Zealand Company the Free Church of Scotland sponsored the Dunedin Settlement of 1848, and the Church of England the Canterbury Settlement of 1850. These settlements, owing to their more favoured situations, their satisfactory land-purchase agreements, and their freedom from trouble with the Maoris, achieved a greater measure of success in carrying out the company's avowed aims.

After Grey's departure the question of relationship with the Maoris again came to the fore through the land-purchasing activities of the settlers—a situation aggravated by subsequent lack of consideration for the Maori system of land tenure. Following an incident at Waitara in the Taranaki district, where a dispute arose concerning land titles, war broke out in 1860 and lasted spasmodically till 1870. The recall of Grey did not solve the problem, as Grey, an autocrat, could not work with the elected Ministers, nor did his presence prevent the confiscation of land belonging to the Maoris, whether friendly or hostile. It was under the sympathetic administration of Sir Donald McLean as Minister for Maori Affairs that the dispute finally died down.

These hostilities were confined to the North Island; and, in the meantime, in 1861, large alluvial deposits of gold had been discovered in the South Island—leading to a tremendous influx of population and an alteration of the economic structure of the country.

No organised form of European colonisation has at any time taken place in the Cook Islands, Niue Island, or the Tokelau Islands.

SUBSEQUENT HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT (1870 ONWARDS)—The discovery of gold, by increasing the wealth of the South Island, allowed it to obtain a lead in commercial and political development which it long maintained. Moreover, with the subsequent agrarian expansion, especially in the development of the large pastoral holdings, the country ceased to be merely self-sufficient agriculturally, but began to develop a substantial export trade, mainly in wool, which it has maintained to the present day.

These factors, together with freedom from strife with the Maori population, led after 1870 to a quickening in political activities. Under the leadership of Sir Julius Vogel a policy of extensive borrowing for railway and road construction was begun. The provincial system, which really commenced in 1853, had largely outlived its usefulness; in fact, the parochialism of the provincial assemblies had frequently proved obstructive, and in consequence the system was abolished in 1875, local administration being provided for by the Counties Act and the Municipal Corporations Act of 1876.

Of great social significance was the passing in 1877 of the Education Act, making education free, compulsory, and secular, while the laying during that decade of the first cable between Australia and New Zealand was a major advance in communications. At this time party politics began to enter into the parliamentary system, and the slump conditions which prevailed in the eighties (due to a fall in the world price level) intensified the political atmosphere. By the abolition of plural voting in 1889, and the introduction of female suffrage in 1893, the way was opened for a practical expression of political convictions by all adult members of the community.

In 1891 Ballance, as Leader of the Liberal Party, became Premier, to be followed on his death in 1893 by Seddon, and during the next decade the legislative essays of this party evoked world-wide interest. The main aim of the legislation was social justice, and its principal manifestations were in land division, the establishment of the Court of Arbitration, and the introduction of old-age pensions. The policy of land division aimed at closer land settlement, and it was achieved by the compulsory subdivision of large estates, with subsequent loans to small independent farmers wishing to establish themselves. In inaugurating the Court of Arbitration the object was to eliminate strikes by giving labour a recognised bargaining status; and the enactment was in accord with the enlightened code of labour legislation passed at that time.

With the commencement of the refrigerated trade in 1882, the policy of closer settlement progressed rapidly, since the production of frozen meat and dairy produce for export encouraged more intensive farming. There thus arose a new farming class which in 1911, some five years after Seddon's death, was mainly responsible for the overthrow of the Liberal regime.

The policy of the succeeding Reform Party under Massey was one favouring agricultural production. Farming interests were given constant encouragement by a series of enactments of which the extension of rural credit was typical. Three years after the advent of the Reform Party the First World War, 1914-18, broke out, leading to the formation of a Coalition Government and an Imperial commandeer of exports. War activities were marked by heavy casualty lists, in proportion to the population, and by enhanced cordiality in Imperial relations. One noteworthy outcome of the war commandeer was the precedent given for the establishment, after the war, of control boards to regulate the export of pastoral products.

Though the effects of the post-war depression during the period 1921-24 showed themselves in an increase in unemployment and slight wage reduction, no drastic legislation was necessary to stabilise economic conditions. During the following years the price level rose; and from the administrative side, the period was characterised by extensive public works expenditure, with particular attention to hydro-electric schemes and highways.

Owing to the encouragement given to farming, pastoral production constantly expanded, so that New Zealand became one of the world's greatest exporters of pastoral produce. As a consequence, her national income was extremely sensitive to price fluctuations of these products; so that, with the advent of the depression in 1930, her economic position became extremely vulnerable. In order to produce balanced budgets, both public and private, various legislative remedies were attempted. In particular, enactments were provided for unemployment relief, for the suspension, in effect, of compulsory arbitration, for the establishment of a Reserve Bank, for a mortgage moratorium, for raising the exchange rate, and for reduction in interest rates and wages. With the recovery in price levels and consequent general economic revival, amendments were made to several of these Acts, removing the more stringent measures. The election of a Labour Government in 1935 led to a change in administrative policy, the preoccupation being mainly with social problems. Further amendments were made to the depression legislation, certain restrictive measures were removed, and other temporary adjustments made permanent.

The general climate of opinion and gradual maturity of outlook furnish the background in which certain distinctive trends appear in legislation passed since 1936.

The first major influence was a humanitarian attitude reinforced by a progressive economic policy. Evidence of this is implicit in the provision for a basic wage, and later for a minimum wage, employment-promotion legislation, amendments to workers' compensation, industrial conciliation and arbitration, mining, etc., legislation, the system of basic prices for certain primary produce, the creation of farm industry reserves, and the rationalisation of production and marketing by the establishment of boards for certain items of primary produce.

The second major influence on legislation was conditioned by the outbreak of the Second World War, 1939-45. A vast body of legislation was placed on the statute book during the war period dealing with the control of manpower and materials, stabilisation of prices, wages, and rents, conditions of employment and suspension of certain peacetime features of industrial activity, discouragement of some industries and diversion to or encouragement of other industries, provision for rehabilitation, etc.

A third dominant trend was the acceptance of the principle that society should take active steps towards the improvement of the working, living, and social circumstances of its members. Foremost in this category was the Social Security Act and its later extensions providing for monetary benefits such as age, superannuation, family allowances, sickness, and unemployment, and by the provision of a system of medical, pharmaceutical, hospital, maternity, and other related benefits.

Other legislative enactments under this heading include the provision for paid annual holidays, reduction of working hours, extension of workers' compensation insurance, improvement in safety and health and welfare conditions in industry, and extension of educational facilities and opportunities.

A fourth approach to law making resulting from maturity of outlook has been the increased participation by New Zealand in international affairs consequent on its acceptance of responsibility in the wider issues of the present era. Legislation authorising participation in United Nations activities generally and in particular emergencies, such as military service in Korea, Malaya, and elsewhere; the extension of New Zealand representation in overseas countries and with the United Nations; the greater frequency of Commonwealth consultation; extension of aid to less developed countries, e.g., participation in the Colombo Plan, all bear witness to this change in outlook.

Another influence on legislation presents some parallels to that last mentioned, but is more concerned with the domestic sphere. It is exemplified in the increasing interest taken in welfare and social development generally of both the rapidly growing Maori population and the inhabitants of New Zealand territory in the islands of the Pacific.

Contemporaneously with the expansion of the field of legislative interest, the economic and industrial development of the country has proceeded with marked impetus in recent years. Expansion and diversification of manufacturing and servicing industries have provided avenues of employment for the growing labour force. At the same time the basic industries of the country, those concerned with primary production, have increased output, assisted by the rapid application of technological improvements and research findings.

The history of New Zealand's overseas territories has been largely one of wise paternal oversight, particularly in the earlier periods, by the New Zealand Government and by the various missions established in the islands. More recently, successive Governments have in various ways encouraged the inhabitants to take an increasing share in the administration of their communities, thus paving the way for some form of self-government. Much attention has been paid to combating tropical diseases and to health problems generally; such island industries as citrus fruit and banana growing have been fostered and encouraged in various ways, with outlets being found for produce available for export. Financial and other assistance has been provided from New Zealand Government sources for the expansion of educational facilities and opportunities, public works such as roading, conservation of water supplies by reservoir construction, communication facilities, etc.

For detailed information, reference should be made to the many excellent books dealing with the subject of New Zealand history, of which the more recent ones are listed in the Select Bibliography in this Yearbook. A useful reference is the Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, published in 1966.

SOVEREIGNTY—Following representations from Maori chiefs for protection from the prevailing turmoil and lawlessness caused by tribal warfare and the rough element around the whaling stations, the New South Wales Government appointed, in 1832, Mr James Busby as British Resident at Russell. Owing to the failure to supply him with any means of exerting authority, his appointment was largely ineffective. Finally the disorder, and the friction between the two races, became so intolerable that even the missionaries, who were opposed to annexation, made representations for British sovereignty.

On 29 January 1840, Captain William Hobson, RN, arrived at the Bay of Islands, empowered, with the consent of the Maoris, to proclaim the sovereignty of Queen Victoria over the Islands of New Zealand, and to assume the government thereof. Hobson formally read his commissions at Kororareka on 30 January 1840, and on 6 February of the same year a compact called the Treaty of Waitangi was entered into, whereby all rights and powers of sovereignty were ceded to the Queen, all territorial rights being secured to the chiefs and their tribes.

On 21 May 1840 Governor Hobson proclaimed British sovereignty in the case of the North Island by virtue of the Treaty of Waitangi, and in the case of the South Island and Stewart Island by right of discovery. New Zealand remained a dependency of New South Wales until 3 May 1841, when it was created a separate colony by Royal Charter dated 16 November 1840. The capital was at first transferred from Russell to Auckland, but in 1865 it was again transferred, on this occasion to Wellington, where the seat of Government has since remained.

During Governor Grey's term, steps were taken to draft a constitution for the colony. An Act granting representative institutions was passed by the Imperial Parliament on 30 June 1852, and was published in New Zealand by Proclamation on 17 January 1853. Under it provision was made for the constitution of a General Assembly consisting of a Legislative Council and a House of Representatives. Provision was also made for the division of the country into provinces, each province having an elected Council and Superintendent. (The provincial system was abolished in 1875 and the Legislative Council in 1950.) In the first General Assembly of 27 August 1854 certain members of this body were associated with the permanent members of the executive but they did not hold any portfolios. It was not until 7 May 1856 that responsible government was actually established.

With the gradual development of the country's economy, the acquisition of political and administrative experience, and the increasing desire for self-reliance in political matters, the degree of self-government became more complete. In recognition of this and of a nascent sense of nationality, New Zealand was given the title of Dominion in lieu of Colony, the new title taking effect on 26 September 1907.

Of the constitutional events in recent years the passing by the United Kingdom Parliament of the Statute of Westminster in December 1931 was of major importance. The draft of this statute was submitted for the confirmation of the various Commonwealth Legislatures before its passage through the United Kingdom Parliament. The statute granted complete autonomy to the various self-governing members countries, but it did not automatically apply to Australia or New Zealand. In other words, its operation in the latter self-governing members of the Commonwealth was declared to require specific adoption by the Legislatures of those countries. It was not until 1947 that the New Zealand Government formally adopted the Statute of Westminster.

As far as the island territories are concerned, the Cook Islands were proclaimed a British protectorate in 1888, and in 1901 were annexed and proclaimed part of New Zealand under the Colonial Boundaries Act 1895. Niue Island is part of the Cook Islands, though separately administered, and became part of New Zealand in 1901 with the extension of boundaries to include the Cook Islands. The Tokelau Islands were placed under the protection of Great Britain in 1877, formally annexed at the inhabitants' request in 1916, and from 1925 were administered by New Zealand at the request of the United Kingdom Government. From 1949 they became part of New Zealand by virtue of the Tokelau Islands Act 1948. Under the Cook Islands Constitution Act 1964, the Cook Islands achieved complete internal self-government on 4 August 1965, but New Zealand remains responsible for external affairs and defence.

NEW ZEALAND'S INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES—Though in the nineteenth century Sir Julius Vogel and the Right Hon. R. J. Seddon had original views about the policy which Britain and New Zealand should pursue in the Pacific area—views which they announced with vigour—New Zealand did not acquire the right to conduct an independent foreign policy until the end of the First World War when the full nationhood of the "Dominions'' was recognised. For some years after this, however, successive New Zealand Governments chose not to exercise this right and (pursuing a passive role in the League of Nations and refraining from establishing diplomatic relations with foreign Governments, or with other members of the Commonwealth apart from Britain) preferred to make known any views on matters of foreign affairs only to the British Government and through the confidential channels of intra-Commonwealth consultation.

Few pressures existed in the 1920s and early 1930s to impel New Zealand towards enunciating an independent foreign policy. The population was mainly British in composition and comparatively few were concerned to distinguish between New Zealand's interests and those of Britain. Nor had they much cause to do so: New Zealand had established a fruitful economic partnership with Britain, upon which country nearly all her material and cultural links were centred; and New Zealand's surest protector against dangers which it was incapable of meeting alone was the Royal Navy. It was, moreover, realised that New Zealand in her own right could make little impact on world affairs, whereas Britain was a great power capable of affecting the pattern of world events. New Zealand "foreign policy'' therefore consisted chiefly in seeking to modify British policy in those few cases where New Zealand had a strong interest or a viewpoint rather different from that of Britain. A standing opportunity was provided by the system of confidential intro-Commonwealth consultation whereby Britain provided full information to the Dominions and sought their comments upon issues of international policy as they arose. In this way New Zealand tended to prefer a share of great power status to "independence'' of foreign policy; this sufficed until the middle of the 1930s.

In practice, during the first 16 years after the First World War the New Zealand Government on only a few occasions thought it necessary to make significant efforts to bring about a modification of British policy. This situation resulted chiefly from the factors earlier outlined which made for an identity of interest and viewpoint between Britain and New Zealand. In part also it arose because few problems directly affecting New Zealand remained to be settled; in part it was because of a considered reluctance to give advice when the main consequences of accepting that advice fell upon Britain, not New Zealand; in part it was because New Zealand Governments tended to approach problems pragmatically rather than on grounds of principle, and were conscious of having no expert New Zealand Department organised to collect and appraise the facts on equal terms with the British Foreign Office; in part it was because New Zealand Governments, supplied by the Foreign Office with very much the same information as that on which the United Kingdom Cabinet based its judgments, viewed problems from a similar standpoint to that of the British Government. In short, most New Zealanders thought of external affairs in terms of Imperial unity and relied on British leadership of the Empire.

The emergence of an independent New Zealand foreign policy is usually held to date from 1935. Some Ministers in the new Government were deeply interested in world affairs in general, and the Government's approach was influenced by theory and principle. In particular, they held strong views on the principle of collective security and upon the League of Nations as the embodiment of that principle. In its method of championing the principles of collective security, pressing for the restoration of the authority of the League of Nations and, at a time when the United Kingdom Government was pursuing the policy which came to be known as appeasement, urging positive League action over Abyssinia, Spain, and China, the Government came to depart from the pattern of the previous 16 years: for, in addition to making its views known in confidential communications to the United Kingdom Government, it also stated them with vigour in the international forum of the Council and the Assembly of the League of Nations.

There was, however, no fundamental departure from the traditional policy of association with Britain. Moreover, the course that would be followed in the event of war was never in doubt. As early as 16 May 1938 a leading member of the Government had said, "If the Old Country is attacked, we are too . . . we will assist her to the fullest extent possible.'' When war broke out the Prime Minister, the Right Hon. M. J. Savage, expressed New Zealand's position in terms that were as true in 1939 as they would have been in 1914:

"Behind the sure shield of Britain we have enjoyed and cherished freedom and self-government. Both with gratitude for the past, and with confidence in the future, we range ourselves without fear behind Britain. Where she goes, we go. Where she stands, we stand. We are only a small and young nation, but we are one and all a band of brothers, and we march forward with a union of hearts and wills to a common destiny''.

But the Second World War changed the pattern of power in the world and made it necessary for New Zealand gradually to revise its foreign policy and its method of implementing that policy. Even though the basic attachment of New Zealanders to Britain was little affected, the fact became manifest that Britain was no longer a power able to determine events on a world scale and that, since New Zealand interests could no longer be protected by British actions alone, it did not suffice to confine New Zealand foreign policy to occasional attempts to persuade the British Government to take note of New Zealand views. Japanese aggression and, later, the rise of Communist China forced New Zealand to face the reality of its geographical location in the Pacific and to develop an additional relationship with the only other friendly power capable of protecting New Zealand—the United States of America—with the least possible prejudice to its association with the United Kingdom. To contribute to Anglo-American harmony is therefore a major preoccupation of New Zealand foreign policy.

To be woven into any post-war policy was the now traditional New Zealand belief in the principle of collective security and international justice, especially as symbolised by, though not yet embodied in, the United Nations. This was by no means an easy task in a world where the divisions of the cold war were reflected in competing regional alliances. There had to be a place, too, for belief in the ability of international co-operation to control armaments and to eliminate poverty, disease, and other economic and social causes of international tension.

During the war years New Zealand was admitted to the councils of the Allies and was expected to advance informed views. The Government honoured its responsibility and, having established in wartime the habit of participating in the making of international decisions, accepted it as natural that New Zealand should continue to participate in the development of a post-war world order and in subsequent international consultations. To this end New Zealand established (in effect from 1943) a professional Department of External Affairs and a career foreign service, and proceeded slowly to establish diplomatic missions in countries where New Zealand's interests merited protection. In particular, New Zealand sought increasingly to make its individual contribution to fostering good relationships with its neighbours in the Pacific and to increasing the measure of security and welfare in this area.

The threat to New Zealand's security, posed by the entry of Japan into the war at a time when the United Kingdom was fully committed in Europe, brought New Zealand into the closest relations with two of her Pacific neighbours, Australia and the United States. Recognition of the need for a greater measure of collaboration with Australia resulted in the signing in 1944 of the Canberra Pact which provided machinery for continuing consultation between the two Governments. Upon the entry of Japan into the war both New Zealand and Australia looked principally to the United States for protection. Relations among the three countries thus entered a new phase. The close association of wartime found expression in peacetime in the Anzus Treaty, in which, for the first time, New Zealand and Australia entered into a treaty of alliance and mutual defence with a foreign country. While neither Australia nor New Zealand was in favour of a vindictive or onerously restrictive peace settlement with Japan, they both made clear during the negotiation of the Japanese Peace Treaty their apprehension at the possibility of future aggression in the Pacific. The Anzus Treaty, which came into force in April 1952, was designed to allay these fears at the same time as it achieved the aim of both countries to enter into a close relationship with the major Pacific power. The treaty gives an assurance of United States support in the event of an armed attack from any quarter in the Pacific and so constitutes New Zealand's major safeguard from aggression in the area.

Since the signature of the Anzus Treaty, New Zealand has become a member of another regional defence system, the South-East Asia Treaty Organisation, SEATO. In joining SEATO, a body made necessary by the failure of the Great Powers to co-operate in carrying out the security functions entrusted to them by the United Nations Charter, New Zealand demonstrated further its new awareness of the international and strategic implications of its position in the South Pacific. In 1955, the Minister of External Affairs, the Hon. T. L. Macdonald, discussing New Zealand's foreign policy, said that the only possible threat to New Zealand's security could come from Asia, and in particular from the spread of Communist power in South-East Asia. "New Zealand's foreign policy grows,'' he said, "from the need to reconcile geography and history, economic fact and strategic fact. In practical terms at present this means that, without weakening the many links which bind us to Britain and the whole Atlantic community, we must increase our concern with South-East Asia.''

This regional approach implied no weakening of the belief in the pre-eminent value of collective security organised on a world basis. New Zealand continued to place special importance upon its membership of the United Nations. It has been an active participant in the work of the General Assembly, has been a member of all Councils of the Organisation, has provided troops to the United Nations Force in Korea and military observers in Palestine, Kashmir, and Lebanon, and has endeavoured to assist all efforts to attain the political and social objectives outlined in the Charter.

At the time of the formation of SEATO, New Zealand's interest in South-East Asia had already been expressed in social and economic terms. In 1950, New Zealand, along with a group of other Commonwealth countries, became a member of the Colombo Plan established to assist the countries of South-East Asia to improve their standards of living. To New Zealand, a pioneer in the field of social legislation and a country where wealth is spread throughout all levels of the population, the Colombo Plan has a special significance and contributions, large by New Zealand standards (if small when measured against the potential need), have been made to it. New Zealand's recent accession to regional membership of ECAFE, the Asian Development Bank, and ASPAC (the Council for Asian and Pacific Co-operation) is further demonstration of this country's acceptance that it has a role to play in the Pacific area. Despite this new concentration, however, New Zealand continued and developed its efforts (as will be seen later) to promote action on a world scale to deal with social and economic problems.

New Zealand's geographical position and that of its island territories, the Cook, Niue, and Tokelau Islands, also gives this country a direct interest in political, social, and economic developments in the South Pacific. This is reflected not only in New Zealand's membership of such regional organisations as the South Pacific Commission, but also in a wide and growing range of contacts with island people and an increased sense of involvement in their problems. The evolution of self-government and nationalism in the South Pacific reached a new stage when Western Samoa became the first independent Polynesian state on 1 January 1962. This was followed three years later by the Cook Islands' achievement of internal self-government. New Zealand's own colonial past and her liberal tradition of friendship for emergent peoples, together with the large number of Polynesian people who have settled in this country, mean that the islanders tend to look to New Zealand for leadership and encouragement. In particular, Western Samoa, Tonga, and Fiji already look to New Zealand as an important export market and as a source of administrative and technical assistance. Inevitably, New Zealand is going to be increasingly affected by what happens in the South Pacific region.

If, since the war, the facts of geography have had an important influence on New Zealand's attitudes towards foreign affairs, history and tradition continue nevertheless to mould its outlook. The historic links with the United Kingdom and with Western Europe and North America remain as strong as ever; and the economic links with the United Kingdom, New Zealand's best customer, remain strong. No situation is, however, constant. One of the key problems of external political and economic policy now presented to New Zealand arises out of the movement towards political and economic integration in Europe and the continuing possibility of Britain's membership of the European Economic Community. New Zealand must expand the volume and value of its exports of primary products if the standard of living of its rapidly increasing population is to be maintained and improved. In recent years it has become increasingly apparent, however, that the United Kingdom market is capable of only a limited expansion. The development of new markets in Asia and other less developed countries is hindered by low income levels as well as by consumption patterns in which the type of foodstuff exported by New Zealand does not figure prominently. New Zealand's foreign policy is likely to continue the endeavour to reconcile geography and history, economic fact and strategic fact.

Department of External Affairs—The External Affairs Act 1943 made provisions for the appointment of a Minister of External Affairs charged generally with the administration of external and foreign affairs, including relations with other countries, communications with other Governments, representation abroad, and representation of other countries in New Zealand. The Act also authorised the appointment of a Secretary of External Affairs and (superseding the High Commissioner Act of 1908) dealt with the appointment of High Commissioners and of overseas representatives.

The functions of the Department were defined at its inception as follows:

The Act thus established the Ministry of External Affairs as the normal channel of communication with the Governments of other countries. As, however, the new Department was in fact still a part of the Prime Minister's Department, no change in procedure, apart from the use of the changed nomenclature, was necessary.

Dealings with overseas Governments usually involve considerable interdepartmental coordination. Since the Prime Minister's Department has always been regarded primarily as a department of co-ordination, an intimate relationship has existed between the two Departments. The Prime Minister has for three periods found it appropriate to assume the portfolio of External Affairs and the Departments have in any case been run as a unit. The staff is held in common and, though some officers are engaged on work peculiar to one Department, the work of the majority involves both Departments. The Secretary of External Affairs is also Permanent Head of the Prime Minister's Department. For the first 23 years of the existence of the Department of External Affairs, until October 1966, the same person, Mr A. D. McIntosh, held the two posts. In defence matters the two Departments have been closely associated. During the war, the Permanent Head was also Secretary of the War Cabinet. In that period the responsibility of the Prime Minister's Department for defence co-ordination was extended and developed; in discharging this responsibility the Permanent Head was assisted by the Defence Secretariat of the Prime Minister's Department. The functions of the Secretariat have been taken over by the unified Ministry of Defence which was established by Act of Parliament in November 1964. A close relationship is still maintained between the Ministry of Defence and the Defence Division of the Department of External Affairs, and the head of that Division is chairman of the body which co-ordinates military and civilian intelligence.

In the formulation and application of external affairs policy, close association with other Government Departments is necessary. Participation in the Colombo Plan entails close liaison with the Treasury and with the many Departments which supply experts and training facilities, consular questions with the Department of Labour, and legal questions with the Department of Justice. Moreover, the Department is a clearing house for a wide variety of material provided by overseas posts for other Departments. As well as fulfilling its major function of acting as a channel of communication with other Governments, the Department thus acts as a co-ordinating centre for other Government Departments. The Department and its network of posts overseas also perform numerous services on behalf of Departments which are without overseas representatives of their own.

In the Official Section at the end of the Yearbook the diplomatic and other New Zealand representation overseas is listed.

New Zealand in the Commonwealth—Despite the emphasis in New Zealand's approach to international affairs resulting from the realities of its geographical position, membership of the Commonwealth remains a significant feature of its policy. Intimate association with the United Kingdom is the historical basis, and remains an important principle of New Zealand's external relations. The ties between New Zealand and the United Kingdom are embodied in the close association of the Commonwealth, membership of which has helped to give New Zealand an international status that such a small and isolated community could not otherwise claim.

Although one of the oldest members, New Zealand, unlike some of its fellow members, did not seek to hasten the process of constitutional transition within the Commonwealth. At the Imperial Conference in 1930 the Prime Minister, the Right Hon. G. W. Forbes, stated that "We have felt that all times within recent years we have had ample scope for our national aspirations and ample freedom to carry out in their entirety such measures as have seemed to us to be desirable''. There was little interest in the adoption of the relevant provisions of the Statute of Westminster enacted in 1931 to give legal endorsement to the transformation that had taken place in the relationship between Britain and the Dominions. It was not, in fact, until 1947 that the necessary formalities were completed in New Zealand by the passing of the Statute of the Westminster Adoption Act.

Since that time there have been many changes in the Commonwealth association both in constitutional respects and in numbers of members. Whereas at the beginning of the Second World War there were only five members, (of whom one, South Africa, withdrew from the association in 1961), at the end of 1966 there were 26. Besides the older Commonwealth countries of Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, membership now includes India, Pakistan, Ceylon, Malaysia, Ghana, Nigeria, Cyprus, Sierra Leone, Tanzania (formerly Tanganyika and Zanzibar), Jamaica, Kenya, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, and five new members, Malawi, Zambia, Malta, Gambia, and Singapore. The Commonwealth has become an entity embracing several continents and its relationships have taken on a new scope and emphasis. New Zealand, itself a country where two races live side by side, sees in the Commonwealth a special opportunity for multiracial co-operation and understanding.

New Zealand has as yet exchanged representatives with only the following members of the Commonwealth: Australia, Canada, India, Ceylon^*, Malaysia, Singapore, and Britain.

^*The New Zealand High Commissioner in India is also appointed High Commissioner in Ceylon.

The importance New Zealand attaches to the Commonwealth association has been given practical expression in its membership of a number of Commonwealth organisations, including the Commonwealth Air Transport Council, the Commonwealth Telecommunications Board, the Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau, the Imperial War Graves Commission, the Commonwealth Institute, the Commonwealth Economic Consultative Council, the Commonwealth Scientific Committee, and the Commonwealth Education Liaison Committee. New Zealand also contributes to the budgets of the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Commonwealth Foundation, which were both established at the Commonwealth Prime Ministers' meeting in 1965.

New Zealand and the South Pacific—It is not without significance that the first area of the world towards which New Zealanders developed a distinct and characteristic attitude should have been the South Pacific. This is New Zealand's immediate environment, its Polynesian peoples close kin to the New Zealand Maori, its islands nearest and most important in the lines of communication which link New Zealand with America and Europe. New Zealand is, moreover, the largest community in the area and cannot escape either a concern or a responsibility for what goes on there.

Within a decade of New Zealand's establishment as a British colony Bishop Selwyn had made it the base for Anglican missions in the South Pacific and Sir George Grey as Governor had begun to advocate a policy of expansion in the area. The increasing involvement of other powers and a desire to develop trade led Sir Julius Vogel in the 1870s to take up idea and to put forward various schemes for political and commercial expansion, which, however, found no favour in London. In the 1880s New Zealand joined the Australian colonies in an effort to preserve "Oceania for the Anglo-Saxons'', and soon after the movement reached its peak in the robust opposition of Richard John Seddon to the bargaining away of Samoa in 1899.

The meagre fruit of half a century's agitation was the annexation in 1901 of the Cook Islands and their inclusion within the boundaries of New Zealand. Thereafter New Zealand's interest in the South Pacific declined as its trade and its thoughts came to centre more and more on Great Britain. But though declining, the tradition was still strong enough to provide support for the Imperial Federation movement in the first decade of the twentieth century and, more practically, to inspire New Zealand on the outbreak of war in 1914 to occupy Germany's colony of Western Samoa.

At the end of the war Western Samoa, like other former German possessions, was retained by the occupying power under a League of Nations Mandate. New Zealand embarked on its new responsibility with greater enthusiasm than it had shown in the Cook Islands and much effort was devoted to solving the problems of the territory. The rate of change thus created, however, proved too rapid for the tradition-loving Samoans. In the late 1920s a series of unfortunate incidents occurred and, for some time afterwards, the pace slackened. The opening up in the late 1930s of air routes across the Pacific led New Zealand, along with other countries, to take an increased interest in some of the more remote islands in the area, but it was the outbreak of the Second World War which forcibly reminded the country of its situation.

Overnight half-forgotten islands became strategic points for the defence of New Zealand and its allies, and New Zealanders again became aware of the need to prevent them from falling into unfriendly hands. Accordingly, New Zealand joined with Australia in seeking ways to guarantee the future security of the area, and there emerged first the Canberra Pact of 1944 and later the 1947 Agreement to establish the South Pacific Commission.

Through the Commission the Governments administering territories in the South Pacific—Britain, the United States, France, Australia, New Zealand, and (until 1962) the Netherlands—have made a concerted effort to promote the economic and social development of the area and its peoples. In the 17 years of its existence the Commission has, within its budgetary limits (it currently spends about $700,000 annually), done much valuable work, particularly in bringing the islanders together and developing a sense of community amongst them. Originally laying much stress on research, the Commission has come to concentrate mainly on providing technical assistance and on pooling experience of handling common problems of development. It maintains close working links with the United Nations Specialised Agencies which are taking an increasing interest in the region.

But New Zealand has not been content with promoting progress in the economic and social spheres only. At the San Francisco Conference in 1945 it took a leading part in working out the trusteeship system embodied in the United Nations Charter, and subsequently the League of Nations Mandate for Western Samoa was replaced by a trusteeship agreement.

In accordance with the wishes of the Samoan people, a programme of political and constitutional development was launched which continued throughout the 1950s and which culminated in the establishment of the independent State of Western Samoa on 1 January 1962. The transfer of sovereignty did not, however, weaken the close and friendly relationship which had grown up between Western Samoa and New Zealand and this was confirmed in a Treaty of Friendship between the two countries signed in August 1962. In the educational as well as in other fields New Zealand assists Western Samoa.

Whilst Western Samoa was moving towards independence, constitutional development was taking place in New Zealand's other island territories. Following expert surveys a programme of economic and social development for the Cook Islands was formulated in 1955 and legislative assemblies for the Cook Islands and for Niue were set up in 1957. In 1952 the New Zealand Government gave these bodies full responsibility for allocating the large subsidies granted by New Zealand. In the same year possible alternatives concerning constitutional development were submitted to the Legislative Assembly. The Assembly unanimously chose full internal self-government together with a continued association with New Zealand. In 1963 a "Shadow'' Cabinet was set up and a Leader of Government Business elected. The following year the New Zealand House of Representatives passed the Cook Islands Constitution Act, with provision for the Act itself to come into force after a General Election in the Cook Islands. This election was held on 20 April 1965 and after the New Zealand Parliament had at the request of the Cook Islands Government made certain amendments to the Constitution Act, the new Constitution was brought into force on 4 August 1965 and the Cook Islands became a self-governing nation in free association with New Zealand. The new Legislative Assembly, assured of New Zealand's financial assistance, is fully responsible for the internal affairs of the Cook Islands.

The independence of Western Samoa, self-government in the Cook Islands, and the progress of the remaining New Zealand territories are indicative of broader changes in the South Pacific. Economic, social, and educational development has made the peoples of the area more self-conscious and desirous of managing their own affairs. At the same time developments in New Guinea have attracted international attention, and the intensification of interest in colonial questions in the United Nations is likely to bring the South Pacific into yet greater prominence. In the light of these changes New Zealand has taken the lead in proposing that both the organisation and functions of the South Pacific Commission be revised to bring its work more into line with needs and aspirations of the peoples of the area. At the same time the membership of the Commission itself is changing. In 1964 the original South Pacific Agreement was amended to allow the inclusion of independent countries which formerly lay within the Commission's territorial scope. In accordance with this, Western Samoa took its seat at the Twenty-Sixth Session of the Commission in October 1964.

New Zealand in the United Nations—It has been noted earlier that the first significant expression of an independent New Zealand foreign policy occurred in the League of Nations and was directed to supporting the principle of collective security. Support for this principle later and through the United Nations has remained a cornerstone of New Zealand's foreign policy.

The purposes which motivated the policy in 1935 were strongly held beliefs, rather than principles developed from any careful assessments by a national foreign service. The beliefs were nevertheless a reflection of widely held concern over world events, a concern which the succeeding years were to reinforce. It was, therefore, perhaps understandable that at San Francisco in 1945 New Zealand should argue so forcibly, if unsuccessfully, to eliminate the veto and to strengthen the collective security provisions of the United Nations Charter.

Despite its physical isolation New Zealand has felt unable to regard with unconcern the fate of other small countries helpless to defend themselves against a powerful aggressor and thus liable to be picked off one by one.

The United Nations does not, it is true, offer a complete guarantee of New Zealand's or any other small country's security against aggression. Nor has it yet achieved agreement on disarmament; but New Zealand Governments have acted upon the conviction that the United Nations, and it alone, contains the rudiments of a universal collective security system, and that it is through the United Nations, and not through its abandonment in favour of some alternative, that an effective and comprehensive collective security system may eventually be developed and agreement on disarmament achieved.

New Zealand has recognised that this objective must be a long-term one, and that the United Nations in its present form must be buttressed by regional defensive alliances. It has not taken the view that all multilateral diplomacy must be conducted within the United Nations. In general, however, New Zealand has regarded the United Nations as the natural centre of international diplomacy unless there were, in special cases, goods reasons to work outside it.

Within the United Nations the expression of this policy has taken several forms. New Zealand has sought to remove the causes which might produce the need for recourse to collective security action. Its representatives have urged that the Assembly be used as a place for harmonising relations between nations: they have voiced the need for restraint in the pursuit of national objectives; they have consistently sought and supported responsible action in aid of an effective international organisation; they have reiterated the need for the early adoption of a broad programme of supervised disarmament.

New Zealand has at the same time advocated adequate and timely preparations in case aggression should occur and has supported the fullest possible development of the United Nations' capacity for peacekeeping. When occasion has arisen New Zealand has been prepared to play its part: troops were supplied to the United Nations Force in Korea and military observers to the United Nations Observer Groups in Palestine, Kashmir, and Lebanon; a civilian police unit has served in Cyprus; and the Government has indicated to the Secretary-General its intention in principle to designate a stand-by unit which would be available for properly instituted peacekeeping operations of the Organisation in the future.

To maintain the peace is the primary purpose of the United Nations, and for New Zealand the search for effective guarantees of international peace and security continues to be the first object of membership. New Zealand was elected to the Security Council, which is charged with the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, for the years 1954 and 1955, and for a second term in 1966. This primary purpose is not, however, the only object of the United Nations, nor is a system of collective security (or disarmament) the only means of giving effect to it.

The state of economic, social, and general political relations goes far to determine the urgency of the need for a collective security system. For New Zealand, geographically isolated and with limited direct diplomatic relations, the United Nations is inevitably one of the most important forums available, not only to influence the course of international events, but also to secure the friendship and understanding of the world community. For any country, its international reputation is a valuable asset. If New Zealand is better known and commands more influence in international affairs than some other small States similarly situated, this is in some measure, at least, due to New Zealand's record of active participation in the United Nations.

Economic and Social Council—New Zealand's interest in economic and social questions—as well as the recognition by other countries that New Zealand has special experience to offer—is illustrated by its membership of the Economic and Social Council (an elective body of the United Nations with an initial membership of 18, recently expanded to 27) from 1947 to 1949 and its re-election in 1958 for a further term for the period 1959 to 1961. New Zealand in 1963 became a full regional member of the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE), a body of which it had previously been a non-regional member. New Zealand has also served terms of office from time to time on the Technical Assistance Committee and on the Statistical, Social, and Fiscal Commissions and the Commission on the Status of Women. It is currently serving on the Commission on Human Rights for the period 1966-69.

In undertaking these responsibilities New Zealand may to some extent be regarded as "taking its turn''. In few cases, however, are the considerations in favour of representation so simple. New Zealand certainly shares with others an interest in ensuring that economic and social conditions are such as to permit ordered political progress. It is concerned to ensure that, where political principles are in issue, the beliefs which New Zealanders hold as essential should be recognised and, if possible, accepted by the world community. Sometimes there are strong reasons of self-interest; it is important that New Zealand's interests and its special problems be taken into account in the work of these bodies. Moreover, some organs which were first designed to meet the emergency of post-war conditions, such as UNICEF, have developed programmes, e.g., the supply of milk powder and fish-liver oil, which are of economic interest to New Zealand.

The biggest single task now facing the Economic and Social Council is to promote and direct programmes for economic development in underdeveloped countries. New Zealand has always recognised the need for economic development and made its contributions to the appropriate funds, e.g., the Expanded Programme for Technical Assistance and the Special Fund, now merged to form the United Nations Development Programme. It has been concerned to ensure that international programmes in this field should be effective and realistic.

At present New Zealand representatives in the United Nations are called upon to deal with questions of economic development in several different fields. One is in the Economic Committee of the General Assembly, where the economic work of the Organisation is subject to general review; another arises out of New Zealand's membership of ECAFE. In this setting, the detailed study of development programmes is closely related to the work of the Colombo Plan, and provides a significant counterpart to New Zealand's growing political interest in Asia.

Conference on Trade and Development—As a result of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development held in Geneva in 1964, the General Assembly has agreed to hold a triennial Conference on Trade and Development open to all United Nations members and other States, members of the Specialised Agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency. It has also established a Trade and Development Board, of which New Zealand is a member in the current period, and functional committees on commodities, manufactures, financing of trade and shipping. New Zealand has seats on the Committees on Commodities and on Shipping.

Specialised Agencies—It is the responsibility of the Economic and Social Council under the Charter to co-ordinate the activities of the Specialised Agencies through consultations and recommendations. New Zealand is a member of all the Agencies except the International Development Association. As a contributor to their budgets, it is concerned to ensure that activities are not duplicated and that the Secretariats of the United Nations and of the Agencies work closely together on matters of common interest. New Zealand has also been concerned to ensure that on political and administrative matters the policies of the Agencies are adjusted to those of the United Nations. As in the case of the different organs and subsidiary bodies of the United Nations, so with the Specialised Agencies, New Zealand's reasons for membership have ranged from motives of self-interest to its conviction of the value of international co-operation. In some cases non-membership would place New Zealand at a distinct disadvantage. Membership of the Universal Postal Union is essential to facilitate the efficient international movement of mails to and from this country. Similarly, the International Telecommunications Union regulates international radio, telephone, and telegraphic traffic, and the need to belong to this body is universally accepted. The World Meteorological Organisation is the medium for setting standards and encouraging the free interchange of meteorological information. Wartime experience emphasised the fact that few countries have as direct an interest in international civil aviation as New Zealand; New Zealand is closely concerned with the efforts of the International Civil Aviation Organisation to foster the planning and development of international air transport and to ensure proper standards for the development of airways, airports, and air navigation facilities.

No clear line can, however, be drawn between the "technical'' Agencies and others, and some degree of technical advantage is to be derived from membership of all the Specialised Agencies. Although its own health standards are high, New Zealand has nevertheless drawn benefits, particularly in its island territories, from its membership of the World Health Organisation. Each in its own field—the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the International Labour Organisation, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation, and the International Atomic Energy Agency—constitutes an important international medium for the free interchange of knowledge and experience.

On occasion the Specialised Agencies provide the forum for advancement of a New Zealand interest. The FAO has played a prominent part in the formulation of measures to encourage the establishment of a stable international market for agricultural commodities, particularly in the enunciation of principles to govern the disposal of surplus commodities. The FAO's interest in the disposal of surplus foodstuffs was increased in December 1961 when the United Nations approved the establishment of a World Food Programme to be administered jointly by FAO and the United Nations. New Zealand was elected to the inter-Governmental Committee charged with the responsibility of supervising the Programme and for the three-year period of the Programme (1963-65) agreed to contribute $U.S.75,000 in cash and $U.S.425,000 in commodities.

New Zealand has served from time to time on the governing bodies of most of the Specialised Agencies. In 1966, for example, it has been a member of the Executive Board of WHO, the Council of FAO, and the Executive Council of UPU.

New Zealand has been a Contracting Party to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) since its inception in 1947. Although not strictly speaking a Specialised Agency, the GATT has assumed the characteristics of one as its activities have extended into all aspects of international trade including, more recently, measures to liberalise non-tariff barriers to agricultural trade and to provide special export opportunities for the goods of the developing countries.

New Zealand's accession to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Monetary Fund, and the International Finance Corporation not only allows this country to participate in measures designed to increase the stability of international trade and promote the economic development of the underdeveloped areas of the world but also serves to strengthen New Zealand's own economic position by providing access to more varied sources of capital.

As well as the Commonwealth organisations mentioned earlier some regional organisations, particularly the South Pacific Commission, are of particular importance to New Zealand. Since the establishment of the Commission in 1947, New Zealand's island territories have derived much benefit from its work on fisheries, co-operatives, control of the rhinoceros beetle, and research upon filariasis.

New Zealand and Collective Defence: South-East Asia Collective Defence Treaty—When, in the years following 1945, it became clear that there were serious obstacles to the effective implementation of those provisions of the United Nations Charter which were designed to establish a universal system of collective security, the alternative of regional arrangements was further developed. In South-East Asia, a few years after NATO was established, the South-East Asia Collective Defence Treaty (also known as the Manila Treaty or Pact) was negotiated.

The idea of such a treaty had been canvassed during the early 1950s. In the early part of 1954, however, a number of governments became greatly concerned at the progress of the war in Indo-China and the deteriorating situation in South-East Asia, and on 29 March the United States called for "united action'' to resist further Communist expansion. Shortly thereafter the United Kingdom and France agreed that consideration should be given to the establishment as soon as possible of a collective security system in the area. The New Zealand Minister of External Affairs stated on 19 April that his Government welcomed this proposal and was prepared to participate.

The Geneva Agreements for Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia (which were completed on 21 July 1954) were an achievement of considerable importance and value, but they fell short of a fully guaranteed settlement. After a period of consultation eight governments—Australia, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States—agreed to attend a conference to consider a system of collective defence for South-East Asia. On 8 September in Manila they signed the South-East Asia Collective Defence Treaty. At the same time they proclaimed the Pacific Charter, in which they set out principles on which they undertook to base their policies for the maintenance of peace and stability. The treaty was ratified by New Zealand on 19 February 1955.

The first meeting of the Council envisaged by the Treaty, comprising the Foreign Ministers of all the allied governments, was held in Bangkok in February 1955. Since then the Council has met at Karachi in 1956, Canberra in 1957, Manila in 1958, Wellington in 1959. Washington in 1960, Bangkok in 1961, Paris in 1963, Manila in 1964, London in 1965, and Canberra in 1966. The Council has overall control of the activities of the alliance. (The name "South-East Asia Treaty Organisation'' was derived by analogy with NATO and CENTO: in practice it refers to the joint activity of the eight allies.)

At that first meeting the Council established a body known as the Council Representatives to carry on its functions between Council meetings. Council Representatives are generally the heads of their countries' diplomatic missions in Bangkok; New Zealand is at present represented by its Ambassador to Thailand. From time to time various expert committees and study groups have been convened to give collective advice to Council Representatives.

The permanent civil Secretariat, consisting at present of an international staff of 40 officers, includes three New Zealanders, one of them the Deputy Secretary-General.

The Council also agreed in February 1955 that the Military Advisers to the Ministers should meet as a group to advise it on measures for common defence. Subsequent in 1957 a Military Planning Office was established in Bangkok and from 1958-60 the position of Chief of this Office was held by a New Zealander. Joint military exercises, in which units of the sea, land, and air forces of all member countries participate, are held regularly.

SEATO is a defensive alliance and neither in concept nor in structure is it fitted for a major role in other spheres. Nevertheless, the true nature of the challenge in South-East Asia was well recognised by the signatory nations and economic, social, and educational objectives were included in the Treaty. Upon these provisions have developed a wide range of activities which reflect the essentially peaceful intent of the allies, and their full awareness that the security and well-being of a nation depend on more than the ability to repel an aggressor.

In the field of education, for example, SEATO sponsors three professorships, post- and under-graduate scholarships, research fellowships, and a number of travelling lectureships. One of the most successful of its educational projects has been the Graduate School of Engineering which was established in Bangkok in September 1959. New Zealand makes an annual contribution to the school's scholarship fund, and provided for a number of years the services of a professor of hydrology. As the result of recommendations made by a commission set up to report on the future development and financing of the school, in February 1967 the school became an independent institution known as the Asian Institute of Technology. The institute is managed by an international Board of Trustees. In 1962 New Zealand contributed a mobile medical unit for a two-year assignment to the first Regional Development Technical Assistance Centre established by SEATO at Ubol, in North-east Thailand. The unit's equipment was subsequently given to the Royal Thai Government. These are only two of a large number of projects sponsored by SEATO and designed to promote economic development and living standards in the Treaty area.

It has become increasingly clear over the years that the principal threat to the Treaty area is from subversion from outside, developing, if unchecked, into insurgency. Action to meet this danger of indirect aggression is primarily a national responsibility, but Council Representatives, in addition to intensifying their economic and social programmes, have helped to identify subversion in its various forms, to assess the nature of the threat which it poses, and to suggest ways in which the threat may be met.

In May 1962, following a serious violation of the cease-fire in Laos by the Communist-directed Pathet Lao and in response to an invitation by the Royal Thai Government, the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand dispatched forces to Thailand. Each of them made it clear that this was a precautionary move, taken in accordance with their obligations under the Manila Treaty, to enable them to come more speedily to the defence of Thailand should the need arise.

The New Zealand contribution consisted of a Special Air Service detachment of the New Zealand Army and RNZAF transport aircraft. The detachment and the transport aircraft were withdrawn in September 1962. From 1963 to 1965 two further RNZAF transport aircraft were made available to help develop logistic facilities in Thailand, and from March 1964 to June 1965 a detachment of Army engineers was stationed in North-east Thailand to assist in the construction of an airfield. These moves were all indicative of New Zealand's active concern with the course of events in South-East Asia and of a growing sense of involvement.

In more recent years, SEATO member nations have provided an increasing volume and range of military and civilian assistance to the Republic of Vietnam in its struggle against Communist aggression and subversion. In May 1964, at the invitation of the South Vietnamese Government, New Zealand sent a detachment of field engineers to South Vietnam to help in reconstruction and the building of roads and bridges. The detachment won a reputation for efficiency and adaptability in carrying out these priority tasks. At the 1965 SEATO Council meeting in London, Ministers again expressed their concern at continuing Communist aggression against the Republic of Vietnam, and agreed that members of SEATO should remain prepared, if necessary, to take further concrete steps within their respective capabilities in fulfilment of their obligations under the Treaty. Following this Council meeting, and in response to a request from the South Vietnamese Government, the Prime Minister announced in May 1965 that New Zealand would dispatch an artillery battery to South Vietnam in conformity with New Zealand's obligations under the Manila Treaty, of which the Republic of Vietnam is a protocol member. At the same time the Prime Minister announced that the non-combat detachment of Army Engineers would be withdrawn. New Zealand's decision to contribute combat troops to South Vietnam was welcomed by the SEATO Council meeting at Canberra in June 1966, when it was agreed that members should continue and, consistent with their commitments elsewhere, increase their assistance to the Republic of Vietnam.

ANZUS—This is the name given to the tripartite security treaty between Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, which was signed at San Francisco on 1 September 1951 and came into force on 29 April 1952.

The Anzus Treaty was more than a reflection of the close relationship which had developed between the three participants during the Second World War—it was the first formal treaty relationship of New Zealand and Australia with the United States and assured New Zealand and Australia of American support in the event of aggression in the Pacific. The Treaty also provided a basis for periodic discussions of common problems at a ministerial level.

The Treaty is a defensive arrangement of the three parties, and is consistent with United Nations principles and obligations. The keynote of ANZUS is that each party recognised "that an armed attack in the Pacific Area on any of the Parties would be dangerous to its own peace and safety, and declares that it will act to meet the common danger in accordance with its constitutional processes''. In the context of the agreement an armed attack on any of the Parties is deemed to include "an armed attack on the metropolitan territory of any of the Parties, or on the island territories under its jurisdiction in the Pacific or on its armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific''.

The first meeting of the ANZUS Council was held at Honolulu from 4-6 August 1952, the three signatory countries being represented by their Foreign Ministers. At this meeting the organisation necessary to carry the Treaty into effect was established. The Ministers agreed that the machinery for consultation should be as simple as possible and that the maximum use should be made of existing channels and agencies. It was decided that the Council of Ministers or their deputies should meet annually, one year in the United States and alternate years in Australia or New Zealand. In practice, this rotation of meetings has not been adhered to and by common consent the United States has acted as host to most meetings of the Council of Ministers. Article III of the Treaty states that "the Parties will consult together whenever in the opinion of any of them the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened in the Pacific''. To ensure that effective measures might be taken to implement this Article, the Council of Ministers agreed to have the advice of military officers of the three Governments.

The Council also agreed that special meetings, normally attended by deputies, would be held La Washington "to provide for continuing consultation and to provide a focus where existing channels and agencies may be used in the implementation of the Treaty''.

Recently the Council has met in Canberra in 1962, in Wellington in 1963, in Washington in 1964 and 1965, and in Canberra in 1966.

New Zealand and the Colombo Plan—Under the Colombo Plan, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, have joined with the countries of South and South-East Asia to help them improve their standards of living. The Colombo Plan is not a single plan, but a series of separate plans drawn up and administered by each country in the region; the external assistance required and made available to help implement these plans is negotiated on a bilateral basis. The Plan had its origin in, and took its name from, a meeting of Commonwealth Foreign Ministers held in January 1950 in Colombo to exchange views on world problems, particularly on the economic needs of the countries of South and South-East Asia. The meeting established a Consultative Committee to ". . . survey the needs, to assess the resources available and required, to focus world attention on the development problems of the area, and to provide a framework within which an international co-operative effort could be promoted to assist the countries of the area to raise their living standards''. Since then the Consultative Committee has met consecutively in Sydney, London, Colombo, Karachi, New Delhi, Ottawa, Singapore, Wellington (1956), Saigon, Seattle, Jogjakarta, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne, Bangkok, and London. The 1966 meeting was held in Karachi.

A foundation member of the Plan and an active participant at every meeting, New Zealand has done its utmost, within the scope of its limited resources, to make significant grants of capital and technical assistance to the countries of the area.

Capital Assistance—By 31 March 1966 the New Zealand Parliament had appropriated a total of $30,292,284 for capital and technical assistance under the Colombo Plan. Of this, $17,968,888 in capital aid had been transferred to the Governments concerned or used at their request to buy equipment. Most of New Zealand's capital aid has been given in the form of direct transfers of overseas funds, but in appropriate cases it has been possible to supply equipment manufactured in New Zealand.

In 1966 an additional grant of $300,000 was approved for road construction in North-east Thailand. Further assistance was also provided in planning the Faculty of Agriculture at the new University of the North East, for which New Zealand has promised capital aid of $250,000. Grants totalling $630,000 were approved for two new milk schemes in India. Projects being implemented include aid to the value of $700,000 for the construction of two educational institutions in Malaysia, $140,000 for the construction of a Faculty of Science at the University of Saigon, and $60,000 to equip schools in the Philippines with trade-training equipment. New Projects are under consideration for Afghanistan, Cambodia, Ceylon, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Thailand.

Technical Assistance—By 31 March 1966 New Zealand had spent a total of $8,763,438 on technical assistance. The number of people from Asian countries brought to New Zealand for training under the Colombo Plan had reached 1,977, of whom 559 were still in the country. New Zealand experts serving abroad numbered 57, bringing the total sent under the Plan to 282. A number of those experts and some of the trainees were associated with projects for which New Zealand was also giving capital aid.

Commonwealth Aid Schemes—New Zealand participates in two co-operative aid programmes for Commonwealth members. Under the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan New Zealand offers each year 15 two-year scholarships for post-graduate or undergraduate study, three administrative fellowships, and three prestige fellowships for scholars of high academic standing. The New Zealand annual contribution of up to $2,000,000 to the Special Commonwealth Aid to Africa Plan, under which Commonwealth countries outside Africa provide bilateral assistance to African members, enables up to 80 Africans to study in New Zealand, and several New Zealand experts to work in Africa, as well as providing for small capital or equipment grants in appropriate cases.

Distribution of New Zealand Aid—The distribution of the total aid given by the New Zealand Government to developing countries during the latest three years is shown in the following table. Aid is shown as bilateral where the arrangements were concluded directly between New Zealand and the country or countries assisted, and multilateral where the aid was contributed to an international agency or fund.

The table lists only Government aid. It does not take into account the substantial aid given privately in cash and kind through CORSO, religious missions, the Red Cross, organisations assisting lepers, and by other means.

General Aims—It is clear that, as New Zealand has assumed the international responsibilities appropriate to an independent country, its foreign policy has changed in emphasis and scope. The foundations of New Zealand's pre-war position in international affairs—its identification with Britain and its membership of the Commonwealth—have been modified and extended to meet the demands of an international situation greatly changed from that of 1939. As a country of predominantly European settlement, New Zealand retains its traditional loyalties to the United Kingdom and a sense of identity with Europe and of involvement in its destiny. As a Pacific power, it has sought security in friendship and formal defensive arrangements with Australia and the United States of America. New Zealand's growing involvement in the problems of the South Pacific region and its close ties with the island people are giving rise to a new recognition of the importance of the role it will have to play in this area in the future. New Zealand is in a unique position to encourage the growth of a regional consciousness in the South Pacific which is essential if the problems of the area are to be seen and tackled as a whole. At the same time it has developed its association with Asian countries. As a country concerned with the preservation of world peace and the organisation of defence against aggression it has placed prime importance upon development of the United Nations as an agency for peaceful settlement of international disputes and for the achievement of collective security. Pending the establishment of a broadly based United Nations security system, however, New Zealand has been prepared, in respect of South-East Asia, to participate in a protective grouping concerned with the defence of a single area. Moreover, while it sees aggressive Communism as the greatest threat to individual liberty at the present time, it is well aware of the powerful stirrings of other forces—the yearning for political emancipation, the antagonism to systems of racial discrimination, the demand of underprivileged countries for a greater share of the world's prosperity, for social advancement and opportunity. New Zealand's actions in the international field are designed to take account of these forces and, where possible, to assist the people of other countries in their striving for a better life. The limits of what it is able to do are those imposed by its size and capacity; its disposition is towards peaceful and friendly relations with all nations and (whatever the modifications which the needs of national security may impose) it is to that ultimate goal that its foreign policy is directed.

CONSTITUTION OF NEW ZEALAND: General—New Zealand is a monarchical State; it is also a constituent member of the Commonwealth. It is in this context that the preamble to the Royal Titles Act 1953 is significant ". . . whereas it is expedient that the style and titles at present appertaining to the Crown should be altered so as to reflect more clearly the existing relationships of the Members of the Commonwealth to one another and their recognition of the Crown as the Symbol of their free association and of the Sovereign as the Head of the Commonwealth . . .''

Constitutional elements besides that of the titular head, the Monarch, can be reviewed under the categories of legislative authority, the executive and administrative structure, and the judiciary. This division is a convenient one, even though there is no absolute line of demarcation between the three phases (e.g., legislation may and often does arise through the day-to-day experience of those responsible for administration and execution of policy, or through difficulties or anomalies made explicit in the course of dispensing justice or interpreting law). Conversely, in the exercise of the powers and functions of industrial and other tribunals, commissions, authorities, etc., both administrative and judicial elements may be discerned.

THE MONARCH—The New Zealand Parliament in the Royal Titles Act 1953 gave its assent to the use of the Royal style and titles as follows: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Her Other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.

While the seat of the Monarch is normally in the United Kingdom, the Queen is represented in New Zealand by the Governor-General appointed by the Crown to the advice of Her New Zealand Ministers. The Governor-General has, however, an official existence, even in the country to which he has been appointed, only in the absence of the Queen from that country. In the island territories the Crown is represented by the Resident Commissioner or Resident Agent. These officials carry out the constitutional functions of the Crown, but they also possess in varying degrees certain executive and legislative powers, being responsible to the New Zealand Government for the administration and good government of the islands concerned.

Many powers held by the Monarch (or her representative) comprise but the means of giving effect to the public will. In New Zealand the Governor-General acts on the advice of the Ministers, which cannot constitutionally be ignored. Despite the long-term trend for powers to be assigned directly to Ministers without any necessity for vice-regal consultation, there are still many phases of Government which require Royal participation.

The Queen (in her absence the Governor-General) gives consent or approval prior to a Minister taking office or the formation of a Ministry; summons, prorogues, and dissolves Parliament; delivers the Speech from the Throne at the opening of a session; gives the Royal Assent to measures which have passed all stages in the House of Representatives, without which they have not the force of laws; makes appointments to most important State offices; confers knighthoods and other honours, etc.; and also provides that background of stability, continuity, and experience in many facets of government which is so desirable whenever there are sweeping changes in the dominance of political parties.

Besides those duties associated with the constitutional role, the Royal personage or representative makes an important contribution to the ceremonial life of the nation. This was particularly well illustrated during the sojourn of the Royal visitors in New Zealand in 1953-54 and in 1963. Both as the symbol of the nation and in virtue of her identification with the life and interests of her people, the Queen becomes the focus for all State occasions, as does the Governor-General in her absence.

LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY—The supreme law-making body with power to legislate for the whole country is the General Assembly, which now consists of the Governor-General and the House of Representatives, the former Legislative Council having been abolished since the close of 1950.

The powers of Parliament to make laws are legally untrammelled. This was not always so, for prior to the adoption by New Zealand to the Statute of Westminster in 1947 there was incapacity to make laws on certain matters which conflicted with United Kingdom statutes extending to New Zealand. There was also some doubt as to New Zealand's power to make laws possessing extra-territorial effect.

Although they do not limit the legal powers of Parliament as stated above, the provisions of the Electoral Act 1956 creating reserved sections in that Act are of great constitutional significance. The Act provides that certain of its sections may not be repealed except by a 75 percent majority of the House of Representatives or following a referendum. These sections are those relating to:

This innovation is not legally effective in the sense that it does not prevent a subsequent Parliament from repealing it, since one Parliament cannot bind its successors. It should not be thought, however, that the provision is a mere gesture. It records the unanimous agreement of both parties represented in Parliament that certain provisions have a fundamental character in the system of Government and should not be altered at the whim of a bare majority. Considered in this light the provision creating reserved sections introduces something in the nature of a formal convention which could not constitutionally be ignored.

While the law-making function is the prerogative of Parliament, it must be remembered that, as in most democracies, laws are passed because of their acceptability to the majority party in Parliament—i.e., the Government party. Furthermore the initial acceptance will have probably been made in the deliberations of Cabinet.

With the increasing range and complexity of the statutory field, the multifarious concerns of a modern twentieth century government, and the necessity of conserving time for consideration of more important issues, much of the detailed procedural steps and other amplifying matter must become the subject of regulations made by Order in Council under the authority of some statute, rather than being incorporated in the statute itself. The power to make such regulations lies with the Executive Council which comprises those senior members of the majority party in Parliament who are appointed thereto, together with the Governor-General. Regulations, though originating in Cabinet and becoming effective in the formal proceedings of the Executive Council, rest fundamentally on the will of Parliament as a whole and are now subject to its supervisory jurisdiction. A general provision contained in the Regulations Amendment Act 1962 requires all such regulations to be laid before Parliament, though most empowering Acts contained a similar provision prior to that date. An amendment to the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives, also passed in 1962, enables the House or any member thereof to refer any regulation to the Statutes Revision Committee, a Select Committee of the House, which is empowered to consider the regulation and to determine whether the special attention of the House should be drawn to it on any of the following grounds: (a) That it trespasses unduly on personal rights and liberties: (b) That it appears to make some unusual or unexpected use of the powers conferred by the statute under which it is made: (c) That for any special reason its form or purport calls for elucidation.

Meeting of Parliament—Parliament is summoned, prorogued, or dissolved by Proclamation issued by the Governor-General. A session is that period between the summoning of Parliament and its prorogation. Its length varies, but it usually occupies the months from June to November. When Parliament is prorogued all the business on hand lapses, and if this is to be proceeded with in the next session it must be re-introduced.

The course of a session may be interrupted by an adjournment.

Parliamentary Privileges—While in session these include freedom of speech and freedom from arrest in civil cases, and also the right to engage in secret debate, if required, etc.

The Party System—The two main political parties represented in Parliament are National and Labour. A third party—Social Credit—obtained a seat for the first time at the 1966 General Election. At any general election these parties, together with any other political parties which may be desirous of so doing and also those candidates standing as independents, state their respective policies before the electors. Each party normally puts forward one candidate for each of the 80 electorates into which the country is divided. The party which wins the majority of seats, although not necessarily the majority of votes, at the general election forms the Government. The leader of the elected members of the majority party becomes the Prime Minister, who makes Ministerial appointments from elected members of his party. The leader of the minority party in Parliament becomes the Leader of the Opposition. The effectiveness of the party system relies largely on the general agreement that the majority party is to govern and the minority is to criticise—so that there is ample time allocated for debate on Government measures in Parliament. While party control is exercised by national and local organisations outside Parliament, within the latter it is maintained by the respective party Whips.

Parliamentary Procedure—The House of Representatives has its Standing Orders, which govern its procedure and which are administered by Mr Speaker in the exercise of his control of the House. Mr Speaker's rulings on interpretation of the Standing Orders are followed in a similar manner to judicial decisions in the ordinary Courts of law. The main means by which Parliament does its work is through the system of debate and committees. The election of a Speaker is the first business of a new House after the members have been sworn. A Chairman of Committees is elected as soon afterwards as is convenient. Twenty members, inclusive of the Speaker, constitute a quorum.

Parliamentary Functions and Control—The Parliament controls the Government in power in the last resort by its power to pass a resolution of no confidence in the Government, or to reject a proposal which the Government considers so necessary that it is made a matter of confidence, and thus force the Government to resign.

Financial control is exercised by the fact that expenditure of public money must be authorised by the House of Representatives in the form of an Appropriation Act, which authorises or grants money to the Government for the purposes approved. The authority for the raising of revenue by taxation or borrowing must also be given by Parliament. The functions of Parliament are, of course, the passing of legislation and taking action to make available finances or funds as required for State expenditure, while it also controls the Government. Legislation can be initiated by any member of Parliament, but in practice almost all Bills are introduced by the Government in power as a result of policy taken in Cabinet, sometimes at the instigation of those Government Departments which will be responsible for their administration when the Bills become law. The chief exceptions are private Bills, which are designed for the particular interest or benefit of a person or body of persons, whether incorporated or not, and local Bills which relate largely to matters of local (as distinct from central) government business. The process of passing a public Bill is as follows: it receives a formal first reading on introduction, is then printed, and after some time it is given a second reading as a result of a debate on its general merits or principles. It may then be referred to one of the Select Committees, for consideration in the closest detail, before being considered by the whole House sitting in Committee. During these stages members have opportunities to suggest amendments which may be incorporated in the Bill if the majority so decide. The Bill is then reported to the House, and later read a third time; debate rarely occurs at these stages. The final stage is to send the Bill to the Governor-General for the Royal Assent and, unless provision is made for commencement on another date, it then becomes law. Bills providing for receipt of moneys, such as the Finance Bill, and expenditure of moneys, such as the Appropriation Bill, are introduced only by a Minister of the Crown, normally the Minister of Finance. No Bill involving an appropriation of public moneys or affecting the rights of the Crown can be passed without the recommendation of the Crown, which is given by Message from the Governor-General.

Duration of Parliaments—Quinquennial Parliaments, instituted under the Constitution Act, were abolished by the Triennial Parliaments Act 1879, which fixed the term at three years. General elections have been held at three-yearly intervals since 1881, with a few exceptions. The term of the nineteenth Parliament was during the First World War extended to five years by special legislation, and that of the twenty-fourth (1931-35) and subsequent Parliaments to four years under the Electoral Amendment Act 1934. By the Electoral Amendment Act 1937 the three-year term was restored, but on account of war conditions the term of the twenty-sixth Parliament was extended to four years by the Prolongation of Parliament Act 1941. The Prolongation of Parliament Act 1942 extended the term still further to one year from the termination of the war, but with a proviso for a motion to be moved in the House of Representatives each year after the year 1942 either approving the continuation of the House or fixing an earlier date for its expiry. During the 1943 session a motion in favour of dissolution was carried, and Parliament was dissolved on 30 August 1943. Since then the duration of Parliaments has been of three years, with the exception that the twenty-ninth Parliament was dissolved after the expiration of approximately 20 months. The three-year limit was re-enacted in the Electoral Act 1956, this being one of the reserved provisions referred to earlier.

Number of Representatives—The number of members constituting the House of Representatives is 80-76 Europeans and four Maoris. They are designated "members of Parliament''. The number was originally fixed by the Constitution Act as not more than 42 and not less than 24, and the first Parliament called together in 1854 consisted of 40 members. Legislation passed in 1858 fixed the number of European members at 41; in 1860, at 53; in 1862, at 57; in 1865, at 70; in 1867, at 72; in 1870, at 74; in 1875, at 84; in 1881, at 91; in 1887, at 70; and in 1900, at 66. Since 1867 there have been four Maori representatives, and provision for this number was retained in the Electoral Act 1956. In 1954 the boundaries of the Maori electoral districts, which had remained unaltered since 1867, were changed by Proclamation so as to give a greater degree of equality of population among the four districts (in effect the Southern Maori Electoral District now includes a considerable area of the North Island). The Electoral Amendment Act 1965 fixed the number of European electorates in the South Island at 25 (an increase of one) and provided that the number of European electorates in the North Island shall be ascertained by the Representation Commission after each quinquennial census of population on the basis of the quota fixed for the South Island, the changes to follow the redrawing of the electoral boundaries after the 1966 census.

Qualifications of Members—Under the Electoral Act 1956 every registered elector of either sex, but no other person, is qualified to be a parliamentary candidate. It is provided, however, that a person shall not be so elected who is disqualified as an elector under any of the provisions of the Act (see under "Franchise'' later); or is an undischarged bankrupt; or is a contractor to the Public Service of New Zealand to whom any public money above the sum of $400 is payable, directly or indirectly (but not as a member of a registered company or incorporated body), in any one financial year. Although women have had the vote since 1893, they were not eligible as parliamentary candidates until the passing of the Women's Parliamentary Rights Act 1919. Prior to 1936 a public servant was prohibited from being elected, but this prohibition was removed by the Political Disabilities Removal Act 1936. The present law is that if a public servant is elected to Parliament he vacates his office forthwith and he cannot resume employment in the Public Service within 12 months of ceasing to be a member of Parliament unless he had previously been a public servant for at least five years.

Salaries, etc.—Section 27 of the Civil List Act 1950 provides that on the recommendation of a Royal Commission the Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council, fix the salaries and allowances to be paid to the Prime Minister and other Ministers of the Crown or members of the Executive Council, to Parliamentary Under-Secretaries, and to the Speaker and Chairman of Committees and other members of the House of Representatives, and that a Royal Commission shall be appointed for this purpose within three months after the date of every general election of members of Parliament.

In accordance with the recommendations contained in the report (issued in 1964) of the Royal Commission upon Parliamentary Salaries and Allowances, the Prime Minister's salary, as from 1 July 1964, was increased to $11,500 with a tax-free allowance of $3,200 for the expenses of his office and a Ministerial residence. In addition, while travelling on official business he receives $10.50 per day to meet expenses, and by virtue of his office is entitled to free cars, secretarial assistance, and free postage. The Deputy Prime Minister's salary is $8,500 with a tax-free expense allowance of $1,200. The salary of each other Minister holding a portfolio is $8,000 with a tax-free expense allowance of $1,100, and that of each Minister without portfolio $6,500, with $900 tax-free allowance. Where the office of Minister of External Affairs is held by a Minister other than the Prime Minister the expense allowance is increased by $360. Any Minister not occupying a Ministerial residence receives an allowance in lieu at the rate of $600 a year. This allowance, or the assessed value of the residence where one is provided, is subject to income tax. Ministers also receive an allowance of $10.50 per day when travelling on official business within New Zealand, and in addition are entitled to free cars, secretarial assistance, and free postage. For Parliamentary Under-Secretaries the rate of salary is $6,000, with the same house provision or allowances, and travel allowance while on official business, as for Ministers. An expense allowance of $900 is also payable. After the general election of November 1954 no appointments were made until 1960, when two Parliamentary Under-Secretaries were appointed.

The basic salary paid to members of the House of Representatives is now $4,300 a year. European members are also paid an allowance to provide for expenses incurred in connection with parliamentary duties ranging from $900 to $1,450 a year subject to the classification of their electorates by the Representation Commission into the five classes of (a) a wholly urban electorate, or (b) a substantially urban electorate, or (c) a partially urban and partially rural electorate, or (d) an ordinarily rural electorate, or (e) a predominantly rural electorate. An expense allowance of $1,700 a year is paid to the member for Southern Maori, and an allowance of $1,550 to the members representing the other three Maori Electorates. A sessional accommodation allowance is paid at the rate of $1.50 for each day and $5 for each night on which a member is in Wellington and attends the sittings of Parliament, or of a Select Committee of Parliament of which he is a member. The sessional accommodation allowance is not payable to any member representing a Wellington urban electorate. (For full details see Parliamentary Salaries and Allowances Order 1964 and section 3 of the Finance Act 1962.) Payment to members is subject to certain deductions for absence not due to sickness or other unavoidable cause. In addition to the salary and allowances, member are entitled to certain privileges in respect of air and other forms of travel, a stamp allowance of $14 a month, and certain other concessions regarding telegrams and telephone services. If a member is defeated at an election he continues to receive salary only to the end of the month following the month in which the election took place.

Both the Speaker and Chairman of Committees hold office until a dissolution and receive payment until the first meeting of a new Parliament. The Speaker's remuneration is $6,800 a year in addition to which he receives an expense allowance of $1,550 a year and residential quarters in Parliament House. The salary of the Chairman of Committees is $5,500 a year. In addition, he receives the electoral and sessional allowances appropriate to his electorate, increased by the sum of $400, and is provided with sessional accommodation.

The Leader of the Opposition is paid a salary of $6,800 a year with an expense allowance of $1,100 a year. In addition, a secretary, an assistant secretary, and a typist are provided by the State, and an allowance of $800 is payable for travel outside his electorate. His stamp allowance is $35 per month. In addition, the Leader of the Opposition is entitled to an official residence on the same basis as a Minister, or to an allowance of $600 a year in lieu thereof. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition receives a salary of $4,800 a year in addition to his appropriate electorate allowance and the sessional accommodation allowance where this is payable.

The Chief Whip of each party receives a salary of $4,500 a year, and the Junior Whip of each party receives a salary of $4,430 a year, together with the appropriate expense allowance in each case in accordance with the classification of his electorate and where applicable accommodation allowance.

Former Prime Ministers receive an annual payment of $400 for each full year in office, with a maximum of $2,000 a year, after retirement or when a member only.

Part V of the Superannuation Act 1947, as amended by the Superannuation Amendment Act 1955, consolidated in 1956 and amended in 1961, introduced a compulsory contributory superannuation scheme for members of the House of Representatives. The scheme now provides that a retiring allowance shall be payable to a members after nine years' service and the attainment of 50 years of age, and shall be calculated at the rate of one thirty-second of the basic salary for a member as at the date of his ceasing to be a member, for each year of service with a maximum of two-thirds of that basic salary, or alternatively the member may elect to take a variable retiring allowance so as to secure a level income, or he may elect to receive a refund of his contributions. The annual contribution is 10 percent of an ordinary member's salary, and the Government subsidises the fund by an equal amount. In the case of a male member dying and leaving a widow surviving she becomes entitled during her widowhood to receive an annuity of half of the retiring allowance to which her husband would have been entitled had he retired aged 50 years at the time of his death, or $260 a year, whichever is the greater.

ADMINISTRATION AND EXECUTIVE RESPONSIBILITY—After the election of a new Parliament, the Prime Minister, who is the leader of the majority party in the elected members, is given the task of selecting the members of the Executive Council (i.e., the New Ministry). Each of those members of Parliament to form the Government is normally entrusted by the Prime Minister with responsibility for administration of a specified field or aspect of government. This field is entitled a portfolio, e.g., all relevant matters relating to Customs would be allocated to one member, who is henceforth known as the Minister of Customs. He may also have other portfolios and the supervision of one or more Government Departments in which the activities carried out, though important, either do not rank as portfolios or are subsidiary aspects of the field—in these cases the Minister's responsibility will extend to being in charge of the named Department. One or other of the appointed Ministers in this way is responsible for the direction of activities and executive acts of each of the Government Departments and offices, etc., embracing the entire range of State activities. Thus arises the concept of Ministerial responsibility. Occasionally a Minister is appointed without portfolio.

Executive Council—In the legal sense those members of Parliament who have been appointed Ministers, together with the Governor-General, comprise the Executive Council, The powers, duties, and responsibilities of the Governor-General and the Executive Council under the present system of responsible government are set out in Royal Letters Patent and Instructions thereunder of 11 May 1917, published in the New Zealand Gazette of 24 April 1919. The Royal Powers Act 1953 provides that the statutory powers conferred on the Governor-General may be exercised either by Her Majesty the Queen in person or by the Governor-General. In the Execution of the powers and authorities vested in him the Governor-General must be guided by the advice of the Executive Council; but, if in any case he sees sufficient cause to dissent from the opinion of the Council, he may act in the exercise of his powers and authorities in opposition to the opinion of the Council, reporting the matter to Her Majesty without delay, with the reasons for his so acting.

In any such case any member of the Executive Council may require that there be recorded in the minutes of the Council the grounds of any advice or opinion that he may give upon the question.

A point of interest is that the Civil List Act 1950, in section 6, provided that no person shall be appointed a Minister or a member of the Executive Council unless he is a member of Parliament and that a person who ceases to be a member of Parliament cannot continue to be a Minister or a member of the Executive Council for more than 21 days. This gave statutory recognition for the first time to what had long been the convention.

At February 1967 the Executive Council consisted of 18 members in addition to the Governor-General. Two members, exclusive of His Excellency or the presiding member, constitute a quorum.

Under the Civil List Act 1950 and its amendments, His Excellency the Governor-General receives a salary of $15,000, and an allowance of $11,000 a year for the salaries and expenses of his personal establishment, plus all expenditure incurred in respect of the transport to and from New Zealand and the travel within or outside New Zealand of the Governor-General and his family and staff.

Cabinet—There is a close relationship between the Executive Council and the Cabinet. There are however, significant differences in membership and functions.

The Council consists of all Ministers and is presided over by the Governor-General. Cabinet may or may not comprise all the Ministers, including a Minister without portfolio; the Governor-General is not a member. The Council is one of the instruments for giving the imprint of legal form to policy determined by Cabinet which had been recognised only by constitutional convention until legislative reference to Cabinet was made in the Parliamentary Commissioner (Ombudsman) Act 1962.

Cabinet has been described as the directing body of national policy whose nature is more easily explained by analogy than by definition. It determines the policy to be submitted to Parliament. In it is vested the supreme control of national policy within the limits of Parliamentary approval. It co-ordinates and delineates the activities of the several Departments of State.

The juridical acts which are necessary to give legal force to certain of the decisions of Cabinet are taken by others—the Crown, the Executive Council, a Minister of the Crown, a Statutory Commission and the like. The preliminary review of proposed policy or of current administrative developments, which takes place in the informal atmosphere of Cabinet meetings, implies both deliberative or selective and administrative procedures on the part of this body.

Cabinet discussions are informal and confidential, anonymity being maintained as to the individual advocacy or opposition to particular proposals. The Cabinet system enables general agreement to be reached on any line of action proposed by either an individual Minister or by the Government as a whole. As a result the Executive Council confirmation can proceed smoothly and expeditiously. In Parliament a Minister can be confident that his legislative or other proposals will have the unqualified support of the Government no matter what divergences of opinion may have been apparent before general agreement was reached in Cabinet. A consistent and agreed course of action on any particular issue can be determined. The work of Cabinet thus exemplifies the concept of the collective responsibility of the Government.

Certain questions are considered by committees of Cabinet composed of those Ministers primarily concerned. Some executive action may be undertaken by these committees within the lines of established Government policy. Their work is subject to periodical report to, and overall supervision by, the entire Cabinet. On occasions, ad hoc committees may be established to review or investigate particular questions and to present their conclusions and recommendations to Cabinet.

The Cabinet Secretariat is responsible for the servicing of Cabinet and its committees to ensure their smooth functioning. It is its purpose also to assist in the co-ordination and review of the work of the Departments of State.

Government Departments—The Minister as the political head of a Department of State may in fact have several Departments under his control. There are however some 40 different Departments with separate functions in New Zealand. Each of these had a permanent head who is responsible for the work and administration of the Department. He is of course responsible to the Minister in charge of the Department, while he also acts as adviser to the Minister on all matters within his appointed competence. Besides ensuring that the ministerial policy and directions communicated to him are effectively put into practice, his functions as the adviser include assessing the consequences of any executive action resulting from his departmental activity, evaluating the merits and demerits, whether political, social, or financial, of various modes of action, and making suggestions for improvements and for new policy measures as derived from departmental experience in the day-to-day execution of policy.

Departments can be broadly classified according to the administrative or regulatory, developmental, or social nature of their activities. Within the first group are the servicing subgroup, such as the Legislative, Prime Minister's, External Affairs, Printing Office, Law Drafting, Valuation, Statistics, and Audit; the finance subgroup—Treasury, Customs, Inland Revenue; the regulatory subgroup—State Services Commission, Internal Affairs, Labour, Marine; the defence and law and order subgroup—Ministry of Defence, Justice, Crown Law, and Police; the publicity and research subgroup—Tourist and Publicity, Scientific and Industrial Research.

In the second group are the transport and communications subgroup, such as Transport, Civil Aviation, Post Office, and Railways; the developmental—Ministry of Works, Agriculture, Lands and Survey, Forest Service, Mines, Electricity, Maori Affairs, and Industries and Commerce; the commercial—Public Trust, Government Life Insurance, State Advances Corporation, and State Insurance.

The third group comprises the Education, Health, and Social Security Departments.

This broad division serves merely to indicate the field of the dominant activity or purpose of the particular Department. Most Departments have servicing, informative, and regulatory functions, and many are equally regulatory and developmental in nature.

In addition to the system of direct administration in the form of Government Departments, there are other activities over which the State exercises some ultimate measure of control or ownership, though divorced in varying degrees from immediate supervision. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (the central bank), and one trading bank, are entirely State-owned, although the actual administration is quite independent, subject in the case of the Reserve Bank to the proviso that it must give effect to the monetary policy of the Government, as communicated to the bank by the Minister of Finance, and to any resolution of Parliament in respect of Government monetary policy.

Further instances of this principle are shown by the National Airways Corporation, which, although owned by the State, is administratively self-contained, and by the Tourist Hotel Corporation. In certain other avenues the type of administration is in between the normal departmental form and that evident in the corporation type; of such is the National Roads Board, which, though determining policy to a large degree, yet makes use of departmental administrative structures for implementation of policy.

Some administrative organisations have also quasi-judicial functions. Examples of this class are the Price Tribunal, Transport Charges Authority, Licensing Control Commission, and Local Government Commission.

JUDICIARY—The hierarchy of Courts in New Zealand comprises the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court, and the Magistrates' Court. Apart from these Courts of general jurisdiction there are other Courts dealing with specific fields. In the latter category are the Court of Arbitration concerned with awards and general orders governing wage determination and conditions of employment in industry; the Compensation Court dealing with workers' compensation; and the Land Valuation Court, which settles land valuation disputes and compensation claims where land is taken for public works. For further details refer to Section 8 (Justice) of this issue.

ELECTORAL PROVISIONS—The law on these matters is now contained in the Electoral Act 1956. Following each population census, which is normally taken every five years, the boundaries of European electorates are revised. In addition, there are four Maori electoral districts, three in the North Island and one covering a portion of the North Island together with the whole of the South Island, where the Maori population is comparatively small. The Governor-General may at any time by Proclamation alter the boundaries of the Maori electoral districts, and, as in the case of European electoral districts, any alterations are to come into force at the expiry of the Parliament existing when the Proclamation is issued.

The Government Statistician is required to supply population figures to the Surveyor-General as soon as possible after the census. The population used as the basis in obtaining the quota for each European electoral district is defined in section 2 (1) of the Electoral Act 1956.

The term "European population'' means total population with the following exceptions:

After the population figures are supplied by the Government Statistician it is then the responsibility of the Representation Commission to define new electoral districts for Europeans. The Commission is constituted by virtue of section 15 of the Electoral Act 1956 and comprises seven members. Four of these, the Surveyor-General, the Government Statistician, the Chief Electoral Officer, and the Director-General of the Post Office, are official members. Two are unofficial members, being persons nominated by the House of Representatives, one nominated to represent the Government, and one to represent the Opposition. The seventh member is appointed, on the nomination of the official and unofficial members of the Commission or a majority of them, to be the Chairman of the Commission. The Chairman and unofficial members cease to be members on the date on which the first periodical census is taken after the date of their appointment.

The European population of the South Island is divided by 25 and the quotient so obtained is the quota for the South Island. Then the European population of the North Island is divided by the quota for the South Island, and the quotient so obtained is the number of European electoral districts in the North Island. The quota for North Island is obtained by dividing the European population of that Island by the number of electoral districts in that Island. In applying the quota the Commission may make an allowance by way of addition or subtraction of 5 percent of the quota to enable districts to be adjusted to meet considerations of topography, community of interest, communications, and existing electoral boundaries.

When the boundaries have been provisionally determined, maps are prepared illustrating the proposed electoral districts, and descriptions of each electoral district are published in the New Zealand Gazette. A time limit of one month is given thereafter in which objections to the proposed boundaries may be lodged. These objections are then considered by the Representation Commission and a final decision reached on boundaries which then become the new electoral districts.

In addition to determining new European electoral districts the Representation Commission is also charged with the responsibility of classifying them for the purpose of allowances as provided by the current Parliamentary Salaries and Allowances Order. Under this order provision is made for an allowance based on the size, topography, and transport facilities of the electorate, the nature of its roads, the distribution of its population, and all other considerations that the Commission deems relevant.

The Act provides that all general elections and by-elections shall be held on a Saturday and for both European and Maori elections to be held on the same day. Polling hours in all electorates are from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Act provides that, if at any time Parliament is dissolved before it has been two years in existence, the main and supplementary rolls used in the previous general election, together with a further supplementary roll, may be used if in the opinion of the Chief Electoral Officer it is impracticable to print new main rolls. The same rolls, together with a further supplementary roll, are to be used for any by-election occurring before the next following general election.

Provision is made for the voting at elections and licensing polls by servicemen serving overseas, who are or will be of, or over the age of, 21 years before the date of the election or poll, whether or not registered as electors of any electoral district. Each such serviceman shall be qualified to vote as an elector of the electoral district in which he last resided before he left New Zealand.

FRANCHISE—Since the abolition of plural voting in 1889 and the introduction of women's suffrage in 1893, every person 21 years of age or over (with certain obvious exceptions) has had the right to exercise one vote and one vote only in the election of members of the House of Representatives. Some of the more important provisions of the Electoral Act 1956 are now given.

Qualification for Registration as Elector—To be qualified for registration as a parliamentary elector in New Zealand a person must have attained the age of 21 years and must (a) be a British subject or Irish citizen, (b) be ordinarily resident in New Zealand, (c) at some period have resided continuously in New Zealand for at least a year, and (d) except in special cases have resided continuously for three months or more in the electoral district in respect of which application for registration is made, and not have subsequently resided for three months or more in any other electoral district.

The Act defines what is meant by the term "ordinarily resident''. To be ordinarily resident in New Zealand, a person must be or have been actually resident in New Zealand with the intention of residing there indefinitely. If he is absent from New Zealand he must have had, even since he left New Zealand, an intention to return to reside there indefinitely, and (except in the case of a public servant or the wife or husband of a public servant) must not have been absent from New Zealand for more than three years. Broadly speaking, the qualifications restrict the right to vote to permanent residents, the test laid down being similar to the legal concept of domicile.

The following persons are disqualified from registration as electors: (a) Those in respect of whom reception orders under the Mental Health Act 1911 are in force, (b) those detained pursuant to a conviction in any penal institution, and (c) those whose names are on the Corrupt Practices List for any district.

These qualifications and disqualifications apply alike to Maoris and Europeans.

Registration of Electors—A system of compulsory registration of electors has been in operation in respect of Europeans since 1924 and was introduced in respect of Maoris in 1948. Every person qualified to be registered as an elector of any district must, if he is in New Zealand, apply for registration within one month after the date on which he first becomes qualified to be registered as an elector. He must also apply for registration within three months after the issue of every Proclamation proclaiming the names and boundaries of electoral districts or within such later period as may be provided by Order in Council. Qualified electors who are outside New Zealand may apply for registration if they wish.

A European is not entitled to be registered as an elector of a Maori district and a Maori (other than a half-caste) is not entitled to be registered as an elector of a European district. A half-caste Maori may choose to be registered either for a Maori or European district, and special rules are laid down to govern a change from one to the other.

Voting at Elections—Voting at parliamentary elections is by secret ballot, a method which was first introduced in New Zealand in 1870. Recognition of the fundamental character which the secret ballot has attained in New Zealand was given in the Electoral Act 1956, which included the section providing for this method of voting among the reserved sections which may be repealed only by a 75 percent majority vote of all the members of the House of Representatives or following a referendum.

In general, only those persons whose names are lawfully on the main and supplementary rolls of electors compiled prior to an election may vote at that election. The following classes of persons whose names are not on the roll are however entitled to vote:

Special Voters—A vote is normally cast by the elector at a polling booth within his district. An elector may, however, vote as a "special voter'', either at a polling booth outside his district or by post, in the following cases:

These latter conditions replace the former classes of absentee, postal, and declaration voters, including servicemen outside New Zealand.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT—In 1876, following the abolition of the provinces, local government assumed the form it still basically retains. The Counties Act of 1876 divided the country into 63 counties, with provision for administration by elective councils having powers considerably less than those enjoyed by the Provincial Councils. In the same year the Municipal Corporations Act provided for the incorporation of the 36 boroughs then in existence and for the creation of new boroughs.

A description of the development of counties, boroughs, and town districts follows.

Counties—Counties are now constituted under the Counties Act 1956, which consolidated under legislation relating to counties and road districts. In general, the county organisation makes provision for the primary needs of a scattered population within a large area. With increasing settlement the original 63 counties were gradually subdivided until in 1920 the maximum of 129 was reached, although the number of councils formed and actively functioning never exceeded 126. The number of counties has been reduced by amalgamations and mergers by the Local Government Commission At September 1966 there were 112 counties constituted, of which 111 were actively functioning, Fiord being a sparsely populated county in which the Counties Act, is not wholly in force. The Local Government Commission operates under the Local Government Commission Act 1961.

County councils may, under the provisions of the Counties Act 1956, declare areas within counties to be county towns. To qualify the areas concerned must have a population of at least 200, with an average density of not less than one person to the acre or not less than 60 houses with an average density of not less than one house to three acres. After the constitution of a county town the county council is required to appoint a county town committee of not less than three nor more than seven members, to advise it on the administration of the county town. Membership is restricted to electors having a ratepayer's or residential qualification in respect of property or an address within the county town, or members of the council for the riding in which the county town is sited.

Boroughs—Dealing with the needs of a concentrated population, the borough organisation is concerned with a wide range of functions of a purely local nature. With the growth and centralisation of population the number of boroughs, despite numerous amalgamations of adjacent boroughs, steadily increased until 1955 when the total was 146. In September 1966 the total was 142.

Under the Municipal Corporations Act 1954 for the constitution of a borough there must be a population of at least 1,500 with an average density of population of at least one person per acre. A borough containing a population of 20,000 or more may be proclaimed a city, although the corporation remains unaltered.

Town Districts—The town district represents a form of local government intermediate between the county and the borough. It implies a certain concentration of population and the presence of interests which, from their purely local nature, cannot be satisfactorily met by the county organisation. In its early stages a town district usually remained subject to county control, although such control was practically confined to the main and county roads in the town district; in such circumstances it was known as a dependent town district. The Town Boards Amendment Act 1908 enabled town districts on reaching a population of more than 500 to become independent. On attaining its independence a town district becomes in all respects a separate entity, and, apart from its smaller population, is not essentially different from a borough. The constitution and powers of town districts have been brought into closer relationship to boroughs over the years, and independent town districts are now constituted under the Municipal Corporations Act 1954. The Act required that the area should not be more than 2 square miles, within which no two points are more than 4 miles distant and with a density of population of not less than one person to the acre. No new dependent town districts can be constituted. The number of town districts in September 1966 was 18 (11 independent and 7 dependent).

General Powers—Local authorities in New Zealand derive their powers from the Acts under which they are constituted, and also from special empowering Acts. In addition to legislation providing for particular types of local authority or for individual local authorities, there are several statutory measures which are more or less applicable to all local authorities, such as the Local Elections and Polls Act 1966 and the Local Authorities Loans Act 1956. For most harbour boards, there is in addition to the general Harbours Act a special Act for each board, which is subordinate to the general Act. Certain types of local authority—urban drainage boards, transport boards, the Auckland Regional Authority, the Auckland Harbour Bridge Authority, the Christchurch-Lyttelton Road Tunnel Authority, and the Waikato Valley Authority—derive their principal powers from special constituting Acts.

Local authorities have general powers of entering into contracts for any of the purposes for which they are constituted; of selling and leasing land; and of taking or purchasing any land which may be necessary or convenient for any public work.

Number of Local Authorities—The number of local authorities actively functioning at 1 September 1966 was 703 made up as follows: County councils, 111, borough (including city) councils, 142; town councils (independent), 11; town councils (dependent), 7; road board, 1; regional authority, 1; river boards (2 boards also have the power of land-drainage boards), 10; catchment boards, 13; catchment commissions, 3; land-drainage boards, 37; electric power boards, 39; water-supply board, 1; urban drainage boards, 4; transport boards, 2; local railway board, 1; electric power and gas boards, 2; independent milk boards, 15; nassella tussock board, 2; harbour bridge authority, 1; road tunnel authority, 1; valley authority, 1; plantation board, 1; underground water authorities, 3; rabbit boards, 179; independent fire boards, 60; independent harbour boards, 18; and hospital boards, 37. Borough and county councils also function as milk boards in 38 cases, as fire authorities in 189 cases, and as harbour boards in 11 cases. In addition, there were 21 district councils of the National Roads Board constituted under the National Roads Act 1954. Although these district roads councils are not local authorities in the strict sense of the term they are intimately connected with certain aspects of local government providing an advisory service to the National Roads Board concerning the roading needs and the allocation of national roading funds within their respective districts.

Administratively, boroughs and independent town districts, which are contained within the areas of the several counties, are regarded as separate entities. From an administrative point of view, therefore, the fundamental districts are counties, boroughs, and independent town districts. Upon this foundation a considerable superstructure of districts of other types has been erected. These overlapping districts may be divided into two broad classes, viz: (1) Districts formed from parts of counties, e.g., road districts; and (2) those which are composed of a group of adjacent districts of other types united for a common purpose, e.g., electric power districts.

Local Government Commission—The Local Government Commission Act 1961, which replaced the Local Government Commission Act 1953, set up a Local Government Commission which is a permanent institution deemed to be a Commission of Inquiry under the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1908.

The Act provides that the Commission shall consist of a Chairman who is a barrister or solicitor of the Supreme Court of New Zealand and two other members having a special knowledge of local government.

The functions of the Commission are to carry out investigations, prepare reorganisation schemes, and make recommendations and reports for the purpose of ensuring that the system of local government in any locality will best provide for the needs and continued development of the locality, that local authorities have such district boundaries and such functions and powers as will enable them to provide most effectively and economically essential or desirable local government services and facilities, and that the provisions of the Act and of other Acts in relation to local government are effectively implemented. Reorganisation schemes may provide for the union of adjoining districts, the merger, constitution, or abolition of districts, the alteration of boundaries, the conversion of a district into one of a different kind, the transfer of functions of one local authority to another or the dissolution of a local authority.

The Act provides for the appointment of a Local Government Appeal Authority whose function is to sit as a judicial authority to determine appeals made from decisions of the Commission. Any decision finally approving a scheme of reorganisation of districts may be appealed against only by the following parties:

Franchise—Under the Local Election and Polls Act 1966, elections are held on the second Saturday in October every third year. Enrolment of residential electors is compulsory. On any proposal relating to loans or rates a rate paying or a freehold qualification is necessary. Details of the franchise as it affects each type of local district are now given.

Counties—Any person of 21 years of age and over who possesses either of the following qualification is entitled to be enrolled on the county electors roll:

Boroughs—Any person of 21 years of age and over who possesses any of the following qualifications is entitled to enrolment:

Town Districts—The franchise is the same as for boroughs, except that for county electoral purposes in dependent town districts the county qualification is necessary.

Rabbit Districts—Where the rates of the district are based on the acreage and rateable value of land occupied by the ratepayer, the franchise is the same as that exercised for county council elections. Where the franchise is based on stock ownership, from one to five votes are allowed according to the number of stock units owned.

Other Districts—Road districts, river districts, land-drainage districts, water-supply districts, and the local railway district all have a franchise similar to that of counties except that the residential qualification applies to road districts only.

Districts composed of a grouping of districts of other types united for a common purpose have a franchise as for the component districts. Such districts are urban drainage districts, electric power districts, harbour districts, hospital districts, urban transport districts, and catchment districts. In some cases—e.g., the Auckland Metropolitan and Hutt Valley Drainage Boards—the members are appointed or elected by the territorial local authorities included in the district.

TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING—The Town and Country Planning Act 1953 provides for the making and enforcement of regional and district planning schemes, and the detailed procedure to be followed in each case is amplified by the Town and Country Planning Regulations 1960. The Government administers the Act through the Minister of Works who may delegate his authority to the Commissioner of Works.

Regional Planning—Regional Planning Authorities may be established under provisions of the Town and Country Planning Act 1953. As provided in the Act the authorities consist of representatives of the several councils whose districts are wholly or partly within the region. Every local authority within the region, other than the constituent councils, is entitled to be represented by at least one associate member. The Regional Planning Authority may also appoint any person who may be possessed of special knowledge, or representatives of any Department of State, to be associate members. Authorities are now operating in the four main centres and in Northland and Marlborough.

Finance for administration purposes is provided for by way of a maximum rate of one-hundredth of a cent in the dollar on the rateable capital value of those portions of the councils' territories inside the regional area. The Act also makes provision whereby any of the constituent councils may enter into and carry out agreements for the execution of combined works.

Regional planning schemes must be preceded by a comprehensive survey of the natural resources of the areas concerned, and of the present and potential uses and values of all lands in relation to public utilities or amenities. Regional schemes envisage the conservation and economic development of natural resources by classification of lands according to their best uses and by the co-ordination of all such public improvements, utilities, and amenities as are not limited to the territory of any one local authority. Every regional planning scheme is intended to be a guide to councils engaged in the preparation of district planning schemes and to public authorities and all persons in relation to conservation and development within the region. Regional schemes are required to be reviewed at intervals of not more than 10 years.

District Planning—Every district scheme is required to have for its general purpose the development of the area to which it relates (including where necessary the replanning and reconstruction of an area already built on) in such a way as will most effectively tend to promote and safeguard the health, safety and convenience, the economic and general welfare of its inhabitants, and the amenities of every part of the area. The council of every city, borough, county, and independent town district must provide and maintain a district scheme whether or not a regional planning scheme including its district has been prepared or become operative.

While a district scheme is being prepared a council may refuse its consent to the carrying out of any development that would be in contravention of the scheme and falls within the definition of a "detrimental work'', but the owner or occupier affected may appeal against such a decision to the Town and Country Planning Appeal Board. The Minister can require the council to exercise these powers where the development would or might adversely affect Government works or the public interest, and local authorities have similar rights in respect of their works. Any appeal proceedings lie against the Minister or the local authority concerned.

In the period before a district scheme becomes operative, any change of use of land that detracts or is likely to detract from the amenities of the neighbourhood is required to have the prior consent of the council. Where an application is made to the council for consent, the applicant and every person who claims to be affected by the proposed use has a right to be heard by the council and may appeal to the Appeal Board against the council's decision.

When completed and recommended by the council, copies of a district scheme are submitted to the Minister of Works and to adjoining councils and to local authorities within the area covered by the scheme for consideration, particularly in relation to their public works. When the Minister and each local authority is satisfied that all their respective public works have been properly provided for in the scheme and have certified accordingly, the district scheme is publicly notified for inspection for three months. Any owner or occupier of land affected may object to any provision of the scheme, and the Minister, other local authorities, professional, business, sporting or other such organisations, may also object to the scheme on grounds of public interest. In the event of an objection not being sustained by the council the objector may appeal to the Appeal Board whose decision is final.

The Minister of Works may prepare and obtain approval for a district scheme in any case where a local authority under an obligation to prepare such a scheme fails to do so after being notified in writing. The costs and expenses incurred by the Minister are recoverable from the local authority, or they may be deducted from any moneys payable to the local authority by the Crown.

When a district scheme has been finally approved and made operative the council and all local authorities having jurisdiction in the district are bound to observe, and enforce observance of, the requirements of the scheme. The provisions of an operative regional planning scheme are also obligatory, but a constituent council has a right of appeal to the Town and Country Planning Appeal Board where a provision of a proposed or operative district scheme conflicts with the regional scheme; the Minister has, incidentally, a similar right of appeal so far as the regional scheme conflicts with the public interest.

Operative district schemes may be altered at any time, and must be reviewed when any part of the scheme has been operative for a period of five years. In preparing, recommending, and approving a change or a review of a district scheme the proposed change or review is publicly notified for inspection by owners and occupiers of property and simultaneously submitted to the Minister, to the Regional Planning Authority, and to the local authorities within the district for their consideration and objection where necessary in the light of their respective public works and other responsibilities.

Once a district scheme has been made operative it cannot be cancelled unless it is replaced at the same time by another operative district scheme. Furthermore, once a proposed change to an operative district scheme has been publicly notified for inspection and objection by owners and occupiers of property, no development work, subdivision, or change of use of land or buildings that would conflict with the proposed change may be carried out without permission by order of the Appeal Board.

Where a district scheme is operative the local authority may take, under the Public Works Act 1928, any land in its district if in accordance with the scheme it considers it is necessary or expedient to do so for the proper development or use of the land, or for the provision or preservation of amenities, or for the improvement of areas that are too closely subdivided or are occupied by decadent buildings.

POPULATION GROWTH—Throughout the main period of European settlement in New Zealand, which lasted from 1850 to 1880, the rate of population growth was very rapid. The 1858 Census recorded 115,462 inhabitants of whom one-half were Maoris. At the 1886 Census the population had reached 620,487, though the Maori population had in the meantime fallen from 56,049 to 43,927.

Thereafter, as the wave of immigration subsided, the rate of growth slowed down. The average annual increase has varied between 0.8 and 2.8 percent, with low rates during the depression periods of 1886-1891 and 1929-1936, and also during the two World Wars. In the last 20 years the annual rate of growth has been over 2 percent a year. The lower birth rate since 1964 could result in a reduction of the rate of growth, but it is still likely to be about 2 percent a year.

During the present century, natural increase has been the principal element in the growth of population; and in the following table the natural increase of non-Maoris is given.

A comparable table for the Maori population is not available but the following table shows the inter-censal increases in the Maori population. Since the Maori birth rate has exceeded that of the population of European origin very considerably, while the death rate has fallen, the natural increase of Maoris has made an increasingly important contribution to the growth of the total population.

The other element in the population growth—the gains from external migration—is shown in the following table. Movements of the armed forces are not included.

Most of the inward migration has been from the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Netherlands.

CENSUS STATISTICS—Population statistics are based primarily on the five-yearly population census. Intercensal population estimates are based on the most recent census data available, adjusted in accordance with later figures of births, deaths, and migration. Estimates of the populations of particular localities, e.g., cities and boroughs, also take into account local economic developments, housing schemes, the numbers on school rolls, changes in boundaries, and any other factors leading to, or indicating, changes in population.

The basis adopted for the population census, and virtually throughout population statistics in New Zealand, is that of population physically present in the place of enumeration at the time of enumeration.

All references to New Zealand relate solely to geographic New Zealand, i.e., island territories are omitted except where their inclusion is specifically stated. Though Niue Island and Tokelau Islands are constitutionally part of New Zealand, for geographical reasons they are administered separately. The Cook Islands are self-governing but the islanders are New Zealand citizens.

Maoris are included in all population data unless the contrary is stated.

PRESENT POPULATION—At the census of population taken on 18 April 1961, the population of New Zealand, excluding island territories, was 2,414,984; by the latest census on 22 March 1966 the population had risen to 2,676,919.

The following table gives a summary of New Zealand population.

INCREASE OF POPULATION—The growth of population has been substantial in each intercensal period. The lowest rates are those of 1926-36, which included some years of economic depression, and of 1936-45, which included six years of international war.

Population estimates for years between Censuses are given in the first table in the Statistical Summary towards the end of this Yearbook.

COMPARISON WITH OTHER COUNTRIES—The annual average percentage increases of population are given in the following table for certain selected countries.

POPULATION PROJECTIONS—An indication of future population growth, including Maoris, in New Zealand is given by the detailed projections for the period 1967-90.

Projections of future population involve an element of uncertainty owing to incomplete knowledge of the factors underlying changes in fertility, mortality, and migration levels, coupled with the difficulty of accurately forecasting the future course of the factors which are known to affect these components of population change. It should be understood, therefore, that these projections merely show the effect of the assumptions stated below the table on the future growth of the existing population. The assumptions, however, have been adopted only after careful studies of trends in the patterns of fertility, mortality, and migration and, in the light of available current information, are regarded as those most likely to produce realistic projections over the length of the projection period.

Assumptions—The two projections are linked to actual population numbers as at 31 December 1966. The assumptions on which the projections depend are as follows:

The following diagram presented on a ratio scale shows the growth of actual population from 1880 to 1966 and projections through to 1990.

DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION—Detailed population statistics are compiled for each census. Final figures for statistical areas, urban areas, counties, cities, boroughs, town districts, county towns, extra-county islands, and shipping are published in Volume 1, Increase and Location of Population, of the Census of Population and Dwellings.

North and South Islands—In 1858 the North Island had a larger population than the South, but this position was reversed at the succeeding enumeration, and the South Island had the larger population (exclusive of Maoris) at each census from 1861 to 1896. In 1901 the North Island was found to have slightly the larger total and since then has steadily increased its lead.

The following table gives the population, excluding Maoris, of the North and South Islands as disclosed by each census since 1901.

The population of the North Island increased at a greater proportionate rate than that of the South Island between the 1961 and 1966 censuses. At the 1966 census the North Island population was 1,893,326, including 190,524 Maoris, and the South Island population 783,593, inclusive of 10,635 Maoris. The increase since the 1961 census was 208,541 for the North Island and 53,394 for the South Island.

The natural increase of population (i.e., excess of births over deaths) for the North Island during the 1961-66 intercensal period was 152,942, and for the South Island the natural increase was 48,312. External migration has also added to the population and there has been population movement between the islands.

Statistical Areas—The boundaries of statistical areas are shown on the map inside the back cover. Northland comprises the northern counties from Mangonui to Otamatea; central Auckland, the counties from Rodney to Franklin (including islands in the Hauraki Gulf); East Coast, the area north of Wairoa; while South Auckland-Bay of Plenty comprises the remainder of the provincial district. Hawke's Bay, Taranaki, and Wellington statistical areas are the same as the provincial districts of the same names.

In the South Island the statistical areas coincide with the provincial district boundaries, except for the transfer of Amuri and Cheviot counties from Nelson to Canterbury, and the transfer of all that area of Grey county north of Grey River from Nelson to Westland.

In the following table the approximate areas and the populations as at the census of March 1966 of the statistical areas are shown.

Urban Areas—Urban areas are statistical conceptions and not administrative units. Their purpose is to provide definite, stable, and comparable boundaries for the larger centres of population. In addition to the central city or borough, they include neighbouring boroughs and town districts and parts of counties which are regarded as suburban to the centre of population. The present boundaries of urban areas have been in use since 1951.

For the 1961 Census, three new urban areas were defined at Whangarei, Tauranga, and Rotorua and comparable figures have been compiled for past years.

In the following table statistics of urban areas are given; 62.5 percent of the population lived in these areas in 1966.

In the years 1961-66 Auckland urban area had the greatest numerical growth, while Whangarei, Rotorua, Tauranga, and Hamilton had the highest proportionate increases. Dunedin urban area had the lowest percentage increase (3.6 percent).

In the next table the component parts of the five largest centres of population are given in detail.

Cities and Boroughs—The population of cities and boroughs is now given.

Town Districts—The population of independent town districts—i.e., those contained in section (a) of the following table—is not included with that of the county in which the town district is located, but the population of dependent town districts—section (b)—is included in that of the respective parent county.

County Towns—The following table lists those county towns with populations of 1,000 or more at the time of the 1966 census. The parent county is shown in parentheses. The populations of county towns are included in the administrative county populations given previously.

Extra-county Islands and Shipboard Population—In addition to the populations quoted for administrative counties, cities and boroughs, and independent town districts, the New Zealand totals include shipboard population and persons located on islands not within the boundaries of any county. The two latter categories comprised a total of 7,339 people as at 22 March 1966.

Of the islands concerned, Waiheke, with a population of 2,013, was the only one of any size.

Counties—The following table gives the population of individual counties at 22 March 1966, together with the approximate area of each. It should be noted that "Administrative Counties'' do not include boroughs or town districts independent of county control, but include town districts and county towns which form parts of counties.

Most of those counties showing considerable gains of population are adjacent to large cities.

Population Growth and Urbanisation—With the growth in the efficiency of farming, with increased specialisation, and general development of the economy, urban centres have increased rapidly in size and population has tended to concentrate in them; employment opportunities have been provided in secondary and service industries for the expanding labour force. In 1874 two-thirds of the population lived in settlements of less than 500 persons, that is to say on farms or in hamlets. Under a changed classification in 1900, 54 percent were living in counties and the remainder in boroughs. By 1961 only one-quarter of the population lived in rural areas. The following table indicates the urban movement of the total population; the urban population has been defined as urban area population plus that of all boroughs, town districts, townships, and (for 1961 and 1966) county towns with populations of 1,000 or over.

In recent years urbanisation has helped to absorb the increasing Maori population and likewise rapid expansion in the number of Maoris of working age has contributed to economic growth. The following table indicates the urban movement of the Maori population.

In the process of urbanisation some cities and areas have grown more quickly than others. Thus the population of 18 principal urban areas rose from 739,243 in 1926 to 1,672,053 in 1966, more than doubling in this period. This tendency towards concentration of population in the largest centres is associated with a drift of population from the south to the north and where the two tendencies reinforce each other, as they do in the case of Auckland, the rate of growth has been very rapid. In the process some towns in the north which were of negligible size in 1926 have now become of major importance. Thus Whangarei, Hamilton, Tauranga, and Rotorua, which had a combined population in 1926 of 37,000, in 1966 comprised 157,641 inhabitants.

The initial reason for the drift to the north lay in the change in emphasis of farming activities in which the development of dairying played an important part, while in the earliest period the major impetus to development had come from the gold rushes and the settlement of open pastoral lands in the South Island. The expansion of dairying in itself called for the development of factory processing facilities at both ends of the productive process, notably fertiliser industries and dairy factories. The more intensive farming of this subsequent period has also resulted in North Island supremacy in sheep raising, with a particular emphasis on the fat lamb market. (In 1886 there were 9.9 million sheep in the South Island and only 5.3 million in the North Island. In 1965 there were 29.6 million sheep in the North and 24.1 million in the South Island.) These farming trends have been reinforced by the growth of forest processing industries in the North Island.

In the larger cities a notable feature of the past 35 years has been a movement of population from the central or "inner'' areas to the perimeter or "outer'' areas as families in decayed areas have moved to State rental houses and as residential units in the city centres have been replaced by shops, offices, places of entertainment, and other commercial or industrial buildings. In recent years there has been an offsetting movement with the building of multi-storey flats in the inner areas.

The distribution of population by size of centres is shown in the following table.

In the South Island a higher proportion of the population is rural, that is, outside urban communities, than in the North Island.

SEX PROPORTIONS—The census of 22 March 1966 shows that males outnumber females by 10,567 in the total population. Females per 1,000 males at the last six censuses have been:

There are marked differences in the sex proportions of the population of different parts of New Zealand, depending largely on educational and employment opportunities. The following figures give the number of females per 1,000 males at the Census of 1966.