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In 1907, at the request of the New Zealand Parliament, King Edward VII proclaimed New Zealand a Dominion within the British Empire,[57] reflecting its self-governing status.[58] In 1947 the country adopted the Statute of Westminster, confirming that the British Parliament could no longer legislate for New Zealand without the consent of New Zealand.[51] Early in the 20th century, New Zealand was involved in world affairs, fighting in the First and Second World Wars[59] and suffering through the Great Depression.[60] The depression led to the election of the First Labour Government and the establishment of a comprehensive welfare state and a protectionist economy.[61] New Zealand experienced increasing prosperity following the Second World War[62] and Maori began to leave their traditional rural life and move to the cities in search of work.[63] A Maori protest movement developed, which criticised Eurocentrism and worked for greater recognition of Maori culture and of the Treaty of Waitangi.[64] In 1975, a Waitangi Tribunal was set up to investigate alleged breaches of the Treaty, and it was enabled to investigate historic grievances in 1985.[44] The government has negotiated settlements of these grievances with many iwi,[65] although Maori claims to the foreshore and seabed proved controversial in the 2000s.[66][67] New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy,[68] although its constitution is not codified.[69] Elizabeth II is the queen of New Zealand[70] and thus the head of state.[71] The queen is represented by the governor-general, whom she appoints on the advice of the prime minister.[72] The governor-general can exercise the Crown's prerogative powers, such as reviewing cases of injustice and making appointments of ministers, ambassadors and other key public officials,[73] and in rare situations, the reserve powers (e.g. the power to dissolve parliament or refuse the royal assent of a bill into law).[74] The powers of the monarch and the governor-general are limited by constitutional constraints and they cannot normally be exercised without the advice of ministers.[74] The New Zealand Parliament holds legislative power and consists of the queen and the House of Representatives.[75] It also included an upper house, the Legislative Council, until this was abolished in 1950.[75] The supremacy of parliament over the Crown and other government institutions was established in England by the Bill of Rights 1689 and has been ratified as law in New Zealand.[75] The House of Representatives is democratically elected and a government is formed from the party or coalition with the majority of seats. If no majority is formed, a minority government can be formed if support from other parties during confidence and supply votes is assured.[75] The governor-general appoints ministers under advice from the prime minister, who is by convention the parliamentary leader of the governing party or coalition.[76] Cabinet, formed by ministers and led by the prime minister, is the highest policy-making body in government and responsible for deciding significant government actions.[77] Members of Cabinet make major decisions collectively, and are therefore collectively responsible for the consequences of these decisions.[78] A parliamentary general election must be called no later than three years after the previous election.[79] Almost all general elections between 1853 and 1993 were held under the first-past-the-post voting system.[80] Since the 1996 election, a form of proportional representation called mixed-member proportional (MMP) has been used.[69] Under the MMP system, each person has two votes; one is for a candidate standing in the voter's electorate and the other is for a party. Since the 2014 election, there have been 71 electorates (which include seven Maori electorates in which only Maori can optionally vote),[81] and the remaining 49 of the 120 seats are assigned so that representation in parliament reflects the party vote, with the threshold that a party must win at least one electorate or 5% of the total party vote before it is eligible for a seat.[82] A block of buildings fronted by a large statue. A statue of Richard Seddon, the "Beehive" (Executive Wing), and Parliament House (right), in Parliament Grounds, Wellington. Elections since the 1930s have been dominated
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