My IE Research

So far in my IE, I have answered two of my ten questions. Here they are, along with their answers.

What is politics?

The word politics means the activities associated with the governance of a country or area, especially the debate between parties having power. Politics is a way of deciding the government and making different decisions that impact our community. It is the way we make laws in our society. Politics can also be used not just in laws, but also in schools, and big companies. Politics is about making agreements in groups so that they can live in peace together, and without fights.

How does politics work in NZ?

New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy, which is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state. I NZ’s case, this person is the Queen. The Governor General represents the Queen. New Zealand uses an MMP voting system. This stands for Mixed Member Proportional. Using the MMP system, each voter gets two votes. The first vote, is for the party you prefer. This is the vote that largely decides which number of seats each party gets of the 120 seats in Parliament. For example, if 40% vote for the banana party, they will get 40% of the seats in Parliament. Your second vote is to choose a person to represent your local electorate in Parliament. Under MMP, New Zealand is divided into 71 electorates. Whoever gets the most votes, will become your local MP. For a party to get seats in Parliament, they have to get at least 5% of the votes, or win an electorate seat. But, if for example, a party got 4% of the votes, but also got one electorate, they would be entitled to 4% of the seats. The government is formed by a democratic election held every three years.

I hope to get another five questions completed this week. I’m not sure how this will go for me!

Please comment and give me feedback!