The Westminster System

The Westminster System is the democratic system of government which is from the British Parliament palace. There are three branches of government in the Westminster System, the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary. And the Governor-General is a symbol of unity in this system. Governor-General represents the Queen Elizabeth II who is also the Queen of New Zealand. He or she has three main roles which are ceremonial, symbolic and constitutional. This essay will look at these roles in the context of the Westminster System and discuss whether the Governor-General has any power.

The first part is the roles of Governor-General in the Westminster System. To begin with, Westminster System has branches which mentioned before. It separates the power between three different branches. First is the legislature, consisting of the all members of parliament. It has power that making laws after drafting, examining and debating bills. For example, (p.55 green) the parliament which is the group of people who are elected to make and change the laws of a country should have three reading, voting and three debating before the bill becoming the act. Second is executive which consists of the governor-general (represents the Queen in England), cabinet ministers and public service. This department initiates and administers laws which means it decide the policy. For example, New Zealand government carried out one policy which is cutting personal taxes (National party in 2008). Next is judiciary that includes judges and the courts. It applies law through various cases.