07.04.2020

5 група -  англійська мова - тема уроку "Державний устрій та Державні символи Нової Зеландії "

Government and politics

Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand

Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand

New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy, although its constitution is not codified. Elizabeth II is the queen of New Zealand and thus the head of state. The queen is represented by the governor-general, whom she appoints on the advice of the prime minister. 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, and in rare situations, the reserve powers (e.g. the power to dissolve parliament or refuse the royal assent of a bill into law). 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.

The New Zealand Parliament holds legislative power and consists of the queen and the House of Representatives. It also included an upper house, the Legislative Council, until this was abolished in 1950. 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. 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. The governor-general appoints ministers under advice from the prime minister, who is by convention the parliamentary leader of the governing party or coalition. 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. Members of Cabinet make major decisions collectively, and are therefore collectively responsible for the consequences of these decisions.

A parliamentary general election must be called no later than three years after the previous election. Almost all general elections between 1853 and 1993 were held under the first-past-the-post voting system. Since the 1996 election, a form of proportional representation called mixed-member proportional (MMP) has been used. 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 Māori electorates in which only Māori can optionally vote), 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.

A statue of Richard Seddon, the "Beehive" (Executive Wing), and Parliament House (right), in Parliament Grounds, Wellington.

Elections since the 1930s have been dominated by two political parties, National and Labour. Between March 2005 and August 2006, New Zealand became the first country in the world in which all the highest offices in the land—head of state, governor-general, prime minister, speaker and chief justice—were occupied simultaneously by women. The current prime minister is Jacinda Ardern, who has been in office since 26 October 2017. She is the country's third female prime minister.

New Zealand's judiciary, headed by the chief justice, includes the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, the High Court, and subordinate courts. Judges and judicial officers are appointed non-politically and under strict rules regarding tenure to help maintain judicial independence. This theoretically allows the judiciary to interpret the law based solely on the legislation enacted by Parliament without other influences on their decisions.

New Zealand is identified as one of the world's most stable and well-governed states. As at 2017, the country was ranked fourth in the strength of its democratic institutions, and first in government transparency and lack of corruption. A 2017 Human Rights Report by the U.S. Department of State noted that the government generally respected the rights of individuals, but voiced concerns regarding the social status of the Māori population. New Zealand ranks highly for civic participation in the political process, with 77% voter turnout during recent elections, compared to an OECD average of 69%.

ЗАВДАННЯ:

1)  Опрацювати текст - виписати нові слова і вивчити їх, читати текст і перекласти його;

2)  Перекласти на англійську мову :

Нова́ Зела́ндія — держава в південно-західній частині Тихого океану.

На чолі держави стоїть королева Нової Зеландії — Єлизавета II.

Королівство Нової Зеландії включає в себе незалежні в державному управлінні, але вільно асоційовані з Новою Зеландією острівні держави Острови Кука, Ніуе, а також несамоврядну територію Токелау й антарктичну Територію Росса.

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New Zealand national symbols

Flag

The flag of New Zealand, approved on March 24, 1902, is a rectangular cloth in the ratio 1: 2 . The prototype of the current flag with a blue flag and a British flag in the corner appeared in 1865 as a result of a government decree that ships of all British colonies should have such a flag. In 1867-1869, the red letters NZ were in the lower right corner, and in 1869-1902 there were four red stars with a white border. The blue flag background is associated with the blue of the sky and sea surrounding the country. Stars of the Southern Cross communicate with the location of the country in the South Pacific. The symbolism of the flag of Great Britain speaks of the historical heritage that the country was a former British colony .

The first national emblem of New Zealand was put into circulation in 1911, the current emblem was adopted in 1956. The coat of arms is a shield held on one side by a blond woman with the New Zealand flag in her hands and on the other hand by a Maori warrior. Above the shield rises the crown of St. Edward. Under the shield are two branches of fern. The coat of arms is associated with the unity of all cultures and peoples inhabiting the country, and with the commitment of the New Zealand monarchy.

Coat of arms

Two anthems are recognized as national in New Zealand - "God, Defend New Zealand" and "God, Save the Queen". 

The text “God Defend New Zealand” was written in 1870 by Thomas Bracken. The winner of the music contest for the text, held in 1876, was John Joseph Woods (born John Joseph Woods). The song gained popularity, and in 1940 the country's government acquired the copyright in it and identified it as a national anthem. But only in 1977, the song was legally approved as the second national anthem.

The text of the anthem “God Defend New Zealand” consists of five verses. The original text is written in English, the official version also has a translation into Maori. Traditionally, only the first verse is performed at government events: first, a Maori version sounds, then an English version.

Завдання:

1. Робота з текстом - читати, перекласти
2. Переклади на англійську мову наступні речення:

1) Нова Зеландія є членом Британської співдружності і визнає владу британського монарха.

2) Державний прапор має фон синього кольору, на ньому присутні зображення британського прапора і чотирьох червоних зірок, які символізують сузір'я Південний Хрест.