Parliament: Votes of Confidence
“Confidence of the House” is a term that often crops up in media stories. This article (mostly based on a speech by a previous Governor-General) explains what the term means – politically and constitutionally.
Having the confidence of the House of Representatives is most important for NZ’s democratic process. This is because the group of MPs elected to Parliament who can command the support of the House on matters of confidence and supply has the right to govern – and that group forms the Government of the day.
Politics and the Constitution
One way of understanding the relationship between politics and the NZ Constitution is to think of a mountain. The mountain (the Constitution) re-mains pretty much unchanged over time. On the mountain, however, are trees and other plants. These grow, are cut down or die naturally. These plants represent the role of politics.
Once government gains the support of the House at the start of a parliamentary term, it is presumed that it will keep that support, that is, retain confidence of the House – unless some event (or series of events) brings that support into question. Occasionally, however, the government faces (or declares) a vote of confidence. These votes are very important because the government stands or falls on the outcome – votes of confidence are the ultimate test of a government’s mandate (right) to continue in power. In some situations the votes can be used as a political tactic; in all situations they have constitutional importance.
In an MMP environment votes of confidence may become more important than under the first-past-the-post system, because the way the government is made up is likely to be more varied and fluid than under first-past-the-post. It is also possible that the Governor-General’s constitutional role as Head of State may receive more attention.
Several Types
Here is how the issue of confidence works. Confidence votes can take several different forms. A confidence vote may come from the government, which may move a vote of confidence in itself or move to declare a particular Bill to be a matter of confidence (this is sometimes used as a way of shoring up support for a Bill). There are two situations under which votes of confidence may arise that are independent of the government:
- the Opposition may raise a motion expressing a lack of confidence within the government (there not many opportunities to do this, however); and
- votes on Appropriation Bills (a bill granting the government authority to spend public money or to incur expenses for detailed purposes) or Imprest Supply Bills (a bill granting the government temporary authority to spend public money and incur liabilities) automatically raise questions of confidence, because obtaining Parliament’s authority to spend money has always been viewed as fundamental to the survival of the government.
When there are Doubts About Confidence
The government is presumed to have the confidence of the House unless something happens to cast doubts on that support. If it’s unclear whether there is enough support, the politicians have a duty to make it clear (to the Governor-General) within a fairly short timeframe – allowing a reasonable time for negotiation and reorganisation – where the confidence of the House lies. This is because as Head of State, the Governor-General must be comfortable that he or she is continuing to act on the advice of responsible Ministers who enjoy the confidence of the House.
If a government loses the support of the House, the Prime Minister will, in accordance with convention, indicate a readiness to resign. In this situation, the Governor-General would wait to see whether the politicians were able to resolve the situation themselves, either by re-establishing their support for the existing government, or by agreeing to support a new grouping. If the politicians were unable to resolve the situation within a reasonable timeframe, it is likely that the Governor-General would dissolve Parliament and call an election.
Recent Examples
Twice during the recent history of Parliament, the issue of confidence became, potentially, of constitutional importance. These situations were:
- the replacement, as Prime Minister, of Jim Bolger by Jenny Shipley; and
- the breakdown of the National/ NZ First coalition government and the formation of a National-lead minority government.
In both cases, although there was a political crisis, there was not a constitutional crisis. The reason why there wasn’t a constitutional crisis was because the Governor-General was comfortable that the Prime Minister retained the confidence of the House. Secondly, all the politicians understood that political matters had to be kept separate from constitutional matters.
In times of a political crisis it is the job of the politicians, not the Governor-General, to find solutions. The politicians are responsible for ensuring that the Governor-General, as Head of State, is able to remain politically neutral, and is protected from the need to make what is, or may be seen to be, a political decision.
For example, during the coalition breakdown, the political leaders stated regularly and publicly whether they supported the government or not. The public statements made by the politicians in these two examples meant that the Governor-General could get a clear picture of the constitutional situation (and, consequently, did not need to be directly involved).
In the case of the coalition breakdown the matter was effectively ended 8 days after the swearing in of the new minority government when the Prime Minister, on her own initiative, moved a vote of confidence in the House. In passing this motion, the House expressed its confidence in the new minority government.
Then British Prime Minister William Gladstone, writing in the 1880s, wrote that the British constitution “presumes more boldly than any other, the good sense and good faith of those who work it.” It’s fair to say that this statement applies just as much to 21st Century NZ.
Note: A copy of the Governor-General’s speech (a 1998 speech by Sir Michael Hardie Boys), on which this article was based, can be found at http://www.gov-gen.govt.nz/media/speeches.asp?type=constitutional&ID=94
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