Information: - A speech from the throne (or throne speech) is an event in certain monarchies in which the reigning sovereign, or a representative thereof, reads a prepared speech to the members of parliament when a session is opened, outlining the government's agenda for the session. The speech is prepared by the ministers of the crown in cabinet. The event is often held annually, although in some places it may occur more or less frequently, whenever a new session of parliament is opened. Many republics have adopted a similar practice in which the head of state, often a president, addresses the legislature; for example, in the United States, the president makes an annual State of the Union address and in the Philippines, the president also makes an annual State of the Nation Address - The 2011 New Zealand general election on Saturday 26 November 2011 determined the membership of the 50th New Zealand Parliament . One hundred and twenty - one MPs were elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives , 70 from single - member electorates , including one overhang seat , and 51 from party lists . New Zealand since 1996 has used the Mixed Member Proportional ( MMP ) voting system , giving voters two votes : one for a political party and the other for their local electorate MP . A referendum on the voting system was held at the same time as the election , with voters voting by majority to keep the MMP system . A total of 3,070,847 people were registered to vote in the election , with over 2.2 million votes cast and a turnout of 74.21 % -- the lowest turnout since 1887 . The incumbent National Party , led by John Key , gained the plurality with 47.3 % of the party vote and 59 seats , two seats short of holding a majority . The opposing Labour Party , led by Phil Goff , lost ground winning 27.5 % of the vote and 34 seats , while the Green Party won 11.1 % of the vote and 14 seats -- the biggest share of the party vote for a minor party since 1996 . New Zealand First , having won no seats in 2008 due to its failure to either reach the 5 % threshold or win an electorate , made a comeback with 6.6 % of the vote entitling them to eight seats . National 's confidence and supply partners in the 49th Parliament meanwhile suffered losses . ACT New Zealand won less than a third of the party vote it received in 2008 , reducing from five seats to one . The Mori Party was reduced from five seats to three , as the party vote split between the Mori Party and former Mori Party MP Hone Harawira 's Mana Party . United Future lost party votes , but retained their one seat in Parliament . Following the election , National reentered into confidence and supply agreements with ACT and United Future on 5 December 2011 , and with the Mori Party on 11 December 2011 , to form a minority government with a seven - seat... - Sir Alexander Lockwood Smith (born 13 November 1948) is the current High Commissioner of New Zealand to the United Kingdom and a former New Zealand politician who served as the 28th Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2008 to 2013. Smith is a member of the New Zealand National Party and served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1984 until his retirement to pursue diplomatic roles in 2013. He represented first the Kaipara electorate and then Rodney, and has held a number of Cabinet positions; he was Minister of Education from 1990 to 1996 and subsequently served as Minister of Agriculture, Minister for International Trade, and Associate Minister of Finance. - John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand and leader of the New Zealand National Party. He was elected leader of the party in November 2006 and appointed Prime Minister in November 2008, resigning from both posts in December 2016. - The 50th New Zealand Parliament was elected at the 2011 general election. It had 121 members (120 seats plus one overhang seat), and was in place from December 2011 until September 2014, followed by the 2014 general election. The first sitting of the 50th Parliament was held on 20 December 2011, where members were sworn in and Lockwood Smith was elected Speaker of the House. This was followed by the speech from the throne on 21 December. John Key continued to lead the Fifth National Government. Following the resignation of Smith, David Carter was elected Speaker. - Overhang seats can arise in elections under the traditional (i.e. as it originated in Germany) mixed member proportional (MMP) system, when a party is entitled to fewer seats as a result of party votes than it has won constituencies, or vice versa. Given the information above, choose from the list below the object entity that exhibits the relation 'office contested' with the subject 'new zealand general election'. Choices: - head of state - member - president - prime minister of new zealand - speaker
prime minister of new zealand