48th New Zealand Parliament
The 48th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. Its composition was determined at a general election held on 17 September 2005. The new parliament met for the first time on 7 November 2005. It was dissolved on 3 October 2008. The Labour Party and the Progressive Party, backed by New Zealand First and United Future, established a majority at the beginning the 48th Parliament. The Labour-led administration was in its third term. The National Party and ACT form the formal opposition to the government. Other non-government parties are  the Greens (who promised to abstain on confidence and supply votes) and the Māori Party. The 48th Parliament consists of 121 representatives. This represents an overhang of one seat, with the Māori Party having won one more electorates than its share of the vote would otherwise have given it. In total, sixty-nine of the MPs were chosen by geographical electorates, including seven Māori electorates. The remainder were elected by means of party-list proportional representation under the MMP electoral system. Oath of office. All the Māori Party MPs tried to alter their Oath of office by adding references to  the Treaty of Waitangi. They all had to retake their oaths. Election result. Government: the third and final term of the Fifth Labour Government, in power from 1999 until 2008; minority coalition with Progressive Party since 2002 Prime Minister: Helen Clark (Labour) from 1999 to 2008 Governor General: Dame Silvia Cartwright to August 2006; Anand Satyanand August 2006– Deputy Prime Minister: Michael Cullen (Labour) 2002–2008 Leader of the Opposition: Don Brash (National Party), to November 2006; John Key (National) November 2006 – Speaker : Margaret Wilson (Labour) Deputy Speaker: Clem Simich (National) Assistant Speaker: Ross Robertson (Labour) and Ann Hartley (Labour) Leader  of the House: Michael Cullen (Labour) Members of the 48th Parliament. 48th New Zealand Parliament - MPs elected to Parliament List MPs are ordered by allocation as determined by the Chief Electoral Office and the party lists. Seating plan. Start of term. The chamber is in a horseshoe-shape.