If there is one issue (other than increasing their salaries and perks), that would prompt our politicians to close ranks and voice their support in chorus, it would be retention of the Mixed Member Proportion (MMP) system.
The Government initiated the move on May 26, with ‘Campaign for MMP’ Spokesperson Sandra Grey dubbing it as the ‘Fairest system, where everybody’s vote counts equally, no matter where they live.”
Her statement followed an announcement by Justice Minister Simon Power that the official campaign will run along with the national election on November 26.
Ms Grey compared MMP with the ‘First Past the Post’ (FPP) and the ‘Supplementary Member’ System, saying that these two contributed to the wastage of hundreds of thousands of votes.
“National Party supporters in a safe Labour area saw their votes totally wasted under the FPP, with the same applying for Labour supporters in National areas. Their votes did not contribute to the makeup of Parliament at all, just as the votes of supporters of third parties did not help,” she said.
According to Ms Grey, the challenge would be to put in place a modified MMP system, if the voters so desired.
“The best way to make MMP even better is to vote for it in 2011 as this will trigger an independent review. As Mr Power mentioned, this would mean that people favouring proportional representation but desirous of modifications to MMP can avoid throwing the baby out with the bathwater,” she said.
Indian Newslink believes that New Zealanders are capable of establishing a more robust system that would ensure people of erudition and proven record entering politics to foster better governance. We could perhaps consider an Upper House of Parliament like the House of Lords in UK and the Rajya Sabha in India.
Please send us your views to editor@indiannewslink.co.nz
