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MMP review

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, August 13th, 2012 - 87 comments

The first proposal paper from the Electoral Commission on the MMP review is due out soon.

Updated with the early coverage.

MMP Review: Last Day

Written By: - Date published: 12:57 pm, May 31st, 2012 - 1 comment

Today is the last day for submissions to the MMP Review.

If you haven’t done so yet, make sure your have your say – it only takes 5 minutes for the short submission.

Another MMP rort?

Written By: - Date published: 11:50 am, May 4th, 2012 - 44 comments

The media are doing a good job investigating John Banks’ donation history.  The Police are presumably also doing theirs, and it seems clear that the matter must end up in Court and the issue of who is telling the truth will be decided by a judge. Some in the media have dismissed the question of any threat to National’s majority. Short-term maybe, long-term I’m not so sure.

Labour moving to the right?

Written By: - Date published: 11:09 am, March 18th, 2012 - 153 comments

Many commentators have interpreted David Shearer’s recent speech as signaling a “move to the right”. I think it’s too early to tell. But if it’s true, I think it’s good news for lefties…

Quick MMP review thoughts

Written By: - Date published: 8:49 am, February 15th, 2012 - 18 comments

Lower the threshold and reduce wasted vote; leave it at 2-3% to make it less likely multiple one-man bands hold balance of power. Stop winning an electorate being a route to getting list seats; eliminate most dirty deals. Let List MPs run in by-elections and people stand both in seats and on lists; banning these would result in undesirable tactics from parties.

Participate: MMP Review

Written By: - Date published: 1:40 pm, February 14th, 2012 - 18 comments

You may have noticed the ads about The Standard for the MMP Review that the Electoral Commission announced yesterday.

Now’s your chance to have your say on what MMP will look like in the future.

NRT: In defence of dual candidacy

Written By: - Date published: 10:47 am, December 15th, 2011 - 22 comments

Some people reckon that if you run as an electorate candidate and lose you shouldn’t be allowed to go in as a list MP. You’re ‘not wanted’. But that doesn’t make sense. Some electorate MPs won with 6,000-8,000 votes, while 19 list MPs won more votes than that in losing an electorate race. Besides, not all constituencies are geographic. NRT elaborates:

Carmel wins, Nats down 1, MMP to stay

Written By: - Date published: 2:16 pm, December 10th, 2011 - 196 comments

Official Election results are out. Carmel Sepuloni takes Waitakere back for Labour by 11 votes, and National loses one seat to the Greens. MMP wins by a mile. Well done Carmel – I’m really glad she stays in Parliament. I don’t think a recount will change anything – I scrutineered the official count last election and the people doing it were very very careful.

Vote for MMP, anything else is just crazy

Written By: - Date published: 6:51 am, November 24th, 2011 - 40 comments

I see that the Nats in drag anti-MMP campaign have brought space on our banner. Now I know the mood of the authors on this subject.  They’d like MMP with tweaks – which will happen in 2014.

I looked at the anti’s pathetic ad, and decided that it was more effective to take their money, counter it (like the Standards enhanced logo?) and comment on it.

Mood of the Boardroom distinctly undemocratic

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, November 18th, 2011 - 15 comments

The Herald reports CEOs are moaning that MMP won’t let them ram through unpopular policies. I can’t think of a better reason to vote MMP.

Keep calm and vote MMP

Written By: - Date published: 9:12 am, November 6th, 2011 - 17 comments

Campaign for MMP has recently started selling T-shirts as part of their campaign fundraising.

Their “Keep Calm and Vote MMP” T-shirts are a very reasonably priced $40 and come in a stylish black.

Keep MMP Launch

Written By: - Date published: 4:27 pm, October 26th, 2011 - 3 comments

Keep MMP are having their campaign launch in Auckland this Friday.

Launch in the morning at Wynyard Quarter; Party in the evening on K Rd.

Get along, have fun, and show your support. Make sure all our votes count.

If Epsom & Ohariu were Northland & Te Tai Tonga…

Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, October 26th, 2011 - 29 comments

Just why is it that the anti-MMP crowd only complain about small parties having too much power when those parties are the Greens?

Queen of Thorns has a few thoughts on the matter…

Debate on the electoral system

Written By: - Date published: 12:45 pm, October 20th, 2011 - 2 comments

RNZ’s Insight is hosting a debate on the Electoral System Referendum in Wellington.  It’s an excellent panel.  If you want to be part of the audience, get along to Te Papa’s Sounding’s Theatre at 6pm next Wednesday, October 26.

NRT on MMP threshold

Written By: - Date published: 12:11 pm, July 29th, 2011 - 49 comments

I/S at No Right Turn looks at the arguments for lowering the MMP threshold instead, or as a trade off for, getting rid of the ‘win an electorate, win list MPs’ rule. The conservatives say that a low threshold would mean more parties and ‘instability’. I/S shows that’s not only mathematically false, it’s not a reason to deny people democratic representation.

Vote for Change’s heart of darkness

Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, July 4th, 2011 - 52 comments

Peter Shirtcliffe’s Anti-MMP Vote For Change group has just 16 members and one of them has turned out to be a neo-Nazi. Is it a case of being so short of mates they’ll accept anyone who turns up, or does this give us a truer picture of who really wants to get rid of MMP? The latter, I think.

Anti-MMP group white supremacist link

Written By: - Date published: 8:39 am, July 4th, 2011 - 60 comments

A good piece of detective work at TUMEKE! has revealed that a founding member of the anti-MMP group “Vote for Change”, one Alex Fogerty, is a white supremacist.  Labour Party candidate for Dunedin North, David Clark, notes an interesting entry on Fogerty’s friend list…

MMP rules, FPP/SM drools

Written By: - Date published: 12:32 pm, June 29th, 2011 - 49 comments

Times that the Government had the support of the majority of voters under FPP from formation of Reform (beginning on multi-party system) in 1911: 7 out of 27 (26%)

Times that the Government has had the support of the majority of voters under MMP: 4 out of 5 (80%)

(Another) Tory astroturf fail

Written By: - Date published: 8:48 pm, June 28th, 2011 - 42 comments

The latest anti-MMP outfit is already unraveling with Pundit’s Rob Salmond uncovering the fact it’s basically the Peter Shirtcliffe club.

It’s a surprisingly clumsy effort. Especially given David Farrar provided strategic advice.

I guess he’s not learned any lessons from his previous PR fiascos…

Shirtcliffe’s anti-MMP campaign launches

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, June 28th, 2011 - 112 comments

Peter Shirtcliffe’s latest attempt to destroy MMP has finally launched. The man who spent a million dollars in 1993 is a shadow of his former self. Now, he and his cronies are so despised he can’t front the organisation himself, he’s got some kid doing it. And FPP/SM is so despised they won’t actually campaign for it overtly.

The Right’s MMP conundrum

Written By: - Date published: 9:04 am, May 31st, 2011 - 12 comments

If there is one silver lining to the cloud of a National government, it is that the MMP referendum has come up on their watch.  It rather cripples their attack lines.

Anti-MMP cabal rumbled

Written By: - Date published: 10:16 am, May 29th, 2011 - 64 comments

National Party pollster David Farrar is to be campaign strategist for an anti-MMP campaign. He’s joined by Nat ‘campaign manager for hire’ Simon Lusk who did the work on the Brash coup, and Jordan Williams a former Young Nat also involved in the Brash coup. I assume the campaign material will have National Party logos on it.

Campaign for MMP Quiz Night

Written By: - Date published: 3:48 pm, April 27th, 2011 - Comments Off on Campaign for MMP Quiz Night

Quiz Night. Food and prizes provided. Friday 13 May, 7pm.
Fickling Convention Centre, Auckland.

Tizard not coming back

Written By: - Date published: 10:14 am, April 3rd, 2011 - 66 comments

Judith Tizard won’t take Labour’s vacant seat in Parliament. It’s the right thing to do. It’s only a quirk that we should be looking back to a list written in 2008 to fill a seat for 6 months now. Tizard and the next four on the 2008 list aren’t on the 2011 list. Their lives have moved on. Better for the seat to go to someone with a Parliamentary future – Louisa Wall.

Key and Shirtcliffe conspire against MMP

Written By: - Date published: 1:57 pm, September 26th, 2010 - 62 comments

Leaked notes from a meeting between Peter Shirtcliffe and Wayne Eagleson have revealed backroom dealings to kill off MMP.

We shouldn’t be surprised that the party of big business and the big-business-backed anti-MMP lobby would be colluding.

After all, it’s in all of their interests to take power from the voters and put it back in the hands of the elite.

Key’s clumsy opportunism

Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, September 22nd, 2010 - 41 comments

John Key has tried to use the ACT fiasco to take a clumsy swing at MMP.

I guess he reckons it’s just too hard to rip voters off when you have to chase a party vote.

Fixing the election date

Written By: - Date published: 7:23 am, July 17th, 2010 - 10 comments

Pundit writer and legal academic Andrew Geddis has been doing some important work on electoral law, including contributions to the select committee that is looking at the 2011 referendum on MMP and the reform of campaign funding practices. You should head on over to Pundit and have a look.

Referendum vote count undemocratic

Written By: - Date published: 1:15 pm, June 8th, 2010 - 34 comments

The way the votes will be counted in the Government’s MMP Referendum Bill is highly unusual and in my view undemocratic. There will not be any independent scrutiny on election day of the votes cast or spoiled in the referendum. Independent scrutiny of the ballot in my view is essential part to retaining confidence in the democratic process.

Shirtcliffe can’t tell his electoral systems apart

Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, May 14th, 2010 - 13 comments

No Right Turn on the ignorance of the main campaigner wanting a change to our electoral system. You’d think that if you’re campaigning for something that you’d at least know what you are campaigning for. But apparently not.

Help the Campaign for MMP, they’re Internet illiterates

Written By: - Date published: 12:11 am, May 9th, 2010 - 53 comments

One thing that the election in Britain brought home to me, was how much I’m grateful for having Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) representation here. I didn’t start that way. Over time, I’ve grown to appreciate the gradual progress and stability offered by MMP. However the people at the Campaign for MMP could do with a little help in the Internet age. They’re operating like it was 1993.

Poll good news for MMP

Written By: - Date published: 4:39 pm, February 25th, 2010 - 4 comments

No Right Turn covers the latest UMR poll on MMP, which shows a good but by no means unassailable lead for MMP over less representative systems.

With the forces of reaction once again emerging to undermine our democracy we all need to get in behind the Campaign for MMP.