[fvc-wat-disc] FW: Re:New Zealand's experience with MMP

[ARI DAIGEN]

Hi everyone,

Here's what a member of the New Zealand Green Party had to say to me about 
MMP. Angela, I don't know if the provincial FVC office would find this 
useful? If so, please pass it along. At the least, this sounds like at least 
one testimonial to MMP *not* destroying Kiwi civilization.

Best wishes,

Ari


>From: Zachary Dorner <adminassist at greens.org.nz>
>Reply-To: nationaloffice at greens.org.nz
>To: <adaigen at sympatico.ca>
>Subject: Re:New Zealand's experience with MMP
>Date: Wed, 03 Oct 2007 14:19:03 +1300
>
>Dear Ari,
>
>Thank you for your questions about MMP and your interest in New Zealand's 
>experience, and that of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand.
>
>Firstly, the Green Party here is very supportive of MMP. All our MPs are 
>list MPs - which means that if New Zealand still used FPTP, we would 
>probably not be represented in parliament. Therefore, as we have a firm 
>support base around the country, we believe MMP makes our Parliament far 
>more representative. This is further shown by the diverse range and number 
>of parties in our Parliament (currently about 10) and the growing number of 
>women in our Parliament (about 1/3 currently) and ethnic minorities. Our 
>former Co-Leader, the late Rod Donald, was one of the faces of the campaign 
>for MMP in New Zealand in 1992 when we had our referendum. Eighty-five 
>percent of voters voted for MMP, and, though I am not aware of any 
>statistics, I believe that that number would still be high. Also, our 
>current Co-Leader Jeanette Fitzsimons recently toured Ontario, invited by 
>the local Green Party, to talk about the benefits of MMP and the New 
>Zealand experience. There is some news stories about her visit on the Green 
>Party of Ontario website (www.gpo.ca).
>
>As for the politics, although there is potential for instability - with it 
>being unlikely that one party can govern alone, and the potential for many 
>parties, overall there has been little instability. It could be very 
>damaging to a political party to be seen as the cause of instability, so 
>instead it mainly encourages parties working together - even unlikely 
>combinations joining together for common causes. For example, there have 
>been many occasions where the minor parties in Parliament have worked 
>together on particular issues, including the Green Party and the ACT party 
>(which is a right-wing party). I am sure the other parties you will email 
>will attest to this. Also, agreements form between parties and the 
>Government to help the Government pass laws. Currently the Green Party is 
>not in Government, but we have a policy agreement with the Government. This 
>helps us get some of our policies realised and the Government pass some of 
>its essential laws, without our ability to criticise the Government being 
>compromised. In this way minor parties can still have there major concerns 
>at least partly addressed or recognised. There are some Bills that are not 
>covered under our agreement, so we can vote freely on those.
>
>As with any new system it may take some time to adjust, but as New Zealand 
>politics have matured, it is definitely a highly-recommended alternative to 
>FPTP.
>
>I hope this reply was helpful. If you have any more questions or comments, 
>feel free to contact us again.
>
>Yours truly,
>
>Zachary Dorner
>
>
>
>-------- Original Message --------
>Subject: New Zealand's experience with MMP
>Date: Mon, 01 Oct 2007 14:14:15 +0000
>From: ARI DAIGEN <adaigen at sympatico.ca>
>To: labour at labour.org.nz, labourmps at parliament.govt.nz, hq at national.org.nz, 
>info at nzfirst.org.nz, greenparty at greens.org.nz, hekeretari2 at maoriparty.com, 
>unitedfuture at parliament.govt.nz, act at parliament.govt.nz, 
>jim.anderton at parliament.govt.nz, rk.miller at auckland.ac.nz, 
>j.vowles at auckland.ac.nz, j.atkinson at auckland.ac.nz, poli9219 at waikato.ac.nz, 
>N.Parsons at massey.ac.nz, margaret.clark at vuw.ac.nz, jon.johansson at vuw.ac.nz, 
>stephen.levine at vuw.ac.nz, elizabeth.mcleay at vuw.ac.nz, 
>nigel.roberts at vuw.ac.nz
>
>Dear Sirs and Madams:
>
>My name is Ari Daigen. I am writing from Ontario, Canada, where our 
>province
>is about to vote in a referendum on whether to adopt a
>mixed-member-proportional electoral system (presently we have pure
>first-past-the-post.)
>
>If you wouldn't mind sharing, I would like to know what New Zealand's
>experience has been with MMP. Do most people like it? What have the effects
>been on politics and policy? Are there any special circumstances that make
>the New Zealand MMP experience unique? (The proposed system in Ontario 
>would
>be a unicameral legislature, elected by MMP, with no special seats reserved
>for non-geographic groups.) Is there anything else that I should know to
>inform the debate over MMP here?
>
>The vote here is on October 10. I thank you very much for any perspective
>you can provide.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Ari Daigen
>
>
>--
>Zachary Dorner
>Administration Assistant
>Green Party National Office
>P O Box 11652
>Wellington 04 801 5102
>nationaloffice at greens.org.nz