by Temepara Morehu | 1 Dec 2011 | Māori representation
I am now three months off age 64. And I think I am finally over waking up election morning and making sure that me my children and one mokopuna go out and vote. My paternal grandfather urged his children to ‘tick the paper or don’t moan.’ I am of the same ilk, as was...
by Cimino | 30 Nov 2011 | Cartoons, MMP
It was uncannily similar to ancient Greece. In Saturday’s tactical voting, where 54% could be said to have voted against John Banks, citizens were mimicking the first formal Greek use of the ballot, which was to ostracise a civic leader—his name having been scratched...
by Cimino | 28 Nov 2011 | MMP
The word has been proportionally expunged from the electoral lexicon. Had the election been held under first-past-the-post, the result would have been a landslide of global warming proportions. In its first successful election, in 1949, National won 51.9% of the vote...
by Cimino | 26 Nov 2011 | Climate action economics
It should probably start with the less-important issue. In this hypothetical ‘operation hymn sheet’, the leadership of the National and Green parties have been whisked away, their respective election celebrations still ringing in their ears, to a nice quiet place in...
by Cimino | 19 Nov 2011 | MMP
There are two mixed-member systems on offer. Mixed-member proportional and mixed member majoritarian, also known as both supplementary member and parallel voting. At a glance, one system appears to be fully proportional, and the other semi proportional. It is being...
by Cimino | 15 Nov 2011 | Cartoons, MMP
The two things are tied together. The coattails provision and the 5% threshold, in New Zealand’s implementation of mixed member proportional. But first, it is necessary to consider why either might be necessary. Mixed member proportional is designed to ensure that...
by Cimino | 12 Nov 2011 | MMP
If its fortunes markedly improve, it could receive a third of the votes. Two weeks to the election and polling has the Labour Party struggling to stay above 28%. With only entirely uncharismatic characters waiting in the wings to take over from the leadership failure...
by Cimino | 9 Nov 2011 | MMP
Political parties are universally distrusted. The level of distrust varies, but the 83.2% of Seoul residents in their 20s and 30s recently surveyed who considered no political party supported their interests is reasonably representative. This dissatisfaction is behind...
by Cimino | 7 Nov 2011 | MMP
Aotearoa sports the Rolls-Royce of proportional voting systems. Mixed member proportional is the only system that guarantees, potentially, that minor parties receive their fair proportion of parliamentary representation. But that is not to say that the system is...
by Cimino | 5 Nov 2011 | Regatta 2007
And the gulls circle near where Fairburn walked Achingly beautiful. Caitlin Smith’s recording is so striking, it is incomprehensible that Where Fairburn Walked didn’t become a New Zealand standard. Be that as it may, the tribute to poet Rex...
