We'll now be hearing from Penny Ehrhardt of @VicUniWgtn, who will be speaking to the @FairVoteCanada annual conference about how #ProportionalRepresentation changed New Zealand, and enabled a strong, cooperative response to #COVID19. #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020 (A thread.)
Ehrhardt: New Zealand is unicameral, and for ethnicity has 64% European background, 16% Maori, around 15% Asian, around 9% Pacific. Has had #MixedMemberProportional since the early 1990s. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
(New Zealand has, what I feel, is the IDEAL electoral system for Canada. Closed-list #MixedMemberProportional. Has strong representation for Maori as well. Great track record of their voting system.) @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
Ehrhardt: Around 100 years ago, voting in New Zealand was really "you vote for the man for the job", parties weren't really a thing. Evolved to a two-party system, from the 1930s onwards. (Labour and National) Now multiparty. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
Ehrhardt: There were 2 New Zealand elections around 40 years ago where Labour won the most votes, but National won a majority government. And the third party was constantly punished by #FirstPastThePost. Gripes arose over system. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
Ehrhardt: In the 1980s, the Labour Party promised a Royal Commission on the electoral system, they won, and they kept their promise. Report was initially shelved, but then referendum was held in the early 1990s. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
Ehrhardt: In the early 1990s, the Labour Party had campaigned on left-wing promises, but after winning, shifted gears and became neoliberal. Provoked outrage among caucus and public. Created more cynicism. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
Ehrhardt: Labour had "taken National's economic space". National differentiated themselves by offering a referendum on electoral system. Non-binding, but a clear result against FPTP. "The people screamed," said the Labour leader. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
Ehrhardt: Binding referendum followed, voters chose #MixedMemberProportional, and it was put into practice. Very exciting time in New Zealand. And we have kept MMP ever since. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
Ehrhardt: Makeup of Parliament changed permanently from 1996. A great deal more diversity. Still largely a two-party system, but the smaller parties get the representation that their votes warrant. Less extreme policy swings. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
Ehrhardt: Dialogue, diversity and stability in our system, thanks to #MixedMemberProportional. Parties always have to be ready to work with someone else - much more collaborative than FPTP. (Looking on with jealousy from Canada.) @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
Ehrhardt: The level of decorum improved in Parliament thanks to #MixedMemberProportional. You need to be able to form alliances in Parliament to get things through. Less antagonistic. Better politics in New Zealand. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
Ehrhardt: The cross-party talks we see are one of the benefits of #MixedMemberProportional. The strong response to #COVID19 we've had in New Zealand can be credit in part to our electoral system. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
Ehrhardt: Under #FirstPastThePost, committee review of legislation was just an exercise, since with a majority government they didn't really have to care about what the opposition thought. #MixedMemberProportional changed that. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
Ehrhardt: We now see committees scrutinizing bills much more now, and reporting back with thoughtful amendments. This wasn't happening as much under #FirstPastThePost. Gives a more of a real role in Parliament to backbenchers. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
Ehrhardt: Diversity a clear advantage of #MixedMemberProportional. Gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, politics - we now have much more diversity in Parliament. Maori, for example, now have more bargaining power. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
Ehrhardt: There is now greater continuity between govts under #MixedMemberProportional, because we can see a minor party supporting different governments. (This leads to less costly, wasteful policy lurch like we see in Canada.) @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
Ehrhardt: With #MixedMemberProportional we are also seeing an emphasis in party advertising on policies and the way forward, not "personality politics" so much. (I'm so f*cking sick of personality cult politics in Canada!) @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
Ehrhardt: One controversial area of #MixedMemberProportional is the threshold - 5% in New Zealand. Can be seen as shutting out smaller voices. Most PR systems have some sort of threshold. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
Ehrhardt: Parties are able to order their party list. In NZ, only the Green Party uses a democratic process with voting on the party list order. (IMO all parties should do this - more democratic. Closed list MMP my preference.) @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
Ehrhardt: At the beginning of #MixedMemberProportional, negotiations between parties were slow and cumbersome, but now they are used to collaboration. Works very well. And we have more policy stability. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
(One thing I love about #MixedMemberProportional is that we'd be able to have list MPs who are there because they would be a good representative of the ppl - not because they are just good at winning elections. Like the Senate.) @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
Ehrhardt: There are some who are pushing for a lower threshold (4% versus 5%) in our #MixedMemberProportional system, but there hasn't been widespread dissatisfaction - our system is working. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
Ehrhardt: We haven't seen situations in New Zealand where a tiny party held a major party "hostage". The system is collaborative, and we're happy with it. (The "tail wagging the dog" is a scare tactic used by #PR opponents.) @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
Ehrhardt: Smaller parties have helped us have a more stable system under #MixedMemberProportional. Less policy lurch. (First Past the Post was not only less democratic, but it was also less stable - as we see in Canada.) @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
Ehrhardt: Happy that we brought in #MixedMemberProportional at the national level, as that's where people tend to pay the most attention (versus local government.) (They don't have provinces in New Zealand.) @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
Ehrhardt: I feel that Members of Parliament are less constrained in the New Zealand Parliament now than they were under #FirstPastThePost. But we see MPs largely speaking freely in the UK too... (and we DON'T see that in Canada). @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
Ehrhardt: In New Zealand, those with Maori ancestry can choose to identify as Maori or not, to affect whether they will vote in the Maori block or geographic. (I believe seats are set aside for Maori in NZ.) @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
Ehrhardt: Because it's not as party based at the municipal level (many more independents) it's much tougher to implement #MixedMemberProportional at that level. Works well, however, at the national level. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform #cdnpoli #fvc2020
