Independent Electoral Panel delivers wishlist for the left
It is perhaps no surprise that a panel hand picked by Labour and Greens has delivered a report recommending massive electoral changes that would benefit them.
I wanted to give the panel some benefit of the doubt, and did a submission myself, asking to be heard. I never was a asked to appear, which is surprising for someone who has written extensively on electoral issues for over 20 years.
Here are their key recommendations:
- Entrench Treaty principles in the Electoral Act
- Lower threshold to 3.5%
- Abolish electorate seat threshold
- Fix ratio of electorate: list seats to be 60:40 so Parliament size increases as number of electorates grows
- Referendum on a four year term
- No fixed election date
- Abolish Waka-jumping law
- Lower voting age to 16
- Allow all prisoners the vote
- Allow Maori to change rolls up to any including on election day
- Ban donations of over $30,000 and increase taxpayer funding of parties to around $6 million per electoral cycle
- Ban donations from companies and unions
Pretty much every cause championed by the left has been recommended. In theory I should welcome this report because it would be amazing for the Taxpayers’ Union. If donations over $30,000 are banned, then we would become like the United States (where donations are capped at $2,300) with PACs becoming mega-powerful and bundlers turning up everywhere. It amazes me that people who claim to be worried about the influence of money in politics always recommend a US style donation system.
The proposed changes to the threshold are interesting to look at, based on what would have happened in the past if they had been in place then.
- 1996: Christian Coalition would have gained five seats giving potential balance of power to Rev Graham Cahill, now known to be a pedophile as National and NZ First would no longer have a majority
- 1999: no change
- 2002: Anderton’s Party doesn’t get a 2nd MP. Doesn’t impact overall outcome
- 2005: United loses two List MPs and ACT one List MP.
- 2008: NZ First remain in Parliament with five MPs. National and Act would no longer have a majority
- 2011: no change
- 2014: Colin Craig would hold balance of power with five MPs, Māori Party lose a List MP
- 2017: no change
- 2020: Māori Party lose a List MP
So what the panel recommends would have seen Rev Capill and Colin Craig both holding the balance of power.