by Cimino | 25 Oct 2017 | Coalition democratisation, Transport and climate action
Half voted for change, and half for the status quo. The 44.4% who voted for the New Zealand National Party, and the 0.5% who voted for what remains of ex-Labour-finance-minister Roger Douglas’ rebel act party, are now represented by 57 opposition members of...
by Cimino | 11 Oct 2017 | Coalition democratisation
If New Zealanders elected their prime minister, there would now be a clear winner. And, unless it was under the old deeply undemocratic first-past-the-post system, that winner would be Winston Peters. Because, while Jacinda Ardern and Bill English top the...
by Cimino | 1 Oct 2017 | Coalition democratisation, Democracy index, Electoral enrolment, Youth voting
Let’s do this, and deliver unperverted democracy It would be hard to contrive a more effective means of turning youth off. After being lectured for months on the importance of enrolling and voting, young people are now told nothing. Not only are they not told how...
by Cimino | 26 Sep 2017 | Coalition democratisation, Election turnout, Electoral enrolment, Youth voting
When Jacinda Ardern stepped up, Labour was on 24% and National was at 47%. Once the special votes are counted, which include whatever youthquake or youth-tremor has occurred, the New Zealand National Party share will be lucky to be 45%, which means that about 55%minus...
by Cimino | 14 Sep 2017 | Coalition democratisation, MMP
Failure to fix mmp could cost Labour Gareth Morgan’s failure to crash last Friday’s leaders debate drew attention to the inescapable. His briefly promising political initiative hasn’t come close to breaking the 5%-threshold barrier to tyro parties, and will not make...
by Cimino | 21 Aug 2017 | Concurrent elections, Direct democracy, MMP, Online, Parliament, Youth voting
As with the America’s CupWhether apocryphal or otherwise, and whether ‘Your Majesty, I regret to report, there is no second’, or “Ma’am, there is no second” the response to Queen Victoria beautifully sums up the cruel reality of two-party politics., coming second...