TO: ELECTORAL REFORM BILL BEFORE: THE ELECTORAL LAW SELECT COMMITTEE 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 This submission is presented in my capacity of Assembly Executive Secretary, on behalf of The Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand on the recommendation of Presbyterian members of the Joint Public Questions Committee. 1.2 The submission does not necessarily represent the views of all members of the Presbyterian Church and we are aware that individual parishes and other groups may present their own submissions. 2. SUPPORT FOR THE BILL 2.1 Aspects of the Bill which are strongly supported include:
These provisions are in line with recommendations of the Royal Commission on the Electoral system. It is our view that their retention is critical to the achievement of the best possible MMP system for Aotearoa New Zealand. 3. CONCERNS 3.1 The 1987 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand made a commitment which:
We are concerned that the present Bill does nothing to address the constitutional position of Maori. We note that the Royal Commission on the Electoral System recommended that:
We regret that Government has not heeded this call and the calls of others for a constitutional conference to address the issue of te tino rangatiratanga for Maori, and urge that this be done without delay. 3.2 While the Bill does not address constitutional issues for Maori, we are concerned that the issues of electoral and constitutional reform have been confused by the inclusion of draft legislation dealing with the establishment of a Senate. We strongly oppose this proposal to change the constitutional basis of Aotearoa New Zealand without opportunity for discussion and examination of alternatives. 3.3 Whatever the outcome of the referendum, it is critical that New Zealanders 'own' the result. Accordingly it is important that the ballot paper should clearly outline the options. We are concerned that the ballot paper is confusing in that n does not identify MMP as the alternative option to FPP. Instead voters are asked to choose between 'the present first-past-the-post system' or 'the changes contained in the Electoral Act 1993'. In our view the ballot paper must be amended so that MMP is specifically mentioned. 3.4 Because voters are being asked to choose between MMP with 120 seats and FPP with the present number of seats, the referendum is heavily weighted against MMP. The same number of seats in the House must be used for both electoral options. The legislation could be amended to provide for FPP with 120 seats (as also recommended by the Royal Commission on the Electoral System) or equally MMP could be designed for the present size of Parliament. 3.5 As proposed, the introduction of MMP is linked with the abolition of the Maori seats. This provision is consistent with the recommendation of the Royal Commission who believed that Maori would achieve better representation through waiving of the 4% threshold for parties primarily representing Maori interests. However it is our view that this recommendation underestimated the significance of Maori seats to Maori. We are further concerned that it is the height of paternalism and a misuse of power for the decision on abolishing Maori seats to be made in any other way than by decision of Maori themselves. This is not an essential element in the MMP system for electing Members of Parliament. There is no reason why the Maori seats should not be retained until It is seen whether Maori achieve appropriate representation by other means. 3.6 The Presbyterian Church is concerned that the Bill does not provide for an Electoral Commission, as recommended by the Royal Commission, to oversee and ensure the democratic functioning of political parties' candidate selection procedures. We believe that democratic participation is encouraged when voters are confident that party selection procedures are fair. Since New Zealand has no written constitution, an Electoral Commission would provide an appropriate safeguard. 3.7 Given the size of the vote for change last October (85%) and the vote for MMP (70%), it is disappointing that Government has not seen fit to 'overcome the difficulties' and hold an earlier binding referendum so that the preferred voting system can be used for the November election. 4. RECOMMENDATIONS The Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand recommends: l) That the following provisions for MMP be retained:
2) That, in line with the recommendation of the Royal Commission on the Electoral System, a constitutional hui be called to address constitutional issues for Maori. 3) That provisions in the legislation for the establishment of an Upper House or Senate be deleted, and that the question not be addressed in the referendum. 4) That the ballot paper for the referendum clearly spell out MMP as the option voters can choose. 5).That the legislation be amended to provide for an equal number of seats in Parliament for both electoral systems. 6). That the legislation be amended to retain the Maori seats under MMP. 7). That the Bill be amended to provide for an independent Electoral Commission to oversee and ensure the democratic functioning of political parties' candidate selection procedures. Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this Bill. Michael Thawley Assembly Executive Secretary Home > Submission Index > Electoral Reform Bill
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