[Full report: Final_Report_2012_Review_of_MMP.pdf]

Report of the Electoral Commission on the Review of the MMP Voting System

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

• The one electorate seat threshold for the allocation of list seats should be abolished.

• The party vote threshold should be lowered from 5% to 4%.

• There should be a statutory requirement for the Electoral Commission to review the operation of the 4% party vote threshold and report to the Minister of Justice for presentation to Parliament after three general elections.

• If the one electorate seat threshold is abolished, the provision for overhang seats should be abolished.

• Consideration should be given to fixing the ratio of electorate seats to list seats at 60:40 to help maintain the diversity of representation and proportionality in Parliament obtained through the list seats.

• Political parties should continue to have responsibility for the selection and ranking of candidates on their party lists.

• Political parties should be required to give a public assurance by statutory declaration that they have complied with their rules in selecting and ranking their list candidates.

• In any dispute relating to the selection of candidates for election as members of Parliament, the version of the party’s rules that should be applied is that supplied to the Commission under section 71B as at the time the dispute arose.

• Candidates should continue to be able to stand both for an electorate seat and be on a party list at a general election.

• List MPs should continue to be able to contest by-elections.

[Full report: Final_Report_2012_Review_of_MMP.pdf]

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Gordon Campbell: On Failures Of Care For Those With Mental Disabilities

Hard to imagine a more disturbing insight into the treatment of the vulnerable than the Health Ministry report on Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau. The Ministry has found that the country’s only kaupapa Maori intellectual disability residential care provider has been “seriously dysfunctional.”

The ministry says the business has failed to recruit and retain quality staff – and says the kaimahi (caregivers) that have been employed are seriously unsuitable for the job, lacking basic knowledge. But Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau doesn’t get all the blame. The report says there’s a significant gap under disability laws to ensure there’s oversight by qualified clinical professionals. More>>