Don't prolong the waste of time and money, says MMP campaigner

"Millions of dollars of public money will be wasted if New Zealand needs to run a second electoral referendum at the 2014 election," long-time MMP campaigner Philip Temple says.

He urged voters to tick MMP in this year's referendum rather than drag out the process for another three years.

"Unless MMP is endorsed on November 26, there will be another referendum three years down the track. This would be a choice between MMP and the old and discredited First Past the Post system, in which MMP is very likely to succeed. It will save time and a lot of public money to agree on MMP this time. Don't forget there will be a full review of MMP if we vote to keep it, but not otherwise."

"The Electoral Commission says this year's referendum will cost $10.9 million. If we need a second referendum in 2014, this will mean at least another $10 million. In these difficult times, New Zealand has much better uses for ten million dollars."

"The anti-MMP campaign has been claiming that they support the little-known system called "SM". But SM consistently polls lowest of all the possible systems. It will not win on November 26, which means that people tricked into voting for SM would find themselves faced with a MMP vs FPP referendum three years from now."

Philip Temple has been researching and writing about voting systems since 1990. He was given a Wallace Award by the Electoral Commission for his ‘significant contribution to public understanding of electoral matters.’

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