Reject Anti-MMP Scaremongering - Philip Temple
Mature Countries Don't Change Electoral Systems To Dump Individual Politicians
Reject Anti-MMP Scaremongering
"New Zealand's MMP voting system should not be run off the rails by obsession with one or two politicians", says long-time MMP campaigner Philip Temple. "The anti-MMP campaign is suggesting that Winston Peters's rise in the polls is a reason to get rid of MMP. They even feature him on their anti-MMP billboards. But what sort of country changes its whole voting system in reaction to one politician?"
'Politicians come and go. Peters built his reputation raising hell under the old FPP system in the 1990s National government. So did John Banks, dating back to the 1980s Muldoon government. They and their antics are not a product of MMP and it won't be long before they're off the political scene.'
"The public shouldn't be fooled into changing a voting system simply in reaction to this or that politician. We are not a banana republic.'
'Let's stay the course, vote to Keep MMP and make it even better through the independent review by the Electoral Commission next year. Reject scaremongering from negative anti-MMP campaigners.'
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.’