"While ALRANZ is a nonpartisan organisation that welcomes support from all quarters of the political spectrum, the progress of the government's anti- defection bill should be applauded." said Mr Craig Young, ALRANZ Research Officer today.

"It is sad that the Green Party feels that it has to oppose this bill, but they have their own reasons for doing so. Moreover, the Greens were the only party that refused outright to comment on Right to Life New Zealand's anti-abortion voter's guide. We hope that they realise that sometimes, friends have differences of opinion."

"Unlike the Greens, who worked hard to secure their electorate and party list seats through legitimate means, the Christian Heritage Party hijacked Frank Grover, a conservative Christian Alliance List MP, and gained electoral representation which it had no entitlement to, given the existence of the five per cent threshold for the list vote and unelectable political stances that deny it constituency support. For many New Zealanders outside the Labour, Alliance and New Zealand First parties, this development sabotaged the principles of accountability and greater representative government that MMP was intended to prevent."

"We support this measure because we don't want any more "Uncle Franks" sabotaging those objectives."

Contact Craig Young ALRANZ Research Officer (06) 3569099 ext 7750

ALRANZ Box 28008 Wellington

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