The Government

The New Zealand Government seems to operate in essentially the same way as most Western democracies. That is, it consists of a number of political parties and independent representatives who spend their time arguing and insulting each other.

New Zealand recently adopted a new system of parliament known as MMP (Mixed Member Proportional representation). The national referendum to abandon our old "first-past-the-post" electoral system and try for a better one caused a great deal of debate in this country, and the vote to adopt MMP was by no means a landslide victory.

Naturally, the subject continues to create argument. Many people have accused MMP of destabilising our economy, costing too much money, encouraged back-door dealing, etc etc.

The way I see it, the system is in place to allow for an efficient, stable government which acts according to the will of the majority. Unfortunately, the politicians have chosen to put this goal in the "too hard basket" and continue to play the petty games of political spin.