Issue 23
Screaming for change: A guide to MMP
It
was an audacious move by such a small country.
New Zealand's shift to the relatively unknown MMP electoral system
in 1996 captured the world's attention, and with the fifth election
under this method less than a month away, it is an opportune time to
reacquaint ourselves with its contentious history and complicated
procedure. For first-time voters, this guide will hopefully demystify
the quirks of MMP so you can head to the polling booth next month
confident that you are doing your bit to shape New Zealand's
future.
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Political debate Part 2: John Key
John
Key, current leader of the National Party, totally bailed on an
interview Andrew Vuong had set up, so we unfortunately had to resort
to a poor man's interview via email. This was done before the whole
rail share thing, but we hope it gives you some insight into the man
who may be your overlord soon.
Tell
us about your time at university. What did you enjoy/not enjoy about
it? I
enjoyed the atmosphere and friendships at Canterbury University,
where I studied for a BComm. I applied myself and worked hard,
because I realised that gaining a good qualification from university
was a vitally important step in getting a good job.
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Celebrities: The real source of political news
I like politics. I don't fully
understand them. If I was American, I would vote for Obama. Not
because I know much at all about his policies. He could believe that
all seals should be skinned alive and all children poked in the eyes
to test their reflexes, and I would have no idea. I'd still vote for
him because he seems less dead then John McCain, and he doesn't have
a sunbed in his office like Sarah Palin. I do, however, know that a lot of
celebrities like him. And as the old saying goes - monkey see, monkey
do. I am not about to argue that I am any smarter than a monkey, and
I'm certainly not any cuter. So when a celebrity with shiny hair and
white teeth tells me to have a conscience, enrol to vote, and make a
difference, I'm pretty much powerless to argue.
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Political debate Part 3: Peter Dunne
The leader of the united Future Party,
Peter Dunne, is a fascinating man. Friendly, polite, and honest, he
explained to Andrew Vuong his history in student unions, how to solve
the student debt problem, and why UF are the gold standard for
political parties in New Zealand.
First off, I just want to read you a
passage from Rodney Hide's autobiography, ‘My Year of Living
Dangerously', where he describes his time at Canterbury University.
"At my first week at university, I went along to the student
meeting on the lawn outside the union building. I turned up to find
Peter Dunne, the student president, lecturing students about café
food prices. When I listened to Peter speaking in parliament I can
still see him cutting his political teeth on the cost of food for
students. He probably did more for student welfare with that campaign
than any other piffle sprouted by any other students." What do you
make of that? Well that's interesting, I haven't
read his ...
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The Orange Elector and why the government is lying to us
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You
know who 'he' is. You
have seen 'his' orange latex body and emoticon countenance on
television commercials, postcards, buses, billboards. The
Electoral Commission calls him Orange Elector, to others he is known
as Orange Election Man or simply Orange Guy. But whatever you
call him the facts remain the same - he is an animated humanoid
debuted by the NZ Electoral Commission in 2002 in an attempt to get
us to vote. And
how does he do this? By bombarding us with his image so we can't
but recognise him, and through the use of catchy slogans like 'you
can enrol online now' or 'I'm enrolled to vote. Are you?'
That
last one has always worried me.
In
the public library the other day I came across an enrollment stand
festooned with his image. I had a conversation with the
Electoral Commission employee manning the stall and it went almost
...
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