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EXPLAINED: Mmp - The Real Truth

‘We’ll slaughter the bastards’ – how Bob Jones and the New Zealand Party changed politics in 1984

With New Zealand’s 11th election under the MMP proportional system due in November, it’s easy to take the influence of minor parties for granted. But just over 40 years ago, things were very different.

The Conversation

‘So hacked off’: as election nears, New Zealanders despair at the main parties – and Opportunity knocks

National and Labour have passed government back and forth for years but many voters are no longer content with politics as usual

The Guardian - AU

Coalition leadership is hard. Luxon’s ‘nuclear option’ of electoral reform is not the answer

Much to everyone’s surprise – including, it seems, his National Party colleagues – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has committed to offering voters the chance to revisit their electoral system. Again.

The Conversation

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New Zealand PM open to referendum on electoral system

WELLINGTON - New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on Thursday he was open to a referendum on whether to change the country’s electoral system, opening another split in his centre-right coalition months ahead of a general election.

Bangkok Post

All-Caps Debt War Ends in Sworn Retraction as Med-Spa Owner Walks Back MMP Fraud Claims

After blasting MMP Capital before thousands of aesthetic practitioners, Annette Janssen signed a notarized statement saying her fraud accusations were false and intended to pressure the lender over business debt.

International Business Times

The most dangerous migrant routes in the world where deaths have surged

IN FOCUS: European countries including the UK are pushing through tougher measures to tackle immigration, but campaigners warn this just moves the problem elsewhere, Alex Croft reports

The Independent UK

With so many parties ‘ruling out’ working with other parties, is MMP losing its way?

There has been a lot of “ruling out” going on in New Zealand politics lately. In the most recent outbreak, both the incoming and outgoing deputy prime ministers, ACT’s David Seymour and NZ First’s Winston Peters, ruled out ever working with the Labour Party.

The Conversation

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Voices: Readers have their say on reforming Britain’s electoral system – from PR to compulsory voting

You emphasised the need for comprehensive electoral reform, but couldn’t agree on what form that should take

The Independent UK

A nation reinvented: 40 years on from its 1984 victory, the Fourth Labour Government still defines NZ

It’s easy to look back at the bad haircuts, beige clothes and brown Beehive carpets and chuckle. But whatever one’s views on its aesthetics, the Fourth Labour Government – elected 40 years ago on July 14 – was no laughing matter.

The Conversation

Disproportional representation: what the UK election landslide would look like under NZ’s MMP system

At first glance, Keir Starmer’s Labour Party has just put in a performance for the ages in the British general election.

The Conversation

‘It needs to stay in the loop’: German reuse schemes turn shopping upside down

After success of bottle deposit schemes, some retailers are trying to widen culture of reuse – and start tackling Europe’s waste problem

The Guardian - UK

NZ PM-to-be Luxon unveils coalition compromises

New Zealand's National party has shed a number of its election promises as it negotiated a coalition agreement with the ACT and NZ First parties.

AAP

Three parties, two deals, one government: the stress points within New Zealand's 'coalition of many colours'

It might have taken six weeks to decide the shape of New Zealand’s next government (or three if you count from the final results), but in the end that is the nature of proportional representation. Compromise, trade-offs and haggling are the price of an MMP electoral system designed to avoid…

The Conversation

Lost voices: ethnic diversity in the New Zealand parliament will decline after the 2023 election

Since the dawn of the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) voting system in 1996, New Zealand’s parliament has become increasingly diverse. The 2020 election saw a record number of female MPs enter parliament and a world record proportion of MPs from the rainbow community.

The Conversation

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AAP

Incoming PM defends pace of New Zealand coalition talks

Incoming New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Luxon says he is "not selecting a flatmate", defending the slow pace of his government coalition negotiations.

The Hindu

A leaf out of New Zealand’s voting system

India follows the first-past-the-post voting system, while New Zealand uses the mixed member proportional (MMP) system.

The Conversation

From a red tide in 2020 to blood on the floor in 2023 – NZ slams the door on Labour

Close, but so far no “baubles of office” for Winston Peters and NZ First. “We have done the impossible,” he told supporters on election night. But as the old saying goes, politics is the art of the possible.

The Conversation

NZ Election 2023: from one-way polls to threats of coalition ‘chaos’, it’s been a campaign of two halves

After weeks of policy debate, disputed fiscal plans, sloganeering and no small amount of rancour, the election campaign has come down to a single, uninspiring contest of negatives: use your vote to avoid uncertainty, “chaos” and even a second election.

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The Conversation

The battle for NZ’s farming heartland: Groundswell, ACT and the changing face of rural politics

Andrew Hoggard’s resignation in May as president of Federated Farmers, followed swiftly by his appearance high on the ACT Party’s candidate list, might have seemed seem like just another of the election’s minor subplots.

The Guardian - AU

Mainstream malaise: how minor parties could decide outcome of New Zealand’s election

Support for Labour and National has dropped to its lowest point in two decades – while backing for the likes of Act and NZ First has risen

The Conversation

After the election, Christopher Luxon’s real test could come from his right – not the left

Christopher Luxon is no slouch on the dance floor, it seems. As his wife Amanda told the New Zealand Woman’s Weekly, the two prepared for their university ball with a ballroom dancing class.

The Conversation

Hipkins revives Labour’s fortunes – but the election will be about more than ‘bread and butter issues’

With a cabinet reshuffle just a day after two polls showing Labour ahead again – in which he promoted more Māori MPs to the front bench, created a new Minister for Auckland portfolio and drew a line under the previous administration by demoting several of Jacinda Ardern’s senior ministers –…

The Conversation

MMP in New Zealand turns 30 at this year’s election – a work in progress, but still a birthday worth celebrating

In a tidy alignment of round numbers, this year’s general election will also mark the 30th anniversary of the binding referendum that ushered in the mixed member proportional (MMP) system of voting. It will also be the tenth election held under the proportional system, truly a generational milestone in New…

The Hindu

Action initiated on all cases, India counters U.K. Home Secretary Braverman claim on visa overstayers

The Indian High Commission here said that India awaits “demonstrable progress” on certain commitments undertaken by the U.K. government under the MMP

The Guardian - AU

Democracies need constant reform to stay strong. New Zealand has the chance to do that

My member’s bill that will look at political donations and expanding voting rights will soon be read in parliament. We need it to pass

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