New Zealanders urged to have their say on MMP

Justice Minister Judith Collins is urging New Zealanders to take part in this year’s review of the MMP voting system, launched today by the Electoral Commission.

“New Zealand voted to keep MMP in last November’s referendum on the voting system, and now the Electoral Commission is undertaking a review of how MMP works,” said Ms Collins.

“I strongly encourage all New Zealanders to take part and have their say in this important process, and to suggest any improvements they’d like to see made to our MMP voting system.”

The Electoral Referendum Act 2010 sets out the issues the Commission must consider in the review, including:

• what thresholds parties should have to cross to qualify for an allocation of list seats in Parliament
• whether list MPs should be able to stand as candidates in a by-election
• whether a person should be able to stand as a candidate both for an electorate seat and on a party list
• whether voters or political parties should decide the order of candidates on a party list
• what should happen when a party wins more electorate seats than it would be entitled to under its share of the party vote, and
• the effects of population growth on the ratio of electorate seats to list seats.

Māori representation and the number of Members of Parliament are excluded from the review.

The Electoral Commission will report back to the Government by 31 October 2012 with recommendations on whether any changes to MMP are necessary or desirable.

“Submissions are now open - this is a great opportunity to provide input into how our voting system works in the future. I look forward to hearing what New Zealanders have to say,” said Ms Collins.

More information about the review is available from www.mmpreview.org.nz, or by calling freephone 0800 36 76 56.