In the last #NZ election in 2017, journalists and political scientists collaborated on some tools to help voters learn more about each party's actual policies. I've been hoping the same thing would happen for the election this year and today I found the first example. Offered by publicly-owned broadcaster TVNZ, it's a quiz that helps voters find out which party's policies most closely match their own political beliefs:
https://votecompass.tvnz.co.nz/
@strypey We've had the VoteCompass tool in the last couple of Canadian elections, offered by the CBC and Vox Pop Labs. Of course, voting in our elections is probably not as fun as yours, since we still have First Past the Post. I generally track close to the Green Party or NDP, but voting for either in my riding is like throwing my vote down a hole...
https://votecompass.cbc.ca/canada/
https://manitoba2016.votecompass.com/
@stuartcroall If there's anyone in Canada (or elsewhere) campaigning for proportional representation, my feedback is that an STV system is better than MMP. NZ has both, MMP for parliamentary elections, STV for (some) local body elections. STV provides the proportionality, but without empowering party bureaucracies. The buck still stops with the elected representative, who is answerable to a local constituency.
Posting these here : In the off chance someone will do a #MetaTag search on #ProportionalVoting or #PostWestminsterDemocracy or some such.
https://www.fairvote.ca/stv/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_transferable_vote
Here in Australia we have a mix of systems across three levels of government,.MY preference is for what is called Single Transferable Vote ( generally Ozians call STV Hare/Clarke).
Our _worst_ case is the federal House of Reps which is simpler and preferential only.
First past the post should be limited to electing who's making the tea this arvo. In no sane electorate would it be used to decide the result of a referendum. (FFS! UK)
The German (federal) and NZ systems have much to commend them.
All that said *never underestimate the capacity of the Parties* (and associated industries) to beat any system to a shape that continues *their* reign.
@petegozz @strypey
I haven't been engaged much in the outside world for the last couple of months, but I did notice this article from Fair Vote Canada comparing the results of the recent elections in the province of British Columbia, and in NZ.. I'm not sure if this accurately reflects how it feels in NZ.
Canada and its provinces desperately need new electoral systems, but it's hard to imagine how that happens.
@stuartcroall
> Canada and its provinces desperately need new electoral systems, but it's hard to imagine how that happens.
The NZ campaign that brought in MMP was led by a coalition of grassroots activists from multiple parties, which began to come together in the 1970s. The 1980s Labour govt set up a Royal Commission, leading to a binding FPP vs. MMP referendum in 1993, under the National govt.
There are probably many historical articles, but check out:
https://www.parliament.nz/en/get-involved/features/25-years-since-mmp-referendum/
@stuartcroall
> I'm not sure if this accurately reflects how it feels in NZ.
Not to me. I do think MMP is, on balance, better than FPP. But it's not a universal panacea.
I guess it depends who you ask though. I'm a left-libertarian who has watched the political "centre" get moved significantly to the right by 40 years of "neo-liberal" (or corporatist) propaganda, and basic civil rights and other democratic norms start to get treated as luxuries, by many on both the left and right
@strypey @petegozz Justin "Look at Me" Trudeau and his Liberals were elected on a promise that 2015 would be the "last federal election using First Past the Post." He then put on a show of "consulting," and proceeded to ignore the results. We then went to the next election, in 2019, without a single reform of any sort.
And, he managed to hold onto office.
It feels a bit like #Canada is starting back at the bottom of the #ElectoralReform hill again.
@stuartcroall
My observations of NZ elections over about 30 years agree with the comment above by @petegozz . But ...