Ele Ludemann: Diluting democracy

MMP has diluted democracy.

Electorates are bigger so MPs have to service more constituents over larger areas and list MPs are chosen by their parties.

This has given parties a lot more power at a time they have fewer members.

John Porter: One Person One Vote

Willie Jackson does a great impersonation as 1 of the 2 seagulls fighting over a French fry at the beach!

Willie’s recent rant where he slammed the “one person, one vote” concept as outrageous highlights his ignorance. As we all know, “one person, one vote” is the core of democracy. But he also compounds his stupidity when countering with, “the nature of our democracy has changed!”

Then has the effrontery to respond with “politicians questioning the changes are engaging in racist dog-whistles”.

What planet does this guy dwell on? “Planet Stupid”?

Jack Vowles: Politics professor counters Willie Jackson's 'one person, one vote' argument

Willie Jackson argues that 'one person one vote' is just one value within democratic principles, not the only one. But everyone having a vote or votes of equal weight to elect those who represent them is not just one value, it is a foundational principle. As such, it is recognised in the Bill of Rights Act 1990.

Of course, in local government, where there is only one vote, we talk of one vote/one value. Under MMP we can talk of two votes of equal value. It is the same principle.

Examples from other countries simply illustrate that the principles of democracy are rarely applied as fully as they could or should be. Analysed in depth, democracy is a matter of degree. Countries can be more democratic, or less, or not at all.

Winston Peters: In Response To Willie Jackson’s Desperate Co-governance Diatribe

The recent diatribe by Minister of Māori Development Willie Jackson which slams the ‘one person, one vote’ outrage is alarming not only for its content but its ignorance of history, facts, and the essence of democracy.

He claims that the recently passed Ngai Tahu Bill is how a “partnership promised in the Treaty is fulfilled”. Apparently, those that disagree are weaponising ‘one person, one vote’, a piece of linguistic gymnastics that no democrat can follow.

Leaping from the UK to the USA he opines that the ‘House of Lords is not one person, one vote’ and that ‘the Electoral College is not one person, one vote’. Clearly an absence of historic understanding of how those two institutions began, or exist, is not of concern to him.

David Farrar: Parliament votes to end “one person, one vote”

Parliament (well Labour and Greens and Māori Party) voted last night to end the concept of one person one vote in New Zealand.

By 77 to 43 they voted for the first reading of the Rotorua District Council (Representation Arrangements) Bill.

This bill over-rides the existing electoral law which requires wards to be roughly the same size, so that a vote in one ward is worth as much as a vote elsewhere. The same law applies at a national level with a 5% tolerance.

But what this bill does is legislate for 22,000 voters on the Māori roll to elect three ward Councillors and 56,000 voters on the general roll to elect three ward Councillors. This means the votes of people on the general roll will be worth 39% of the votes of those on the Māori roll – which is of course restricted to those who have had at least one Māori ancestor.