Our political system needs overhauling. Now is a good time to consider moving away from the Westminster model of government that provides us with unbridled executive authority and an electoral system that does not represent the need or care for the interest of the majority.

For years, New Zealand was run by single-party governments, National or Labour, using a first-past-the-post (FPP) electoral system in which the winner-take-all government won a far lower percentage of the popular vote than the losing parties. In 1978 and 1981, the Labour Party won more votes throughout the country, yet on both occasions, the National Party, then the incumbent government, won the most seats, and remained in power.

Our election of 2021 very much mirrored that. Whilst the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) won 62.7% of the popular vote throughout the whole country, the Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi Party (FAST) won the election ending up with more seats, and before the present crisis, commanded nearly a two-third majority in Parliament. Part of this was due largely to the HRPP’s overconfidence and arrogance for having more than one candidate, in some situations up to three, in a single-seat constituency where FAST had only one candidate. This splits their supporters’ votes.   

It was also due to FAST exploiting the dissatisfaction of a certain Christian religious denomination whose clergies were required by the then HRPP government to pay income tax like everyone else but their sense of entitlement linked arms with FAST to fight the election. As well, the introduction of new laws that gave the Land and Titles Courts (LTC) more judicial power than previously was seen by many, particularly the legal profession, as belittling the role of the Supreme Court and damaging our judicial system.

In less polarised political times, winner-take-all can do a great deal of good in maintaining political stability, as we saw between 2000 and 2020. Our economy grew rapidly. Foreign investors and international donors poured money into the country, helping fund many infrastructure projects like tar-sealed roads and ensuring that everyone had access to the basics of life, like clean drinking water and electricity.

But because of the deep divisions we are now experiencing and corruption amongst our politicians who care more for themselves and their party that is spreading to our public sector organisations, many people fear that this will only get worse. The result is an erosion of trust in the government and a rise in extreme behaviour as we are seeing around us and on social media.

This is why we need to seriously consider changing our electoral or voting system from First Past the Post (FPP) to Proportional Representation like that of New Zealand, Germany, Switzerland, and other countries of Europe. New Zealand’s Mixed Members Proportional voting system, (MPP) gives a voter two votes: one for the candidate of his or her preference in their constituency and one for the party whose policies and ideology they share. Under MMP, a Party can still win seats in Parliament without winning a single constituency if their total vote reaches the threshold of 5% of all votes cast.

Before the introduction of MMP in New Zealand, white males dominated Parliament. Political leaders like the late Sir Robert Muldoon were ruthless. They made policies without even bothering to think how they would hurt people, as long as those policies benefitted his party and their supporters.

The change to MMP transformed New Zealand’s political landscape. Instead of just two major political parties and a couple of small ones contesting elections, more new parties sprung up and following the election, some became coalition partners of the party with the most votes but not enough to govern on their own, to form a government. The result is that there are now more women, Maori, Pacific People, and well-educated people in Parliament than there were under FPP. Six parties are now represented in the New Zealand Parliament, each in close accord with the share of the votes it won throughout the country as a whole; the system is highly proportional.

The same can happen here and we will have to increase the number of Members of Parliament as they did in New Zealand. Retaining the requirement that to be eligible for parliament, a person must hold a matai title will not be a problem as almost every adult including those who have yet to reach the voting age is a matai. With MMP, we will see changes like fairness between political parties, policies of different parties becoming politically integrated, effective participation by voters and an effective government and Parliament.

Under MMP Parliament will no longer be male dominated. There will be an explosion in the number of well-educated women elected to Parliament and the requirement that 10% of MPs must be women will no longer be necessary.

Most importantly for our country that will lift the present IQ level of our Parliament from 80 to 120.