RNZ Interview: Is MMP still fit for purpose?
I joined Emile Donovan on RNZ Afternoons to discuss whether MMP is still fit for purpose, 30 years after New Zealand’s first election under the system.
We talked about the alternatives to MMP, whether smaller parties exercise disproportionate influence, why reducing the number of list MPs would affect proportionality, and what New Zealand’s experience under first past the post tells us about the reasons for reform. I also argued that changing the electoral system would not necessarily recreate the old two-party politics of the past, particularly as party systems are becoming more fragmented in other democracies as well.