Letters: The reason we have two votes under MMP is so we can split them
Vote splitting is the whole point of MMP
The concept of MMP may be very flawed but it gives people two votes. If there was no way to split voting, there would be no purpose in having two votes. Complaining about it just illustrates a lack of logical thought.
Neville Cameron, Coromandel.
Maybe not so smart
The most peculiar thing in this election campaign is the appearance of a full-page advertisement in the newspaper day after day telling voters blatantly not to give their party vote to National but party vote Act or NZ First.
This ad was approved by Act and NZ First, written by Don Brash and paid for by a financial backer. It mentioned that a party vote for National was a risk and could put Labour back in government.
I believe the real purpose of this ad is to boost the party votes of Act and NZ First at the expense of National so they will be in a better position at the negotiating table.
The latest Verian poll suggests that thus far this strategy has not benefited Act or NZ First and it could well be that instead of stopping the left parties getting into government they could have opened the door for them.
VoteSmart might turn out not to be so smart after all.
R van Pelt, Lynfield.
Better targets
The fiscal rules proposed by the National Party - return to surplus, get debt down to 40% of GDP, and have core Crown expenditure declining to 30% - seem very familiar.
A good AI system could be programmed to achieve them.
But for most voters, tangible results may be more important than the achievement of artificial targets.
A policy, more popular with humans, might be:
- average wages up 1% in real terms each year and on a growing trajectory,
- inflation down to the lower part of the 1-3% band, and
- the New Zealand dollar, in relation to the Australian dollar recovering from its present level of 80 cents to the 90 cents of 2023.
John Strevens, Remuera.
Who to ring first?
As the likely “king-maker” in the upcoming MMP election, Qiulae Wong may well have the Opportunity to back up her stated concerns about the right’s minor parties’ overt overhang strategy.
If the strategy is very successful it is highly possible that National ends up with the largest seat allocation even though Labour wins the largest percentage of party vote, which presumably reflects the preference of a larger proportion of voters.
If, as it seems, she wishes to maintain the principles of proportional representation that MMP is meant to uphold (should the above outcome occur), she would surely ring Labour first, once the dust settles.
Richard Stirling, New Windsor.
Tackling inequality
The National Party and Act want us to believe that fixing the economy is the answer to solving our problems. What they don’t want us to know is that over the past 30 to 40 years, this economic model has increased inequality exponentially.
In her book Escape from Capitalism, Clara Mattei argues that this economic model is outdated and has been the cause of enormous wealth in the hands of a few.
If we want a fairer world, we need to rethink this model, because wealth inequality contributes to social problems such as crime, addiction and a moral decline, which happens if society is too focused on material wealth.
Leen Auperle, Forrest Hill.
Cabinet of experts
It would be a lot cheaper and quicker if every three years the Governor-General simply appointed the best qualified and experienced person to be the Minister of Finance, Health, Education, Transport, Trade and Industry, Justice, Conservation, Agriculture and Forestry etc and let their departments get on with it.
This is only way to stop the current name-calling, mud-slinging, shouting, hissy fits, tantrums and horse-trading.
Bruce Tubb, Ngataringa Bay.
Emmerson’s insights
I keep a copy of Rod Emmerson’s NZ Herald cartoon from December 6, 2023, on my fridge. It’s worth remembering and reflecting on.
It depicts Christopher Luxon in the foreground of a group of people. He is looking confused. He speaks. “A review of Treaty principles, scrapping the Māori Health Authority, removing references to the Treaty from laws, returning public sector names to English, opposing co-governance, Winston Peters claiming Māori aren’t indigenous to NZ, repealing the Fair Pay Agreement and Smoke-free legislation … ”, he says. “What’s race-baiting about that?”
Three years later we know the harm that has been done. But what feeble and fickle memories we have when it’s time to vote.
Allison Dobbie, Onehunga.
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