I was 18 in 1984. I voted under FPP for the local New Zealand Party candidate. Despite gaining 12.2% of the vote, the New Zealand Party gained no seats. I didn’t vote again until the first MMP election in 1993. Under FPP, red authoritarianism or blue authoritarianism, unmitigated, is guaranteed. For a freedom-lover, voting under FPP is a pointless waste of time.

I will be voting to retain MMP. I support reducing the number of MPs to 100, and a threshold of 1%, for the reasons given here.

Stephen Berry believes the necessity of strategic voting in Epsom for the last three elections is an example of a fundamental flaw in the current MMP system. “The purpose of MMP is to make our elections as democratic as possible. However the five percent threshold means voters in Epsom having to vote for candidates they do not support in order to affect the national result. I say the solution to this is to remove the five percent threshold altogether. If a party gets 2% of the vote they should get 2% of the seats in Parliament.”

Some critics of Berry’s advocacy for eliminating the five percent threshold point out this will mean there are more parties in Parliament and make it more difficult to establish a stable Government. Berry points out, “Totalitarian regimes are often more stable than democratic ones but that doesn’t mean they are a good thing. The purpose of having a democratic election system is not to ensure a stable Government, but to provide representation for voters. The most democratic way to do this is through proper proportional representation. I would even argue that a system which makes stable Government more difficult could be seen as a positive. This would make it more difficult for a Government to raise taxes, increase economic regulations and write new laws that violate individual rights.”

Berry is right that “the five percent threshold means voters in Epsom having to vote for candidates they do not support in order to affect the national result.” But … What good is it for someone to affect the national result, yet forfeit their soul?

With friends of freedom like these …

last week I voted Banks and party vote ACT. I hate Banks. ACT isn’t good enough.

I’ll be voting for Act and I’ll utilize my Epsom electorate to candidate vote Banks. He’s an abominable piece of slime

… who needs enemies?

I will party vote for the ALCP. My electorate vote will be for the ALCP’s Mana electorate candidate—myself.