Scoop's "Meet The MPs" Project: David Garrett

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• Scoop's "Meet The MPs" Project: This is an interview with ACT List MP David Garrett about what he thinks about the future of MMP, his views on the decision about the smacking referendum and the seven MPs he would like to join his dream political team.

David Garrett has been involved with politics since the 80s when he helped the Labour Party get Robert Muldoon out of power. He describes Muldoon as ‘the last tyrant before Helen Clark came into power’.

Before entering Parliament following the 2008 election, David was a practicing lawyer, for a firm in Albany, Auckland.

He got back into the political arena because many of his views aligned with the views of the ACT Party.

He has also lived and worked in Tonga between 1999 until 2003 and now lives in Helensville with his wife and two children.

Garrett helped to write ACT's 'Three Strikes And You're Out' policy and is ACT's Law and Order spokesman. He grew up in Gisborne.

Q And A

1. What is your view on the decision taken by the Government in relation to

the smacking referendum in terms of what it says about NZ democracy?

“It’s appalling and I totally disagree with it. It’s an arrogant dismissal of a clear overwhelming majority view and I think that it is totally wrong because we are supposed to live in a democracy.”

2. What is your view on the merits of MMP vs. FPP? Should there be another

referendum on the subject and what is your preferred outcome?

He believes that MMP does have its merits and adds that he would not be an MP without the MMP system being in place.

“I think our parties official line is that they are against it but I am strongly for it with all its faults. Most people don’t really know the reason for MMP being introduced unless you are old enough to remember Muldoon. The down side of MMP is people like him but others may say the down side is guys like me. But that’s democracy. And if the price of having a better representative in Parliament is having people that we strongly disagree with then that is better than the previous system. ”

Garrett said that the last election showed how carefully thought out the MMP system was because Winston got slightly more of the votes than they did but did not get back into Parliament because he did not get a seat.

It is an important distinction and feature of MMP that people tend to discount. It is as good a system as we are going to get frankly, he said.

3. Name a dream team of seven members of Parliament - people who you think exemplify how an MP should conduct him/herself. Your list of seven can only include three members of your own party.

1. Rodney Hide ACT
2. Chris Auchinvole National
3. Sir Roger Douglas ACT
4. John Boscawen ACT
5. Darren Hughes, Labour
6. Simon Power Minister of Justice National
7. Judith Collins. National.

Chloe Vaughan is a journalism student at Massey University

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