TEU Supports MMP

The Tertiary Education Union (TEU) has chosen to support the campaign for MMP. TEU national president Dr Tom Ryan says unions, along with other democratic organisations, community groups, and fair-minded people played an important role during the last referendum on MMP, supporting it as a fairer and more proportional electoral system.

"In the 1980s and 1990s New Zealand had a succession of first-past-the-post governments that forced through major legislation which the electorate had not voted for. Now that we have seen the success of MMP, we need to make sure we don’t lose it."

"MMP better reflects our diverse communities. There are now twice as many women in parliament as there were before MMP. Māori, Pacific Islands, and Asian peoples likewise are all better represented in parliament now than they were previously."

"MMP and similar proportional representation systems are widely used in parliamentary democracies around the world. They have been shown to encourage stable government, more representative and fairer election results with more open debate about policy, and more real choice for voters."

"When TEU members vote they need to know their vote is worth the same as everyone else's. That's just fair."

"TEU works hard to make sure that when we elect our own leaders they reflect the diversity of our members' backgrounds and views. We believe MMP gives us the same opportunity when we are electing people to parliament," said Dr Ryan.

ENDS

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