Voting age and taxpayer-funded campaigns shaping up to be contentious areas of electoral review
Vote at 16, let parties rule for four years, election campaigns funded by the taxpayer – the electoral system is in for a massive shakeup.
Look, I agree with lowering the voting age to 16, young people face the full fury of climate change and their concerns would force politicians to listen, I disagree with 4 year terms because our Parliament is one if the most powerful in the world and should get its shit together during the 3 year term and I agree with public funding of election campaigns to remove the power of big money from our political system
B-U-T
I think attempting electoral reform when we have 190000 kids in poverty, 22000 on emergency housing wait lists and entire generations locked out of home ownership is a tad eye rolling.
I really wish that instead of announcing new promises of change in 2021 that Labour would just did what they said they would do in 2017!
You can’t launch vast new promises of reform when you haven’t completed the last list!
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Make the parliamentary term 2 years, less if possible. The voters can turf them out if/when they don’t deliver the promises or don’t like the policy, instead of grinding it out for 3 or 4 years. Voter age 16 yrs great idea as at this age money is not the governing concern, their future is. They would probably vote for best climate action and policy to make housing affordable. Someone like Chloe Swarbrick would be able to explain complex issues in a way that can be understood. Young people are smart, they will pick it up easily.
Give the fuckers two months to start doing what they said they would or else have them deported for treason. Then there wouldn’t be so many fat comfortable arrogant pricks feasting on the taxpayers tit and wasting time on smoke and mirror projects like this grifter.
I was kind of thinking if you can’t achieve bugger all in 3 years and most especially the big promises, and with a majority, what’s the point of 4?
I would like to see term limits introduced so that representation in parliament is not seen as a career. That way we have representatives in our parliament with real world experience. Looking at Brownlie and Mallard but there are others.
The last thing we need in parliament are list MP’s that go from univercity, MP office staffer to MP. Never having done much more than worked part time in the proverbial fish and chip shop.
Limit terms to 4x3years or 3×4 years. No more.
Lets see some real world experience in our parliament.
Gerrit – Good thinking, you list our problems.
Gerritt – absolutely I am fed up with the likes of Mallard, Brownlie and other tossers, Ruth Dyson should have buggered off years ago, she finally did but a tad too late.
Well if it remains at 3 years, only 3 terms tops. Why should they stay there when they aren’t getting anything right except of course for themselves.
LET THEM EAT CAKE!!!!!
If you’re under 18 and in paid employment, perhaps you should be entitled to vote.
However, an unemployed 16 year old, glued to the main road and holding a climate sign – no so much.
1. Maybe one of the reasons substantial issues aren’t addressed substantially by governments is because they’re in (and we’re in) a perpetual short election cycle.
2. For god’s sake let us not have electoral reform as Labour’s flag referendum.
3. Every single day the commentators on Kiwiblog demonstrate that having 16 year olds not vote because they’re too immature, too uninformed and too dumb is shown to be spurious reasoning. Those commentators have those qualities along with the bonus of being totally blinkered.
16 year olds have a lot less ‘skin in the game’. Unless employed or a parent/care-giving (unlikely at 16) it’s all protest and no responsibility.
The voting age has to start somewhere and I think 18 is fine. Depending on people’s date-of-birth and elections dates, some people don’t get the opportunity to vote in the general election until you’re 21.
Rogernomics was imposed on the country in 1984 by stealth and sneakiness–not voted for by a fully informed populace. National’s Ruthanasia followed and the Parlimentary neo liberal consensus was formed.
So, after coming up for 40 years of filthy neo liberalism and monetarism, surely it is time to give the people a say on The Reserve Bank Act, the State Sector Act, Contracting out, Managerialism, and traitors at the top of the Public Service. That is the type of Parliamentary Reform that is needed–the end of the NZ neo liberal state.
Of course all the 16 year olds should be able to vote. It is absolutely their future why should all the olds decide their futures, after all we are the ones that have screwed it for them.
Not only should the voting age be lowered to 16, it should be capped at 70. People who won’t have to face the consequences of suicidal environmental policies shouldn’t get to vote for them.
Fair enough but you are forgetting it is their taxes that paid for the roads you drive on and the education and healthcare you received. Its one thing to argue someone who doesnt pay tax doesnt get a say and a whole nother thing to argue someone who paid a lifetime of taxes doesnt get a say.
And there is also the old adage that “With age comes wisdom” not to mention that pesky little thing called democracy – “1 Man, 1 Vote” or should I now be required to say “1 Person 1 Vote” assuming that is that NZer’s still consider democracy relevant.
I think this thing called democracy needs a new warrant of fitness. The tow-bars that attach it to general citizens seem to have warped, rusted or fractured or all three. It’s time for the populace to demand better standards of themselves and more informed input, and acceptable, useful outcomes, and the same for gummint!
What about a scratch test before anyone votes with some basic questions so the young ones and the old ones and those in the middle who haven’t had a new thought for years, all have to turn over their brain and let some fresh air in between their ears. The airy-fairy young teenagers have to understand the complex human mind which only growing into adults will do.
It could have questions like how does NZ earn its national income, what is the minimum wage, and what keeps wages low? Those may be too hard for the average punter though. For old people the simple question of where their superannuation (old age pension) is paid from, and are they willing to help out as volunteers in the community to put something back; to pass on their wit and wisdom and skills before they go soft in the head with alzheimers or their hips and hearts go (I am in that common situation as are many I know.)
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