Media Release: Keep MMP
Monday November 21, 2011

Prime Minister will continue to make MMP work

The Prime Minister has made MMP work, and the public should have absolute confidence in his ability to continue doing so after the election if National forms a government.

John Key said today on the Mike Hosking Breakfast show that he believed MMP would win the referendum on Saturday.

Keep MMP spokesperson Lewis Holden agreed, and said that while there had been a focus over the weekend on the smaller parties’ role in coalitions, New Zealand remained a country that elected major parties to lead governments and achieve the bulk of their programmes.

“John Key has proven he can be a very effective Prime Minister under MMP, as have other MMP Prime Ministers before him.”

“In the past three years, National had fulfilled over 90 of its election promises in its first 100 days, managed New Zealand through a recession and coped with Canterbury’s devastating earthquakes.”

“Regardless of which smaller parties contribute to governments, under MMP we have had and will continue to have stable and effective governments that achieve their programmes.”

“Make no mistake, parties will be pitching hard to preserve their votes, and this is absolutely understandable in the final week of the election campaign.”

“But we should not confuse normal electioneering from parties to maximise their vote, with the voting system we use.”

Lewis Holden said that the Prime Minister’s preferred alternative system of Supplementary Member had failed to win public support, and so the option would not proceed after November’s vote.

“Either we stick with MMP and fine tune it, or we take the risk of going backwards to First Past the Post, an unfair system New Zealand has already rejected.”

ENDS

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