Voters need the power to recall MPs
It's become too easy for MPs to apologise for bad behaviour and then expect the public to accept them back into the fold. It's not that apologies aren't justified or important but it just seems too straightforward and doesn't necessarily lead to changes in behaviour. I've lost count of the number of times MP Trevor Mallard has apologised for bullying behaviour only for the same behaviour to be repeated.
What MPs do now is make a fulsome apology, as ACT leader Rodney Hide did yesterday, and then expect the public to forgive and forget. It's just not good enough. Rodney Hide has apologised for his "careless" use of taxpayer money to take his girlfriend on holiday. He should apologise because in a few short months the taxpayer spent more on holidays for Hide's girlfriend than it does on the yearly income for a solo parent struggling to bring children up in poverty. Hide will now pay the holiday money back but he won't be paying back the domestic travel subsidy for his girlfriend and says he may well use it again in future. From the figures I've seen, this domestic travel subsidy amounts to a stunning $12,000 over recent months. It's seems Hide has apologised for being caught out rather than because he misused public money.
Keep the chequebook open Rodney - there's more careless spending to be repaid.
Rodney Hide's hypocrisy and Hone Harawira's arrogance are not central to the lives of New Zealanders. This is not to say the behaviour of MPs shouldn't be the subject of public scrutiny but that the electorate should put in place measures to curb such bad behaviour. We want MPs to represent electors, not themselves.
The public have their say only once every three years when they can vote the MP out. This leaves voters effectively powerless for most of each parliamentary term. Surely something can be done to prevent or at least lessen such errant MP behaviour. Otherwise so much of what passes for political debate is simple a long-running sideshow.
I've previously argued for voters to have the ability to recall MPs who are not behaving the way they should or are not following policies on whose basis they were elected. It would be the NZ equivalent of the US impeachment process for presidents.
If a petition of 10% of voters in an electorate demands the recall of a member of Parliament then that could set in motion a recall vote of all in the electorate. If the MP is recalled through the vote then a by-election would be held.
I wouldn't imagine such a recall happening very often but the mere existence of such a recall mechanism would help focus MPs more on public service than personal sideshows.
Rodney Hide would have thought more carefully about his cavalier, carefree use of taxpayer money for personal holidays for himself and his girlfriend if he knew the voters of Epsom could retaliate with his losing his job within a couple of months. Similarly with Hone Harawira. Maintaining good relations with the electorate would mean pausing before heading off to Paris and before sending such an angry email response when challenged about his behaviour.
There would be a problem applying the recall procedure to list MPs where they don't represent a specific electorate but with some thought I'm sure the same mechanism could be applied with the same effect.
There will be those who say a recall procedure would mean more sideshows and we should just let MPs get on with running the country. This is the attitude which has got the country into such a mess this past generation. If we'd had a recall procedure in place in the 1980s and 1990s, for example, voters would have been able to stall the wholesale sacrifice of our community life for corporate interests. The introduction of so-called "user-pays", destruction of the welfare state and firesale of state assets to the corporate cronies of Labour and National politicians would have been stalled. MPs such as Roger Douglas, Richard Prebble and David Caygill might well be just quaint memories if voters had had the power to sack them as they went about their dirty deeds.
In the meantime we wait for the inevitable Hone Harawira apology later this week and then wait for the next MP stuff-up and its attendant sideshow.
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If the threshold were only 10%, then any time one of the major parties won a seat, the other one would soon rustle up a petition.
Why don't we just make taxation voluntary? Then, if you didn't like what the government/MPs were up to, you'd be free to keep your money. If you liked what they were up to, then you could pay up.
I'd be keeping my money out of the hands of these muppets if I had the choice.
We tend to forget that there are very good histoical reasons for Parliamentary Immunity and Sovereignty, and a 3 year term - harrasment of MP's by anyone who felt put out or upser is nto a good thing either.
IMO MP's are constantly being scrutinised and evaluated, and none of the them are shining particularly brightly at the moment.....but we demand a certain amount of deviousness and ruthlessness of them to get there, and then we act all surprised when those characteristics keep showing up?
Look at he screw up that is California for how much fun recall elections and binding referenda can be......
Good Idea John, But the parties would not stand for policy at election time and just get Bills drawn during their term.It would all just be retoric and veery brooad talking in the run up to an election, the last Australian Election was a classic example. Kevin Rudd talking change-once elected he does nothing.O'BLAHma was the same -Hope and Understanding ect -It was like an Iranian Theocratic State-and people wonder why he doesn't deliver.He never said he would --the young are used by politians in this way very often-just appalling. The Governer General should read aloud -what is expected of an "Officer of the Government" --after all , they do swear on oath.
At the risk of being accused of flippancy, I would suggest that Rodney's girlfriend should pop the question (Wednesdays would be an opportune time) and make an honest man out of him.
@Sam #2 "Why don't we just make taxation voluntary? "
*Points and laughs.*
Thats a great idea sam. Of course then you would need to pay full price for your health care, your roads, your education and your police force.
A practical solution is to offer government perks in reverse.
MP goes on trip overseas, takes girlfriend and pays for ALL expenses themselves. They then submit expenses claim and reciepts for assessment and renumeration of those costs connected with the actual government business they completed while overseas.
The idea is good but would be too open to corruption and expensive. What I'd prefer to see is a few small but vital tweaks to MMP:
- A candidate has to stand in an electorate to become an MP - The list is not decided by the party, rather it is formed by ranking candidates by percentage of votes in electorates, i.e those that came closest to winning their electorate get in first.
This would mean that every MP that gets in is there because they were voted for. It still allows for minor parties and most importantly: MPs abusing their positions are held very accountable next election and cannot be snuck back in by their parties.
Paul, I'd be completely happy to pay my own way thanks. I do so already via my taxes, so why not cut out the rorting MP middle-men?
I think we should wait and see how this new more transparent regime affects MP's behaviour. I don't think MP's should feel constrained by anything but their own better judgement, so long as we get proper oversight of their decisions. Anyone who thinks we can change the electoral system so we only elect honourable politicians is deluding themselves, and should come and talk to me about a new investment scheme I can interest them in.
Well MPs behaviour is rather a joke anyway. Their debates should be discussions where they try to figure out the best outcomes for the people they represent - not those shouting matches where they try to out clever each other. Try behaving like they do in any normal job and see how long you last.
Everyone makes mistakes. The only people not making mistakes are the people doing nothing. We need to allow people to make mistakes. But you also need to be able to admit those mistakes and be forgiven. Without that there is no growth and there is no progress.
Rodney should have been more sensitive in his spending during so-called "hard times", but he has not broken any laws and has only taken his legal entitlements. Would you begrudge a bus driver taking home all his pay and legal entitlements? But at least Rodney has read public sentiment, apologises and will rebuild trust.
Our mate Hone, however, is a completely different matter. He has behaved appallingly, but instead of apologising and moving on he has dug in his heels and made things worse. His divisiveness won't help anyone.
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At the moment, I will bet JOhn KEy is feeling very sorry too.