Voting for ministers and parties is outdated. I would like to propose a new structure.

Within the current system of government there are a list of portfolios which address the issues we believe are important in this country.

They include, among others, education, finance and foreign affairs and each portfolio has its own agenda which in theory is outlined by the party who won the last election.

The problem is that the majority of voters rarely read any of the portfolios before an election. New Zealand now has an almost presidential system where the charisma of the party leaders has a huge sway in the outcome on voting day.

We find ourselves in a situation where a government we voted for is doing things we do not really want.

What I propose is that instead of voting for parties or party leaders we each get 1 vote and vote for the individual portfolio policy we like.

For example, if I was a school teacher I'd most likely put my vote into which ever party portfolio has the best education policy. If I was an accountant I could vote for my favorite finance policy.

The real winner on voting day would be the people because the newly formed government would be made up of policies voters knew a lot more about, not one single party with a collection of portfolios.

View all contributions

Comments