Tanczos Nandor: Appointments — Representation Commission 
Tanczos Nandor: Appointments — Representation Commission 
[Volume:635;Page:6658] 
NANDOR TANCZOS (Green) 
: 
 The Greens are very pleased to be standing in solidarity with other small parties to say that we oppose these two motions just as the Green Party opposed last year the nominations of David Caygill and John Isles to the Electoral Commission. We consider that it is just not tenable in the 21st century in New Zealand—which has a proportional representation system of Parliament that comprises eight political parties which has had minority Governments for the last three terms and in which there is the very strong likelihood that we will continue to have minority Governments for the foreseeable future—to retain a system whereby Labour and National get to appoint nominees on bodies such as the Representation Commission and other parties have no representation whatsoever. 
The fact that the National Party seems to be unable to get the reality of MMP as evidenced by its election campaigns simply highlights the problem that we and other members have already spoken about. 
In those circumstances how can having one political representative of the Labour Party and one of the National Party on the Representation Commission possibly be appropriate or just? How can representatives of the two dinosaur parties possibly represent anything other than dinosaurs? It is just not possible. We believe that it is just not tenable to allow this situation to continue. For that reason as I have said the Greens oppose these two motions. 
Just to reiterate a point that Heather Roy made this is not in any way to question or impugn the integrity or ability of the nominees. We are not attempting to do that at all. 
 This is simply about the position. However it is an exacerbating factor that both David Caygill and Roger Sowry were first-past-the-post politicians. Their experience of electoral matters has been wholly or largely conditioned by that bygone system. So that just makes it even more difficult for those people to represent the small parties in an MMP environment. That may not be true of the nominees for the Maori electoral boundaries Whetumarama Wereta and John McEnteer. Nevertheless their positions remain untenable for the reasons that have been outlined by myself and other members. 
How can a representative put up by the National Party properly represent the Opposition in this Parliament? The Opposition is not just the National Party of course; it includes the ACT party and the Maori Party—never mind how those people can possibly start to represent parties like the Greens which is abstaining on confidence and supply. Of course in an even worse situation are the parties involved in confidence and supply agreements with the Government such as the Progressives New Zealand First and United Future. A Labour Party nominee cannot represent either those parties or the rest of us—it is just not possible. 
So the Green Party opposes political representatives on electoral bodies like the Representation Commission and the Electoral Commission. We join voices with the other small parties to say that it is time to come up to date and realise we are in an MMP environment—a proportional representation Parliament—and that these kinds of cosy first-past-the-post-arrangements between Labour and National simply cannot continue. We will vote against these two motions.