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Emailed to Mr Peters and CCed to the other elected members of the NZ First party after the 2017 election
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Dear Mr Peters,
I fear it has taken me too long to find the time to write to you. Nevertheless as in modern times democracy is considered to be a one man, one vote system and right now in New Zealand you are that man and you have that vote so I am writing to you as my representative under the circumstances to express my preference in the matter of the forming the next government.
I urge you please to not go with National. We have had 9 years of men and women who to all appearances view the business of government as one of rulership not representation. This attitude is boldly reflected in their insistence that having the largest minority of a vote somehow entitles them to continue to "govern". As you yourself have stated this is not how things (are supposed to) work under a proportionally representative system such as MMP, and it saddens me that our national psyche and in particular our media continue to maintain an abusive relationship with the idea of "winner takes all" in our political system.
While my ideal would to be to see a fully functioning coalition of NZ First / Labour / Greens working together to re-establish and repair the social safety net New Zealand could once rightly claim to be proud of, I also believe that my second option of a minority Government, Labour simply supported by your party and the Greens from the cross-benches on supply and confidence issues would in the long term be better for the maturity of our political system and our whole country's understanding of politics. Let every piece of legislation be debated thoroughly and stand/fall on it's merits rather than because it's proponents happen to be able to whip an unassailable majority into line.
Please step up to demonstrate government by consensus instead of by fiat and tribal opposition to the policies of others; please do not give more fuel to those who loudly proclaim the idea that one party must dominate over the idea of visible representation for those who most dearly need it and can least afford it.
But please also bring decisions and debates out into the open. Put an end to negotiations and horse-trading behind closed doors, the outcome to be revealed as a fait accompli (or rammed through as such under urgency) when the final vote happens. I would not have mentioned this except for the disquiet raised by recent reports that this decision which will set the fate of our country for at least the next three years is being made behind closed doors by people we quite possibly did not elect to be our representatives in this matter. You and your fellow NZ First MPs are those we have elected and while I certainly expect you to seek counsel from others; I also believe the credibility of the next government of NZ hinges on the those who are ultimately making the decision being visible and accountable; with the sort of transparency you yourself have so often argued for in our politics.
But to come back to my main point: I would much rather have a mostly deadlocked government which made slow progress or at least made things no worse than another 3 years of those who have proven to be very good at further disenfranchising the least well off in this country to their own benefit. I have seen the effect of National's policies among my own friends Mr Peters, and I do not believe that even you can convince them to manifestly reverse or even halt the harm they are doing. That sort of change withing the party will require will require some time out on the, and you may correctly surmise from my above comments that I strongly dislike the continued use of this term post FPP, "opposition" benches and the same sort of generational change within their ranks as Labour has seen.
We are now seeing the possibility for the first time in my life of a "prime minister" younger than I, and I would also love for this to become a reality. Youth are our future.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I am also taking the liberty of of publishing it openly in my journal which can be found at https://marsden-online.dreamwidth.org
Due regards etc etc,
[Contact information redacted]
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Dear Mr Peters,
I fear it has taken me too long to find the time to write to you. Nevertheless as in modern times democracy is considered to be a one man, one vote system and right now in New Zealand you are that man and you have that vote so I am writing to you as my representative under the circumstances to express my preference in the matter of the forming the next government.
I urge you please to not go with National. We have had 9 years of men and women who to all appearances view the business of government as one of rulership not representation. This attitude is boldly reflected in their insistence that having the largest minority of a vote somehow entitles them to continue to "govern". As you yourself have stated this is not how things (are supposed to) work under a proportionally representative system such as MMP, and it saddens me that our national psyche and in particular our media continue to maintain an abusive relationship with the idea of "winner takes all" in our political system.
While my ideal would to be to see a fully functioning coalition of NZ First / Labour / Greens working together to re-establish and repair the social safety net New Zealand could once rightly claim to be proud of, I also believe that my second option of a minority Government, Labour simply supported by your party and the Greens from the cross-benches on supply and confidence issues would in the long term be better for the maturity of our political system and our whole country's understanding of politics. Let every piece of legislation be debated thoroughly and stand/fall on it's merits rather than because it's proponents happen to be able to whip an unassailable majority into line.
Please step up to demonstrate government by consensus instead of by fiat and tribal opposition to the policies of others; please do not give more fuel to those who loudly proclaim the idea that one party must dominate over the idea of visible representation for those who most dearly need it and can least afford it.
But please also bring decisions and debates out into the open. Put an end to negotiations and horse-trading behind closed doors, the outcome to be revealed as a fait accompli (or rammed through as such under urgency) when the final vote happens. I would not have mentioned this except for the disquiet raised by recent reports that this decision which will set the fate of our country for at least the next three years is being made behind closed doors by people we quite possibly did not elect to be our representatives in this matter. You and your fellow NZ First MPs are those we have elected and while I certainly expect you to seek counsel from others; I also believe the credibility of the next government of NZ hinges on the those who are ultimately making the decision being visible and accountable; with the sort of transparency you yourself have so often argued for in our politics.
But to come back to my main point: I would much rather have a mostly deadlocked government which made slow progress or at least made things no worse than another 3 years of those who have proven to be very good at further disenfranchising the least well off in this country to their own benefit. I have seen the effect of National's policies among my own friends Mr Peters, and I do not believe that even you can convince them to manifestly reverse or even halt the harm they are doing. That sort of change withing the party will require will require some time out on the, and you may correctly surmise from my above comments that I strongly dislike the continued use of this term post FPP, "opposition" benches and the same sort of generational change within their ranks as Labour has seen.
We are now seeing the possibility for the first time in my life of a "prime minister" younger than I, and I would also love for this to become a reality. Youth are our future.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I am also taking the liberty of of publishing it openly in my journal which can be found at https://marsden-online.dreamwidth.org
Due regards etc etc,
[Contact information redacted]
