Business backs FPP

Most New Zealand business owners support the first-past-the-post (FPP) voting system, according to a new survey.

The survey, part of Grant Thornton's International Business Report, showed that 54% of the 250 New Zealand business owners polled about voting systems favoured FPP, compared with 18% for mixed member proportional (MMP), 8% for single transferrable vote and 4% for preferential vote.

Peter Sherwin, a partner at Grant Thornton New Zealand, said the result of the poll was unexpected.

"It's a serious surprise. I hadn't considered the depth of feeling out there."

As a result, Mr Sherwin approached some of his clients to try to find out why FPP had much more support than the other systems.

"When MMP was first introduced, it was decided that there needed to be an increase in the number of members of parliament to ensure that MMP worked.

“Unfortunately, the consensus among those that I talked with, and other observations, indicates that the increase in the number of politicians has not seen a lift in quality.

"In fact, there is a group of politicians who sit in parliament who are hardly seen."

No cup of tea
There was also concern that, because of the list system, some people become MPs without having had to go through an election, Mr Sherwin said.

“And then there are those that come in on the list and midway through a term they change parties,” he said.

Lack of certainty
One of the biggest conerns business owners had about MMP was the lack of certainty it delivered, Mr Sherwin said.

"The MMP environment is shrouded by a lack of clarity, which comes through the formation of coalition governments. It's unlikely we'll ever see one party get a complete majority"

Mr Sherwin said there was also a concern that many MPs lacked a business background.

“There are a number of MPs who do not have any business experience, especially those who have spent a lifetime in employment and have no understanding of the pressures business owners face in operating their business and maintaining employment in this challenging economic environment.

“Thankfully, we have a business-friendly government, otherwise some business owners believe they may have gone to the wall.”

Threshold too low
Mr Sherwin said that one idea that came through strongly was that the 5% threshold for list votes was too low.

“There is a belief that this should be up to 10%, as a way of possibly limiting the number of inexperienced people who make their way into parliament."

He said the same should apply to parties that might win a seat.

"For them to be able to bring more people into parliament, they should also need to capture up to 10% of the vote as well."