ABSTRACT

Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them. During the second half of the 1980s, politicians had the opportunity to rebottle the genie let loose by the Royal Commission’s report. Once in power, the National Government had little choice other than to move towards implementing its promise of allowing voters to determine the future shape of New Zealand’s electoral system. Under the First–past–the–post system, few Private Members’ bills were enacted in the New Zealand parliament unless taken up by the government of the day, but they did serve a useful purpose by drawing attention to an issue, or helping to keep it on the political agenda. Peter Shirtcliffe’s argument that proposed changes to a country’s electoral system is a constitutional question, not a political one, has merit but any consideration of the merits or otherwise of any proposed changes should have taken place well beyond the heat of the immediate debate.