Democracy in New Zealand?

Isn't is amazing how you get more interested in politics as you get older. Until recently I never really understood or cared how the system worked. Now I have a partial understanding of Democracy I would like to state that in my opinion I do not think that Democracy is democratic at all.

This is a letter that I sent to the leader of the National Party on the 3rd of May 2007.

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Dear John

Congratulation on your compromise with Ms Clark and Ms Bradford’s ‘anti-parenting’ bill. I fully understand your position on this matter and feel that a compromise was the best thing that you could have done.

It seems to me that at present, politicians lobby for my vote making election promises. As I voter I choose the party whose promises I feel will bring the best result for the country and the standard of living. But then with MMP the parties need to compromise their promised with the agendas of other parties. This is where the people do not get ANY say in the final result.

At present in New Zealand if they disagree with an issue the public can sign a petition to force a referendum. Great. But the government has the option to ignore the results of these referendums. So what is the point other than to publicise a poll on the issue.

I received a letter from Ruth Dyson in response to my objection to the anti smacking bill that states that the vast majority of New Zealanders support her, and the Labour Party’s view on the bill before it was amended. I strongly doubted this statement but could not find any figures one way or the other.

I would like to have a vote, or at least a say in a poll on individual issues more often.

The vast majority of New Zealanders would agree with me. I can make unverified claims like that if Ruth Dyson does. :-)

Is it feasible to hold official and secure online opinion polls for important issues? The papers and TV do it for their own content but there is not a central New Zealand poling centre that I know of. This could be an important tool for gauging public opinion on issues such as the anti smacking bill..

Is it feasible to change the way referendums are held and the way the results are treated?

"To have an effective democracy we need to re-engage citizens to participate in the decisions that affect their lives."
Caroline Bouvier Kennedy - JFK's daughter, (1957- )

Thank you for your time.

Regards
David Scott