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The 2005 Election
The next New Zealand general election will be held on 17 September 2005. This
Hot Topic takes a look at the change from First Past the Post (FPP) to Mixed
Member Proportional (MMP) voting, and gives details about a competition launched
by the Electoral Commission to promote understanding of the democratic system.
MMP vs FPP
This forthcoming election will be the fourth one under the Mixed Member Proportional
(MMP) system that New Zealand has been using since 1996.
Under the old First Past the Post (FPP) system, from 1853 until 1993, each voter
had one vote and the candidate who received the most votes in each electorate
was the winner. Successful candidates did not need to win an absolute majority
(that is, more than 50 percent) of the votes cast.
Under FPP, the most popular political party usually won a share of the seats
in Parliament that was larger than its share of the overall votes. This encouraged
the formation of strong, single-party governments. Minor parties were often
excluded altogether.
A referendum was held in 1992, and 85 percent of respondents voted to change
the electoral system, with 70 percent favouring MMP. This was followed by a
binding referendum as part of the 1993 election, which MMP won by 54 percent
to FPP’s 46 percent.
Now, under MMP, every voter has two votes, one for an electoral candidate,
and one for a political party. Parliament is currently made up of 62 general
and seven Maori electorate seats, plus 51 seats allocated from party lists,
giving a total of 120 seats.
Electoral Teaching Awards
This Hot Topic lists some of the elections related resources and activities
on TKI you can use with your classes. Do you think you can come up with a better
way to make use of the general election as the basis for a classroom study?
Prove it!
The Electoral Commission has launched teaching awards with a $30,000 prize pool
to encourage you to do just that. The teaching awards are open to teachers of
all subjects from years 0–13 and include categories for:
- original resources and teaching units, as well as use of existing ones
- teaching outside social sciences
- teaching in te reo Maori
- single classroom and multi-room or school studies.
More details are available on the Electoral Commission’s website at
www.elections.org.nz/study.html,
and entries close on the 30 September, so you’d better get cracking. Here
are some websites to get you started.
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New Zealand news links
New Zealand Herald
www.nzherald.co.nz
Stuff
www.stuff.co.nz
TVNZ News
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/news_index_skin/news_index_group
Te Karere Ipurangi Maori News Online
http://maorinews.com/karere/
Radio New Zealand
http://www.radionz.co.nz/
Newspapers in Education
http://www.newszone.co.nz/
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Class activities
Election Days
General elections have always been important public events. This NZHistory.net.nz
site looks at the change in the experience of voting and electioneering in the mid
19th century through until today. Includes links in the media gallery to images,
videos, and sound items.
http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/politics/election-day
Prime Minister of New Zealand
The official website of the Prime Minister of New Zealand has information about
the life and work of the Prime Minister, caucus, cabinet, the role of a Prime
Minister, biographical details, former Prime Ministers, a section for students
with frequently asked questions, a facility for asking individual questions,
and a quiz.
http://www.primeminister.govt.nz
The House of Representatives
New Zealand's Parliament is over 150 years old. Learn about it in words,
sound clips, video clips, cartoons, postcards, and photographs; or take a virtual
tour through Parliament Buildings and the grounds in a series of interactive
panoramas.
http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/politics/history-of-parliament/the-house
Elections New Zealand
This is the joint website of the Electoral Commission, Electoral Enrolment Centre,
and Chief Electoral Office. It includes information, education, and online services
relating to elections in New Zealand. Its section for students has information
about the history of the vote and about Youth Parliament. The section for teachers
has lesson plans designed to support teaching about the electoral process.
http://www.elections.org.nz/
Hist/2/4 – B version 4: Pantry or Polling Booth
This assessment material , supports internal assessment for New Zealand history
achievement standards 2.4, AS90468 version 2 – ‘Examine perspectives
and responses of, and demonstrate empathy for, people in an historical setting’.
It involves students writing three responses to a letter decrying women's right
to vote, and is available in both Word and PDF formats.
http://www.tki.org.nz/r/ncea/hist2_4Bv4_3feb05.doc
(Word 162KB)
http://www.tki.org.nz/r/ncea/hist2_4Bv4_3feb05.pdf
(PDF 39KB)
Exercising
Democracy
In this level 3 unit, intended for years 5–6, students study
features of an MMP system of government and participate in an electoral process
by writing a political statement.
http://www.tki.org.nz/r/socialscience/curriculum/SSOL/election/index_e.php
On
the Democracy Road
This ESOL and social studies unit is intended for year 9–10 students at
level 4. Students build English language skills and social studies concepts,
while studying New Zealand government. The focus is on how the New Zealand Government
works, the main parties, how laws are made, and how to vote.
http://www.tki.org.nz/r/esol/esolonline/secondary_mainstream/classroom/units/democracy/home_e.php
Tall
Poppies: A Look at Leadership
This level 3 unit is intended for years 4–6. It is an Internet
focused unit that examines how people become leaders of groups, and looks at
how they exercise that leadership.
http://www.tki.org.nz/r/socialscience/curriculum/SSOL/tall_poppies/index_e.php
Please note: These links were valid when this page was posted. However the Web is very volatile, and TKI has no control over outside websites. Please let us know if you find anything inappropriate, if you find a broken link, or if you have an update for a link by emailing links@tki.org.nz. Te Kete Ipurangi recommends that teachers view all websites we link to before using them with students.
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