Comparing Party Lists

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National's candidate list has been questioned regarding how it reflects New Zealand society so I thought I would compare four main party lists for how truly representative they are.

I should clarify that my personal view is that ability to do the job should be the driving determiner of any selection process and it is the duty of each party to ensure that they encourage participation of capable people from the full breadth of our society. The level of diversity is also an indication of how comfortable a range of people feel within the party itself.

Here is a breakdown of the top 15 for each party as I see it and I am open to any corrections:

National
12 men
3 women

Act
11 men
2 women
2 unidentified

Labour
9 men
6 women
2 Maori
1 Pacifika
1 aged under 35

Greens
7 men
8 women
3 Maori
2 aged less than 35
1 Deaf

I did consider including those from the LBGT community but this was problematic for a number of reasons. I didn't include the Maori Party because of their unique representation.

Of course there should be a number of other determiners that provide useful indicators of capability and representation like social backgrounds, education, work experience and community involvement. A quick run through of the biographies for all candidates reveals much about who will have their ear, or influence each, if they got elected.

You can imagine the make up of any future government caucus and the sort of policy that would drive  them. I considered looking at the top twenty candidates for each party, where more diversity can be seen but felt that anyone below 15th is not likely to carry much influence and, in the case of the two smaller parties, are not likely to get elected anyway (although 20 Green MPs would be great).

Comments

toad said…
3 Maori in the Green top 15 actually - Metiria Turei, David Clendon and Denise Roche.
September 4, 2011 at 4:00 PM
Dave Kennedy said…
Thanks, Toad, adjustment made.
September 4, 2011 at 6:24 PM
caroline said…
I thought the Greens had 3 under 35, but I may be wrong
September 4, 2011 at 8:38 PM
Dave Kennedy said…
Get back to me if you can find out, Caroline, I've already been corrected and it would be good to be accurate.
September 4, 2011 at 9:06 PM
Ella B said…
I agree that ability should always be more important than gender. It's disappointing to see the continued dominance of white males in Parliament.
October 21, 2011 at 6:29 PM
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