MMP review in strife over chair

By AUDREY YOUNG political reporter

The Prime Minister wants the select committee reviewing MMP to be bipartisan, but there is trouble over who should chair it.

Helen Clark believes the Speaker, Jonathan Hunt, "has all the skills to do the job."

The Alliance agrees and so do the Greens, saying it would add to the impartiality of the constitutionally critical committee.

But National says the MMP review is too politically sensitive for the Speaker to front.

And Act believes that MPs should not even be conducting the review of MMP because there is too much public scepticism about the "benefits" they get from it.

Helen Clark will consult parties in the next week on the committee's composition.

Under the Electoral Act, Parliament must set up a select committee as soon after April 1 as possible. It must report by June 2002 on whether there should be changes to the number of electorates, if there should be changes to Maori representation and whether there should be a further referendum on electoral changes.

All parliamentary parties will be invited on to the committee, and Government parties will not have a majority on it, according to Helen Clark.

"There's no casting vote. It really is a without-prejudice review with very broad participation," she told the Herald.

She dismissed Act's objections to MPs conducting the review as politicking.

"The problem with MMP is that there are more agendas than there are parties and politicians.

"Act won't know which way to jump on this because basically their constituency doesn't like MMP, but they are only there because of it."

She expected "a maximum of politicking" from Act. "But we'll just settle down and have talks with other parties who are interested in having a genuine look."

Alliance leader Jim Anderton could not understand objections to Mr Hunt chairing the committee. "After all, the Speaker chairs Parliament. Everyone had confidence in him to do that."

National MP Tony Ryall said the person who chaired the review would have to present the results to Parliament and would be responsible for making the case publicly.

"We believe it would be quite wrong for the Speaker to be placed in that position. But we welcome the opportunity to discuss it with the Prime Minister."

Act leader Richard Prebble said Parliament could delegate an independent committee which could include some MPs to conduct a review.

Greens co-leader Rod Donald said that would be "a shambles." The public scepticism that Mr Prebble spoke of had "fallen right away" under the new Government.

Helen Clark said that if public discontent with MMP was still evident when the select committee reported, another referendum would have to be recommended. But it would probably not happen during this term of Parliament.

"There is nothing quick about this, and nor do I think the select committee should be seen to do a 'quick and dirty' review.

"That wouldn't be acceptable either. It would be virtually impracticable to get a change to the electoral system before the next election, if that's what the outcome was going to be."

That would be complicated by the indicative referendum at the last election supporting a cut from 120 to 99 MPs.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters did not want to comment until he had spoken to Helen Clark.