Editorial Tuesday June 10, 2014

Peter Jackson, editor, The Northland Age

THE farce that politics in this country has become continued apace last week, with the apparent political demise of John Banks and the beginning of the Internet Mana Party's candidate selection via a process resembling New Zealand's Got Talent, complete with a public vote.

One of the few positives to come out of Mr Banks being found guilty of filing a false electoral return is that it has prompted self-appointed watchdog Graham McCready to retire. But for a man who has given 34 years of his life to politics in one form or another, this is a cruel way to end it all.

Prime Minister John Key made it clear last week that, despite the finding of guilt, he continued to regard Mr Banks as an honest man. So will many others who know more of him than what the media have served them. Courage, compassion, honesty and integrity are words that have been used to describe Mr Banks over recent days, and many who have enjoyed political prominence have departed without being able to count on that.

This is a man who moved mountains to escape the legacy of his upbringing, as self-made as any man ever was, who has always prided himself on his moral rectitude, and who, according to very credible sources, has stoutly resisted attempts by the man who would finally be his undoing to compromise his integrity. Love him or loathe him, John Banks does not deserve such an ignominious end to a career that owes so much to strength of character, especially given that his 'crime' can be seen as amounting to no more than putting his signature to a document that made no difference whatsoever to an electoral outcome - his bid for the Auckland mayoralty had already failed when he signed the return - without due care and attention.

One must always exercise caution in commenting on the outcome of court proceedings when one is reliant upon the media for the facts. Those who did not sit in the courtroom in Auckland cannot know all that was said in evidence, and are in no position to reach an unchallengeable conclusion as to innocence or guilt, but it is fair to say that the allegation against Mr Banks was built on the word of Kim Dotcom, a man not unfamiliar with criminal convictions and potentially facing more, who had made no secret of his intention to destroy the politician, apparently in revenge for his failing to go to Mr Dotcom's aid when he needed him most.

So while one man of no little ability, with a proven record of service to our political system, is discarded in such a sorry fashion, his nemesis, apparently driven by personal interest, is blatantly using a ridiculous electoral system to his own advantage, and treating voters in Te Tai Tokerau with disdain in the process.

That the MMP system allows the machinations that have seen the forming of a new party specifically to open the parliamentary door to individuals who have no personal electoral appeal whatsoever beggars belief.

The Internet Mana Party represents a vile betrayal of the principles of democracy.

People with aspirations that will never be achieved by traditional means - presenting policies to the electorate and seeking its endorsement - are simply trading on the popularity of an existing party's sole MP whose role is that of a Trojan horse. Most cynically of all, Internet and Mana have declared that they will divorce in November, leaving the Internet Party as an apparently valid political player inside the House with not a skerrick of political legitimacy.

The Internet Mana Party could, of course, enjoy huge success on September 20, but the chances are that it won't. Internet's leading light and most likely MP, Laila Harre, probably wouldn't get her deposit back if she contested an electorate. In fact she would struggle if she was the sole candidate in a rotten borough. She, and others, seem to believe that they have a duty to take their place in Parliament by fair means or foul, all in our best interests, of course, although their overarching aim seems to be to bring down the current government.

Meanwhile many people who have expressed an opinion, not least those who are behind this chicanery, are arguing that what Internet and Mana are doing is no different to the ploys adopted by National and Labour in elections past. It is very different, and anyone who suggests otherwise is ignorant, ill-informed or just plain nuts.

Certainly National and Labour have staged campaigns in such a way as to boost the chances of potential allies being elected in Epsom, Ohariu and Sydenham/Wigram, although Peter Dunne's continued success in Ohariu has benefited both major parties. It cannot be said, however, that not contesting an electorate, or contesting it without vigour, in the hope that an ally will be elected is not the same as forming a party specifically to take advantage of another party's sole incumbent MP, who is generally expected to be re-elected, then planning to secede once the votes are in. Yet for some reason, commentators galore are claiming that National, and to some extent Labour, are now being hoisted by their own petard.

Laila Harre has said it's time for the people to take back MMP for themselves, with her playing the role of saviour, while others have suggested that the left can hardly be expected to sit back and lose 'election after election' - it's actually lost two since Labour's nine-year reign began in 1999 - because National and its allies are running 'fake' parties in Epsom and Ohariu, while the left is supposedly not allowed to do the same thing in Te Tai Tokerau. It's not the same thing at all. At the very least, Epsom and Ohariu have been contested by credible candidates who entered Parliament because sufficient people voted for them to do so. The Internet Mana Party will presumably present candidates in some electorates, but will rely on Hone Harawira. And in November, those who succeed will euthanase the party that got them into Parliament.

Anyone who didn't want Peter Dunne or John Banks in 2011 only had to vote for someone else. On September 20, anyone who doesn't want Laila Harre will have the option of not voting for Hone Harawira, if they live in Te Tai Tokerau. If they don't they will have no say whatsoever.

At the heart of all this is the view that the right (National) has rigged the electoral system at the expense of the left (almost everyone else), and is prospering. In fact MMP favours the left, in that Labour, as the major left party (for the moment at least), has more potential allies to call upon to form a government.

The key to the left winning an election isn't to be found in abusing the democratic process, but coming up with policies that people will vote for. What we are seeing now is a bid to win seats without going to the trouble of developing policies with appeal.

Meanwhile John Key says he still regards John Banks as an honest man, and that he is loyal to his friends. That should resonate with Kim Dotcom, who claims to have valued the friendship of the man he vowed to destroy. In the meantime voters have become bit players in a production where they once had the starring role.