I would like a publicly searchable database to be created or made available, that lists how each member of parliament votes (yes, no, abstain) in each occasion that they are required to vote. or at least a spread sheet with this information. It should list each required voting opportunity and how each mp voted and a date.
presently I personally have a lot of trouble deciding who to vote for or which party to vote for, because I do not know the mp and some of the actions parties make are not decisions I agree with. I expect a lot of other people share my dilemma. I am nearly at the point of abstaining from voting due to lack of trust.
So providing this data to the public (updated daily) would allow the public to begin to know and trust (build confidence in) the MP's and their Parties based on being able to see how they vote and how that is aligned with individual voters views. It would be much like the system Trade me use where you get to leave feedback on each others accounts which enables trade me members to know whether the trader has good or poor trading integrity.
it would enable the public to make an informed decision who to vote for, because people would be able to easily see what each MP/ party actually believes and stands for and if they have high integrity and can they be trusted to fairly represent the majority view of their constituents.
I know that I could attend a meeting to get to know an MP, but that is an old world method of information dissemination, in this new world of information technology a public website devoted to providing this info/tool could dramatically increase voter turn out, and lead to a fairer more democratic result.
After all MPs are elected to represent, so they should provide detailed info on how they are representing, so that constituents can "hire or fire" those MP's for not meeting their KPI's in the next election
Other
Kia ora Sophie – thanks for getting in touch. This resource was not among the enhancements made during our 2015/16 website project. That said, we fully appreciate the value in making parliamentary data available in more open formats, and we still hope to work towards this. Regarding this specific request: most votes in the House are voice votes or party votes, and in both of these cases the votes of individual members are not usually recorded. For personal votes (most often used when the House is dealing with issues of personal conscience), members’ votes are counted individually, and a written record of these votes is published in Hansard reports on our website – for example, see this table of votes on the End of Life Choice Bill third reading (scroll to the end of the debate): https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/combined/HansDeb_20191113_20191113_16 The Parliamentary Information Service may also be able assist with specific inquiries: parlinfo@parliament.govt.nz
116 Votes
Agency responded
3 Subscribers
John
I want to see what polititians vote for in parliament. As it stands I'm reluctant to give anyone my vote. Most of their electioneering pamphlets are all shiny smiles and if they speak at all it's usually full of buzzwords.
Thomas
Please provide an update on why no progress has been made on this request for over 6 years. It is not a complicated request and would provide significant clarity on important issues.
Karl Thackham
Not good enough. Make this information public and available. I want to see what MPs are voting for. If its a voice vote then put in a Recorder to write everything down.
Matt
Is the response to this request "sorry, that sounds like a bit too much hassle"? Not good enough.
Larry
We elect the people who make the decisions which determine how our country functions. To not have the ability to see who made what decision is ludicrous.
The excuse of voice voting is pathetic. Every decision should be a matter of public record. Find someone with some initiative to get this underway, please.
Charlie
The transparency of our MP's is essential. What is the status of this. Where can we find this info apart from having the time to view Parliament sessions live?
Robbie Cook
This really needs to be documented. Re: https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/.
Sifting through the Hansard is so hard even the news doesn't do it.
Not having it really does raise some questions. If information is obscure and hard to find, it may as well not exist.
Simon (Requester)
We have a right to see what these politicians believe in to enable the public to make an informed decision on an individual without the partisan politics getting in the way.
Kate (Requester)
Hello,
I was searching for something of this exact nature when i came across this. Even if there was someway to filter bills so that you could view the bills that include a list of MP Personal Votes that would be helpful. Or if each personal vote was listed under an MP's profile. Would love to see an update to this request!
Herman (Requester)
I think this would be a vital contribution towards a transparent democracy. I've been looking for something like this for years. Please make it happen.
Hayley
Please can we have an update on this request? It is information that should be available to NZ citizens especially considering these are the people we have elected to govern our country. It is important to know what the people we vote for stand for. One of the best ways to do this is to know what they vote for/against.
Sophie
Hi there,
I can see this post was made 6 years ago. What was the outcome? It would certainly be an interesting resource to have available, and if it was not made available what was the discussion surrounding the decision?
Thanks!