A former New Zealand Prime Minister is crediting the adopting of proportional representation for a more diverse parliament.
Helen Clark says when she entered parliament in 1981 there were eight women members out of 92 seats
Then in 1996 the country went from first past the post to proportional representation.
“There was a dramatic increase in women’s representation with the first MMP election. We went from 20% under the old system to 30% straight off. A 50% increase. We are now at 38.7%, close to 40%, you can start to see gender parity is within grasp.”
Clark says PR also caused an increase in minority and indigenous representation.
She says the system as a whole has increased diversity adding that is good for democracy.