We live in a supposed democracy and have the right to have an elected MP.....as we are regularly told, as if it was some kind of unique privilege.
It should therefore follow that we should also have the right NOT to have an elected MP. I believe that at the bottom of every ballot paper should be a blank box titled 'none of the above” and if this option ‘wins' with the most ticks, then all the aspiring politicians for that electorate will have to get a real job.
Why should we be forced to have a politician if the candidates are poor - surely it is our right to reject them all if none are good enough. Ditto for the party/list vote. Any employer has the right to reject all applicants until a suitable candidate comes along.
Why should an MP be guaranteed 3 years work when none of us are? In my opinion our local MP has done next to nothing in the last 3 years except nodding pensively in the background when the PM is on TV.
A good honest hard working MP would have nothing to fear, but I suspect we will once again be denied our right to democracy as we usually are. As Goebbels said, if you tell the same lie over and over ( ie we live in a great democracy), not only do people believe it but actually start to repeat it!

Derek Gordon, Tauranga.