Essay Sample on Reforming NZ Parliament for Long-Term Policy Scrutiny

For a long time, the New Zealand parliament has been accused of paying less attention to the scrutiny of long-term programs in the country. The less attention to future plans was attributed to the short term the MPs are in power, and the less focus on advice given to parliamentary committees. The report released by Victoria University of Wellington in association with the office of the Clerk of Parliament proposed several reforms to enable the scrutiny of long-term policies. According to veteran John Armstrong, the report is one of the most fundamental documents in the country that provides choices for change in an important constituent of the political system (Ensor, 2019). The report is seen as a mediator to reconcile the parliament with the common people. It is considered a tool that can restructure the parliamentary politics in New Zealand to focus on the future, and handle long-term and obstinate issues like environmental degradation and the demographic alterations that call for change in resource utilization (Boston et al., 2019). The MPs in New Zealand are known to focus much on short term issues that affect society (Wehner, 2017). The reforms recommended will play a significant role in improving governance. However, establishing cross-party futures forum of members of parliament who collaborate with seasoned research organizations and sector forums will be more significant in examining long-term issues.

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Research is a very fundamental factor in any decision making, and it is what research organizations and sector groups consider most. Research findings give implications about both the past and the future, and this can help in informing decision-makers well. Anything that is not researched about may produce a bad result or rather an unpredicted result in the future. Research has the power to foresee the future and inform researchers what to expect. Some policies in governance need a lot of deliberations and research to tell how they will affect the future (Boston, 2019). The collaboration of MPs, researchers, and sector groups will enable the parliamentary policies to be future-oriented. Research is usually designed to mirror issues and magnify them so they can be understood better. With research findings that are from independent bodies hence are not biased, informed decisions that secure the future are made.

Cooperation between the MPs, research organizations, and sector groups will enhance long-term issues since they guide government policies. In all the developed and developing economies, research forms the basis of the formation of policies. For example, when the government is deliberating on its budget, research informs the decision-makers the direction to take (Boston, 2020). Research reveals the structure and the status of the economy, which helps policymakers draft their budget. The budget relies on the analysis of the needs of the people and the resources available to serve these needs. The needs should be carefully equated to the available resources, and this needs extensive research. According to Boston 2019, the inclusion of research organizations and sector groups to examine long-term issues will be effective since it provides alternative choices that favor the economic status of the country.

Research organizations and sector groups will enable the parliament to distribute the national resources efficiently. Distribution of national resources needs extensive information to decide on areas that are weak and those that are strong. The allocation of resources also needs prioritization of key issues in society. Research organizations and sector groups will use information gathered through research to derive a formula that will enhance better distribution of resources such that long-term issues are favored. For example, research organizations and sector groups that deal with climatic issues will provide their research findings of climate change, which will help make policies that secure the future (Edwards, n.d). The information will enable the parliament to allocate funds to help subsidize the effects of climate change and even fight the activities that stimulate climate change. New Zealand greenhouses, for example, emit a lot of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that contributes to climate change (Boston, 2017). The research will inform the decision-makers about this and even go-ahead to provide an alternative about the same. This illustrates that the collaboration will ultimately help the parliament focus on the future from an informed angle.

The reform about the inclusion of sector groups and research organizations to examine long-term issues is important since they will help find solutions to social welfare. Little or lack of knowledge and understanding in the actual trigger of social conflicts is what exacerbates social conflicts. Societal issues, religious battles, and social supremacy are caused by arrogance and ignorance (Boston, n.d). If such problems are researched and tackled well, then they cease to exist in society. What the government does about such issues currently is to look for shortcuts to calm them. Research organizations and sector groups will be fundamental in such cases since they will use their research instruments to reveal the root cause of such issues (Lavis et al., 2003). The information will now inform the decision-makers of the actual cause of conflicts. Handling the real cause of the conflicts will provide a permanent solution to the problem.

Despite the positive impact of the reform on the inclusion of respected research organizations and sector groups in examining long-term issues, there may be several disadvantages. The two groups will instill the habit of research to make informed decisions. However, research is very expensive and time-consuming. The New Zealand election policy puts elections after three years (New Zealand parliament, 2019). Conducting research may take over five years since more than one study is done to arrive at conclusions. Even if the research findings are available, it would take at least a year to plan and implement the policies. This means that the MPs will enter the electioneering period before they implement what they wished to do. The issue of time will make the reform difficult to implement fully. Moreover, research consumes a lot of funds that would have been used to implement several short-term projects (Boston, 2017). Every process of research, from problem identification to finding the solution needs money. Again, many experts will be needed in conducting the research thus expanding the expenses further. The MPs will therefore be reluctant to adopt this reform because of the issue of finance and time limitation. Additionally, some recommendations that research organizations and sector groups may offer can be hard to apply due to financial constraints. Research may provide solutions that are very much better on paper but difficult to apply in reality.

The reform on the inclusion of research organizations and sector groups in examining long-term issues is significant in New Zealand. The reform will enable the parliamentarians to make informed decisions about long-term challenges like environmental degradation. The continued use of research will help the MPs to visualize the future and see how their decisions at the present will affect generations to come. It is important that the parliamentarians in New Zealand use information rather than guesses to secure the future. MPs in New Zealand focus on short term goals due to their short terms in power. The MPs tend to do something that will be recognized easily by the people and earn them reelection than the long term issues that might take time to be identified. Although research organizations and sector groups might emphasize on using research that is expensive to make decisions, it is worth it since the fruits will be rewarding.

References

Boston, J., Bagnall, D., & Barry, A. (2020). Enhancing long-term governance. Policy Quarterly, 16(1). https://130.195.21.34/pq/article/download/6354/5511

Boston, J., Bagnall, D. & Barry, A. (2019, Jun). Foresight, insight and oversight: Enhancing long-term governance through better parliamentary scrutiny. https://www.victoria.ac.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/1753571/Foresight-insightand-oversight.pdf

Boston, J. (2019, Jul). Taking the fight to short-termism in government. https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/04-07-2019/taking-the-fight-to-short-termism-ingovernment/

Boston, J. (2017, Apr). Safeguarding long-term interests in a short-term world. https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/91147477/jonathan-boston-safeguardinglongterm-interests-in-a-shortterm-world

Boston, J. (n.d) Safeguarding the Future: Governing in an Uncertain World. http://safeguardingthefuture.bwb.co.nz.helicon.vuw.ac.nz/index.html

Edwards, B. (n.d). Political Roundup: How to achieve transformational change in politics. https://mailchi.mp/criticalpolitics/political-roundup-how-to-achieve-transformational-change-in-politics

Ensor, J. (2019, Jun). Report on New Zealand parliamentary scrutiny suggests more politicians, longer terms. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/06/report-on-new-zealand-parliamentary-scrutiny-recommends-more-politicians-longer-terms.amp.html

New Zealand Parliament. (2019, Jun). Keeping a keen eye on the future. https://www.parliament.nz/en/get-involved/features/keeping-a-keen-eye-on-the-future/

Lavis, J. N., Robertson, D., Woodside, J. M., McLeod, C. B., & Abelson, J. (2003). How can research organizations more effectively transfer research knowledge to decision makers?. The Milbank Quarterly, 81(2), 221-248. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2690219/

Wehner, J. (2017). Good practice in parliamentary budget scrutiny: international comparisons. Prepared for the Budget Process Review Group Established Jointly by the Finance and Constitution Committee and the Scottish Government. https://www.lse.ac.uk/business-and-consultancy/consulting/assets/documents/Good-Practice-in-Parliamentary-Budget-Scrutiny.pdf