Since the dawn of the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) voting system in 1996, New Zealand’s parliament has become increasingly diverse. The 2020 election saw a record number of female MPs enter parliament and a world record proportion of MPs from the rainbow community.
Ethnic diversity also increased in 2020, with New Zealand having elected “one of the most diverse parliaments in the world” according to a CNN report at the time.
But the 2023 election saw a significant swing to the right, with a host of new MPs entering parliament. This inevitably changed the demographics.
