‘People just not engaged’: Mayor calls for voter review after record low turnout
From local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Ashburton Mayor Neil Brown says waning voter turnout shows people aren’t engaged with local politics.
Voting in the Ashburton District dropped under 50% and Brown has joined national calls for the election process to be looked at.
“The voting system needs to be looked and the system to be looked at is probably online voting,” Brown said.
“It appears to be that’s the only one we can move to. Perhaps a combination of both [online and postal], but it definitely needs looking into to get participation up.”
The silent majority got bigger as voter turnout across the country was down to a record low 36%, though it is expected to increase marginally once all votes have been counted.
Ashburton’s preliminary results had just 49.03% of voter returns – 11,337 of the 23,115 eligible votes – which was down on the 55.05% in 2019.
“People just aren’t engaged.
“I’ve talked to people who haven’t voted and asked why, and they said it’s because they don’t know the people, and they don’t want to get to know them.”
The lack of engagement isn’t just at election time.
“It is a problem the council grapples with all the time, working out how we get people more involved”.
Now, Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is calling for an independent review, a move Brown agreed with.
“We need to have a look at how we get voters engaged in the electoral system,” he said.
LGNZ want to work with central government to review how elections were delivered and to consider factors such as the practicality of postal voting and accessing ballot boxes in more remote parts of the country.
“We want to see a short, sharp, and independent review that should feed into the Future for Local Government Review as well as the review of Parliamentary Electoral Law,” LGNZ chief executive Susan Freeman-Greene said.
Canterbury comparison:
District: 2022 - 2019
Kaikoura: 61.82% - 61.37%
Mackenzie: 53.98% - 60.51%
Waimate: 49.96% - 52.04%
Timaru: 49.22% - 55.01%
Ashburton: 49.03% - 55.05%
Waimakariri: 44.39% - 46.39%
Hurunui: 43.38% - 57.18%
Christchurch: 43.31% - 41.10%
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Poll: Should drivers retake the theory test every 10 years?
Drivers get where they need to go, but sometimes it seems that we are all abiding by different road rules (for example, the varying ways drivers indicate around a roundabout).
Do you think drivers should be required to take a quick driving theory test every 10 years?
Vote in the poll and share any road rules that you've seen bent! 😱
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48.2% Yes
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49.8% No
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1.9% Other - I'll share below
Hero
“I was born and raised in war. To be honest, those are not good memories.
I really like Iran, and I really miss it, but I couldn’t be myself there. Even though my family didn’t like my decision, I left Iran. I promised myself that I would do whatever I can for all communities, especially for the kids, so they do not have the same experience I had.
I studied software engineering in Iran and left in 2006. I went to Malaysia and stayed in Kuala Lumpur for seven years. I was admitted to Lincoln University to do my PhD here, but unfortunately, I couldn’t afford the expenses. I requested a scholarship, but they told me I had to be there for six months first. So, I stayed in Malaysia and did my PhD in network security. In December 2013, I came to New Zealand with a work visa.
It took me a while to connect with the Iranian community here. I volunteered with the Multicultural Council, SPCA, and community patrol, and I established the Christchurch Iranian Society in 2017. Before that, I started working on Radio Toranj, the only Farsi-language radio show in New Zealand.
One of the reasons I started organizing cultural events was to showcase Iranian culture. I wanted to show people that we have delicious food, colorful dresses, traditional customs, and our own instruments. My hope was to show people that we are not what you see in the media.
I am working to involve all the communities that celebrate Nowruz, the Persian New Year, in the Nowruz festival in March 2025. We want to share this celebration not only with our community but with the public as well. It’s better when it’s shared.
I remember the first time someone from Dunedin called me and asked, Hero, can you help? Something happened, and they keep declining Iranian visa applications. When I heard that, I felt insulted. We are still human, so how can they do that?
Through this journey, I’ve learned a lot. Every single day, people with different cases call me, and I try to share my knowledge and guide them as much as I can.
I have received several awards, including the Christchurch Civic Award and an Award of Recognition for my contributions to the community during the pandemic. In 2021, I established Canterbury Kia Ora Academy, a charitable trust. Through this charity, I can help other communities as well, not just the Iranian community.”
- Hero
View more stories, or nominate someone: @humansofchch
www.humansofchch.org......
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