A new website has been launched to help New Zealanders decide who to vote for in the local body elections next month.
The website, Policy.NZ, breaks down the candidates running for the local body elections and what they're running for.
Local Government New Zealand CEO Susan Freeman-Greene said historically, voter turnout has been lower for local body elections compared to elections for central government.
“We have 40%, on average, people voting for local body elections compared to about 80% for central government elections so we’ve got to do a lot better,” she told Breakfast.
She said there are “all sorts of barriers” stopping people from voting, including a lack of understanding around “the value of local government” and “how much, on an everyday basis, it affects our lives”.
“It’s everything from when you get up in the morning, you turn on your taps, you’re getting to school or you’re getting to work. How do you get there? Is there a bus stop? Do you cycle? What do you do on the weekend? Where do you hang out? What sports events do you go to?
“Councils make decisions about all these things.”
Freeman-Greene said local councils also make bigger decisions around issues like climate change.
“Councils and councillors are making decisions that affect not only our day-to-day lives – sometimes even more than central government and also decisions that will impact generations to come.”
She said another barrier is people not understanding “who their candidates are”.
“Sometimes, eyes glaze over. You get 150-word bios in your papers and there’s lots of that.”
The number of candidates running for this year’s local body elections is higher than in previous years, which may make people weary to vote.
“We have 1600 positions in local government that have to be filled at these elections and we have about 175 more candidates than we had in the last election.”
Freeman-Greene said people should consider what the job is, forming “productive relationships” with others, how they will lead their communities in a natural disaster and how they might “get the voices of all the components within your community at the table”.
She said ultimately, what they “really want people to do is vote”.
“We’ve just got to raise the numbers who turn out and to be informed who you vote for and that’s important in any election.”
More information on candidates standing in your area can be found on the relevant local government website. Links to all local bodies can be found here.
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