A million eligible voters chose not to vote in the last general
election, resulting in the lowest voter turnout in 126 years. Will we see a
record low turnout in the current local government elections? It's likely that
up to two million eligible voters will reject the option of participating,
which will raise further questions about the decline of democracy in New
Zealand, especially at the local level. This poor regard for local elections is
nicely satirised today by Ben Uffindell's blogpost on The Civilian: Nation gears up for October practice elections. He
mocks the low status given to these elections, suggesting they are little more
than pretend candidates chasing after pretend votes and serve no other purpose
than giving voters a chance to practice prior to the real (general) election
next year.
For an official view on the state of local body elections, you can see Local Government New Zealand's very informative article, Voter turnout in New Zealand local authority elections - what's the story?. This has useful graphics and statistics showing the decline in voter participation in these elections. The upshot is that turnout is generally well below 50% in most elections, although there was a minor boost at the last local body elections taking it to 49% - probably related to some close contests and the novelty of the Auckland Supercity election. This time, we might expect - especially in Auckland - the rate to plummet.
So what's behind the death of local democracy? And who's to
blame? Normally the voters - particularly those choosing to abstain - get the
finger pointed at them by authorities, newspaper columnists and editorial
writers. See, for example, the ODT's Rights and responsibilities, the Timaru Herald's Your vote is important, the Listener's No more butts, and Mai Chen's Auckland's future needs your vote. Local Government New
Zealand (LGNZ) - the body representing the various local authorities - is
unsurprisingly trying to convince voters to participate - see Mike Reid's Make time to elect your officials.
Perhaps
more surprisingly, the chief executive of LGNZ is pointing the finger at the
local authorities themselves. This week, TVNZ has quoted Malcolm Alexander as
saying: 'My feeling generally is it's fairly low key around New Zealand this
time and this is a reflection of the failure of local bodies to get out there
and to engage and enthuse people' - see: Low voter turnout reflection of local body 'failures'.
This
is a fair criticism. It also comes at a time when a number of local authorities
appear to take a rather lax approach to the elections, including allowing
mistakes to be published in election material for voters - see Stuff's Spelling mistake costs thousands and
Bernard Orsman's Super City elections 2013: Candidates furious over booklet error.
On top of this, The Auckland council is skimping on democracy, according to
Brian Rudman, by using cheaper and less democratic voting ballot methods - see: Juggling the names easier than pulling cow from hat.
Rudman also points to other questionable cost-cutting in the Supercity - see: Cost-cutting a fast-growing issue.
Candidates
can also be accused of playing a part in killing local democracy, especially
due to their typically awful campaigning. This is epitomised in Kerry McBride's
excellent coverage of Wellington candidates' efforts - see: When candidates say nothing at all. Victoria University
media studies lecturer, Dr Peter Thompson assesses the billboards of the candidates
running for the mayoralty, and says 'They all give these slogans, but none of
them are saying how they would deliver their outcomes. None of them tell you
what they stand for. In fact they don't say much of anything'. That probably
sums up the quality of the local elections across the country.
With
such bland, grey options, it's hardly surprising that few citizens participate.
It also means the occasionally colourful candidate easily stands out. For
example, David Farrar has pointed to an incredibly eccentric candidate who has
previously received what Farrar thinks is a surprisingly large vote - see: The most unusual candidate statement. Another maverick
who will likely stand out is controversial and disgraced ex-CEO of the
Employers and Manufacturers Association Alasdair Thompson - see his always
interesting blog. Also, note that Thompson has recently made
headlines for the fact that he lobbied to have the minimum wage significantly
increased, and is now a supporter of the living wage - see Simon Collins' Former CEO for bosses now backs 'living wage'.
Proponents
of increasing voter turnout are usually inclined to look for technologically
innovative ways to turn around the decline in participation. Postal voting was
once seen as the savior of local elections but even that is now dismissed by
authorities as part of the problem - see Dan Satherley's Postal voting 'trivialises' local govt. Online vorting
is the next fashionable fix, and this will be trialled at the next local body
elections in 2016. But don't expect this to remedy a problem that is much
bigger than the question of how to go about making your tick.
There
are plenty of endorsements being pushed at the moment. Some of the most
interesting are the online evaluations made by an environment youth group - seeGeneration Zero. John Minto is one candidate
unimpressed with their judgements - see: Generation Zero gives Len Brown's big new motorway an A grade.
Another very interesting online device being trialled is AskAway.co.nz, with the capacity for interaction with
the candidates. For a further explanation of this, see Boris Jancic's Your chance to quiz mayoral hopefuls.
Unions
are getting in on the endorsements in Auckland - see: Unions Auckland. Of course, David Farrar responds by
suggesting this is a good resource for figuring out Who not to vote for if you don't want huge rate increases.
Farrar has also outlined his endorsements amongst The Wellington City Council candidates. Various other
high-profile bloggers are giving their guides to their own locations - for
example, see No Right Turn's Who to vote for in Palmerston North.
Our
electoral systems play a key role in the functioning of local elections and
there is an argument that the current democratic deficit might be reversed
through electoral reform. There's currently a lot of support for the STV system
- see for example, Nigel Roberts' STV - the truest form of democratic choice and
Janine Hayward's Why DCC elections are in an exclusive club. The
Hamilton City Council is holding a referendum on whether to introduce this
system there - and Mark Servian makes the case in favour in STV tick could change HCC for the better'. Meanwhile,
in Wellington, Graeme Edgeler discusses the systems in his blogposts,Council elections: FPP Q&A and STV. See also, Stephen Franks' Graeme Edgeler on STV and Making STV work tactically.
Little
attention is ever paid to the various District Health Board elections. It
raises the question, put by blogger Ele Ludemann: Do we need DHB elections?. One expert says not. Looking
at the last DHB elections, Prof Robin Gauld has argued in the past that New
Zealand's health board elections are more of a fig leaf of democracy than a
reality, and that many candidates are motivated by the remuneration - see
Eileen Goodwin's District health board elections questioned.
Despite
the downward trajectory in participation, there are a few signs that turnout
could rise this year - see Glenn Conway's Christchurch Press article,Record turnout in local elections so far and
Katie Chapman's Dominion Post article, Slowly, voters start to have their say in polls.
However, with little in the way of substantive issues in the campaigns this
seems unlikely. What's more, most of the mayoralty contests in the bigger
cities appear to be relatively uncompetitive. For some details on this, look at
iPredict's NZ Local Body Elections. Currently, in Auckland Len
Brown is on 98%, in Christchurch Lianne Dalziel is on 94%, in Palmerston North
Jono Naylor is on 98%, in Hamilton Julie Hardaker is on 92%, in Dunedin Dave
Cull is on 98%, and in Invercargill Tim Shadbolt is on 99%. Only in Wellington
is there a more even contest, with John Morrison on 57% and Celia Wade-Brown on
35%.
Other interesting issues:
What
are the lessons for New Zealand politics from Germany's recent elections?
Academic blogger Geoffrey Miller is currently teaching at a university in
Germany, which allows him to provide some comparative insights in Five reasons why the German election matters for New Zealand.
Andrew Geddis also deals with one of the implications in his blogpost, The Herald's post-2014 election fantasy.
John
Key has been labelled a 'galloping colonial clot' by the British Daily Mail
newspaper - see its article, Queen Elizabeth in her Balmoral living room with New Zealand PM
John Key, as well as its analysis of The Key photo. Of course, Key's stay at Balmoral was
actually quite unique, as David Farrar points out in The PM and the Queen. He says 'The Queen has had 14 New
Zealand Prime Ministers during her reign, and according to media reports Key is
the first to ever be invited' to stay at Balmoral. He elaborates: 'it is a
first for a NZ PM, and I think possibly for an Australian or Canadian PM also.
The question is why was Key invited, when no other NZ PM has been? He is not
the longest serving. I think it is purely the strength of their personal
relationship'.
Debate
is raging still over David Cunliffe's alleged padding of his CV, with Matthew
Hooton's original allegations being carried on by David Farrar in posts such as A third case of padding? and
by Cameron Slater in numerous blogposts - such as Is this David Cunliffe's own "fake but accurate"
scandal?. For the reaction on Twitter, see my own blogpost, Top tweets about David Cunliffe's alleged CV lies. The
left of the blogosphere is labelling it a smear campaign - see, for example The
Standard's Return of the Hollow Men.
Of
course, Cunliffe isn't the only MP with a Harvard connection. On the leftwing
blogsite Ideologically Impure, some comparisons are being made between the
demographics of the senior Labour and National MPs, which show that university
educations are similar in both parties - see: Cabinet vs Shadow Cabinet: the identity politics.
Although the post is most concerned with issues of oppression, the more
interesting part is this: '17 out of 20 on Labour's list and 18 out of 20 on
National's have a university education. Both parties have two members with a
stint at Harvard mentioned on their Wikipedia page: David Cunliffe, Shane
Jones, John Key and Hekia Parata'.
Identity
politics in Labour is discussed today by Damien Rogers' Herald opinion piece, War already won threatens Labour. There's a condemnation of this on
The Standard, which points to alleged links between Rogers and senior Labour
personnel.
Some
of this debate relates to Labour's chosen candidate for the Christchurch East
by-election. This selection is covered well by The Press' Labour's choice has work to do. Blogger Pete George
uncovers some disgruntlement about the selection from The Standard - see: A candidate for Christchurch East or Labour?.
Labour's new lineup is evaluated by Martyn Bradbury in Rating Cunliffe's shadow cabinet: Game of Thrones meets Pulp Fiction. And Chris Trotter defends Labour from leftwing criticism in: What's Love Got To Do With It? Chris Trotter responds to John Moore's critique of David Cunliffe. Trotter also explains Labour's latest ideological fashion in Full Marx to the New Left phraseologists.
But has Labour wimped out, with the news of Maryan Street's Voluntary euthanasia bill withdrawn? One leftwing blogger thinks so - see Carrie Stoddard'sEnd of Life Choice Bill withdrawn. David Farrar supports the bill, and he hopes that a Green MP will pick it up - see: Street drops euthanasia bill.
The housing affordability debate has all been about home ownership. But what about renters? Ali Memon has written an excellent opinion piece on this topic - see: Pity the poor who are forced to rent.
Drug laws are still a hot issue. Pam Corkery criticised them in her Herald column,New synthetic drugs law is simply insane. In response, see David Farrar's Corkery on drugs and Russell Brown's Not so insane. See also, Olivia Carville's Outcry over R18 drug store and details of Dunedin's newest museum: Cannabis museum part of campaign.
Now that the America's Cup challenge is over, we can reflect on the politics of it all. Some of the best pieces on this are: Joseph Romanos' The America's Cup con job, Vaughan Elder's A corporate contest, prof says, Karl du Fresne's Cup whips up national hysteria, Paul Buchannan's Whose Team New Zealand?, and Grant Duncan's 'What are the political implications of Team NZ's loss?'.
Finally, what does David Shearer really think about being replaced as Labour leader? You get a pretty good idea from his candid answers to Sarah Stuart - see:Twelve Questions: David Shearer.
Labour's new lineup is evaluated by Martyn Bradbury in Rating Cunliffe's shadow cabinet: Game of Thrones meets Pulp Fiction. And Chris Trotter defends Labour from leftwing criticism in: What's Love Got To Do With It? Chris Trotter responds to John Moore's critique of David Cunliffe. Trotter also explains Labour's latest ideological fashion in Full Marx to the New Left phraseologists.
But has Labour wimped out, with the news of Maryan Street's Voluntary euthanasia bill withdrawn? One leftwing blogger thinks so - see Carrie Stoddard'sEnd of Life Choice Bill withdrawn. David Farrar supports the bill, and he hopes that a Green MP will pick it up - see: Street drops euthanasia bill.
The housing affordability debate has all been about home ownership. But what about renters? Ali Memon has written an excellent opinion piece on this topic - see: Pity the poor who are forced to rent.
Drug laws are still a hot issue. Pam Corkery criticised them in her Herald column,New synthetic drugs law is simply insane. In response, see David Farrar's Corkery on drugs and Russell Brown's Not so insane. See also, Olivia Carville's Outcry over R18 drug store and details of Dunedin's newest museum: Cannabis museum part of campaign.
Now that the America's Cup challenge is over, we can reflect on the politics of it all. Some of the best pieces on this are: Joseph Romanos' The America's Cup con job, Vaughan Elder's A corporate contest, prof says, Karl du Fresne's Cup whips up national hysteria, Paul Buchannan's Whose Team New Zealand?, and Grant Duncan's 'What are the political implications of Team NZ's loss?'.
Finally, what does David Shearer really think about being replaced as Labour leader? You get a pretty good idea from his candid answers to Sarah Stuart - see:Twelve Questions: David Shearer.
Dr Bryce Edwards is a politics lecturer at Otago University.
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