Into these simple boxes go the aspirations of a nation as New Zealand turns out to vote in election 2020. Photo / Bevan Conley
EDITORIAL
This week, if we haven't already done so, is our chance to tick four very important boxes.
The options are now before us for candidate and party vote as well as whether we endorse the End Of Life Choice Act and whether the recreational use of cannabis should become legal.
It cannot be overstated just how important this is. It's about selecting the direction in life we want for ourselves and those we care about.
Writer Ali Ikram, tweeting about the 2017 election, said: "For overseas observers, in New Zealand elections, we all vote then take the ballots — chuck them out — and ask a man called Winston Peters who won."
Although this humorously understates our role, this time around, the formative decision may well be in the hands of another minor coalition partner. Collectively, however, our votes put the parties into contention.
Either way the next government is put together, the referenda will be decided on how the majority vote. These decisions, as much as the Covid-19 pandemic, have the potential to define this generation. In this regard, it is not so much as a team of 5 million but the will of 5 million.
Find your local polling place at vote.nz or by phoning 0800 36 76 56.
Provisional election results will be released next Saturday night, but it will be another fortnight for the provisional results for the two referenda, and then another week for final results for everything on Friday, November 6.
May your choice be among the decisions.
The new free open-air saltwater pool is already proving popular.