The local body election results are largely in - but how can we encourage voter turnout next time? Photo / File
The local body election results are largely in - but how can we encourage voter turnout next time? Photo / File
Editorial
EDITORIAL:
The local body election results throughout the country certainly reflect an interesting mix of the tried and trusted, and a mood for change.
There have been some shock upsets (Tauranga Mayor Greg Brownless was convincingly ousted by Tenby Powell, and Wellington Mayor Justin Lester by target="_blank">Andy Foster by a relatively slim margin) and some largely predictable placings (the country's longest-serving mayor, Tim Shadbolt, back for his ninth term at the top in Invercargill, for example).
There have been landslides (Auckland Mayor Phil Goff re-elected with a majority of some 85,000 over John Tamihere, and returning Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel with a 17,000-strong majority, for example), and some tight races that have gone right down to the wire and are still reliant on special votes and recounts.
Longstanding stalwarts have been returned, but there are new faces, too. There will be more again when the Minister of Health David Clark adds his appointments to health boards around the country.
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff has been convincingly returned to office. File photo / Greg Bowker
Pleasingly, there has been a small but significant shift in composition - in what political scientist Bryce Edwards has called "a diversity burst".
Rotorua Lakes Council, for example, now has "four Māori, three Pākehā, two Asian and an Indian. That's the most diverse that I can ever recall," according to councillor Trevor Maxwell.
A quarter of the country's mayors are now women and five are aged under 40. New Hutt mayor Campbell Barry is thought to be the youngest ever elected, at just 28.
It is clear the voting systems played a part. For example in Dunedin, where city councillor Lee Vandervis led the mayoralty voting for some time before the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system kicked in and votes were redistributed, giving fellow councillor Aaron Hawkins - believed to be the first elected mayor on a Greens ticket - the eventual close win.
Throughout the country, national political party affiliations and other interests have undoubtedly played a part - not without controversy. There has been much discussion about Sir Peter Jackson's influence in Wellington, for example.
There is also little doubt some representatives have paid the price for controversial projects or practices, including Hawke's Bay District Health Board member Jacoby Poulain in the wake of the baby uplift scandal, and Christchurch city councillor Deon Swiggs, under investigation after allegations of inappropriate messaging. The controversy over Napier's new pool and water chlorination has likely influenced change there (new Mayor Kirsten Wise romped home), and the results have likely resolved two hot issues in Auckland (Chamberlain Park golf course and Takapuna's Anzac St car park).
In many places, communities have clearly voted for the status quo, indicating satisfaction with the leadership and direction of their current representatives. In Auckland, Goff is certainly taking his win as such.
So while the big winner has been increased diversity, voter turnout - although up slightly overall at 44 per cent - gets a big black mark. In Auckland, it was a shockingly low 30.4 per cent.
Ways must be found to encourage more participation in these vitally important arms of our democratic infrastructure. It will not be as simple as going to online voting alone, however, which may only shift current voters onto a different platform (and we saw what a debacle the online Census move turned out to be). We must understand to what extent ignorance, apathy, and ability play a part, and how that might be countered, by candidates, media and local and central government alike. Warwick Lampp, electoral officer for Tauranga and Rotorua, says "the takeaway is the hand-delivered and special votes was massive".
