Darryl Brown is urging all Kiwi-Australians to vote in the upcoming election. Photo / Phibbs Visuals
Darryl Brown is urging all Kiwi-Australians to vote in the upcoming election. Photo / Phibbs Visuals
With just over two weeks to go until New Zealand chooses the next Government, polls are indicating things are still reasonably close and a kingmaker might be required to settle the race.
This year more than any other election, it seems every vote will count. Enrolled voters are at 90 per cent, as of September 10, according to the Electoral Commission. That’s nearly 3.5 million voters of the 3871,418 eligible voters in Aotearoa already enrolled.
But there are about a million Kiwis living overseas and three-quarters, or 750,000, of them could be eligible to vote. And with roughly 70 per cent of expats living in Australia, potentially 500,000 voters from across the ditch could have a real influence in this election.
Overseas voting for the 2023 New Zealand General Election can be done online from Wednesday, September 27 to Sunday October 14, and a new campaign aimed at getting Aussie-Kiwis to vote has been launched.
Every Kiwi Vote Counts features a multi-media campaign with a brash fictional character Darryl Brown fronting the voting drive.
“We showed them how to make pavlova, gave them their best music in Crowded House, their best athletes in Phar Lap, and their best actors – like that gladiator bloke," says Darryl Brown. Photo / Phibbs Visuals
“Australia has always guided New Zealand,” Brown says in the ads. “We showed them how to make pavlova, gave them their best music in Crowded House, their best athletes in Phar Lap, and their best actors – like that gladiator bloke.
“Now, this election, New Zealand could let Australia decide. So, if you’re an Aussie-Kiwi, get out there and vote. It’s easy, because you can do it all on the internet - we probably gave them that too.”
The initiator and director of Every Kiwi Vote Counts, Tracy Lee has spent 15 years of her voting life overseas voting at the Consulate in New York, by fax in Shanghai and online from Amsterdam. Lee appreciates the importance of the ex-pat voice in elections.
“Democracy only works if we are all part of it,” said Lee. “This campaign is not about orchestrating turn-out in favour of one party or another, it is simply championing the rights of all New Zealanders to vote and ensuring that we have robust and healthy participation in our government elections.
“If you’re an Aussie-Kiwi and have been back to visit in the last six years, then you’re more than qualified to tell them how to run it. So, I urge all those eligible Australians to use your civic right and decide what’s best for New Zealand.” Photo / Phibbs Visuals
“In the past, elections have seen only one in 10 overseas New Zealanders vote, which represents a mere 2 per cent of our votes. With roughly one million New Zealanders living overseas, we could have an additional 750,000 New Zealanders who aren’t exercising their democratic right to vote.”
The rules around overseas voting have changed this year, to acknowledge the impact of the pandemic. New Zealand citizens need to have visited once in the past six years (up from three) while permanent residents must have returned once in the past four years (up from 12 months).
“Overseas voters are especially important this year,” Lee said, “it’s going to be a tighter election than we saw in 2020. Both major political parties have new leaders and minor parties are set to hold an unprecedented influence post-election, which means every Kiwi vote really does count. Ultimately, Australian New Zealanders are eight times the size of any one electorate, so we can put the decision in their hands if they exercise their democratic rights.”
Darryl Brown tells all New Zealanders living in Australia: “If you’re an Aussie-Kiwi and have been back to visit in the last six years, then you’re more than qualified to tell them how to run it. So, I urge all those eligible Australians to use your civic right and decide what’s best for New Zealand.”
