This is not 'social distancing': PM Jacinda Ardern on election night 2017. Photo / Dean Purcell
This is not 'social distancing': PM Jacinda Ardern on election night 2017. Photo / Dean Purcell
Political parties are revising their usual election-year plans in response to Covid-19, including advising MPs and candidates to be careful about public and party meetings – but door knocking is still on.
The Covid-19 pandemic has coincided with the political parties selecting candidates, and the start of regional party meetings, while new candidates are starting to get around as many potential voters as possible.
The handshake and kissing of babies has already been replaced by the raised eyebrows and nod that the Prime Minister calls the "East Coast wave".
But there is still a lot of face-to-face contact even before the campaign season kicks off in full, usually about two months before the election. The campaign itself is usually full of touching - from selfies, to hugging and holding babies.
But this year's election will be on September 19, meaning the campaigning will begin in earnest around mid July – which is also the middle of winter and flu season.
Ardern has said there are no plans to change the election date.
Justice Minister Andrew Little said he had asked Justice officials to ask the Electoral Commission to brief political parties on preparations for the election, and the possibility Covid-19 was still an issue in September.
He said the Electoral Commission had the power to adjust election arrangements – including other ways of voting - in case of an emergency, and he would leave it to them to make those decisions.
However, he said it was possible the campaign would look different if Covid-19 was still a factor in September. "In the end this is a democracy, voters want to meet the candidates. There is going to have to be a way to do that."
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Both National and Labour said decisions were yet to be made about the campaign proper – including campaign launches which are normally attended by hundreds of supporters.
Then there are the annual party conferences, also major events. If the ban on gatherings of more than 500 continues or is tightened, that will impact on those. There is also the political factor – it is not a good look to be hosting big meetings of your own while dissuading others from doing so.
Any outbreak could also impact on other traditional campaign tactics, such as "rallies" at universities and even the humble shopping mall walkabout. Such walkabouts can attract a large number of people wanting to meet the candidate in question.
National Party campaign manager Paula Bennett said many MPs also had public meetings, the party's local branches were having annual meetings, selection meetings and the bigger regional conferences were due to start in early May.
The party's annual conference was set for the end of June.
Baby kissing may come a cropper in Election 2020. One baby shows its disapproval to former PM John Key in 2014. Photo / Mark Mitchell
She said candidates and MPs had been told to avoid meetings of more than 100 people, and not to advertise any future public meetings.
"We are also saying they may wish to cancel events that will attract a large number of vulnerable people, like we do a lot with Super Blues (National's group of older party members)."
For meetings that were going ahead, notices were going out in advance telling anyone who was unwell not to attend.
A campaign spokesman said anybody attending a meeting had to sign-in to help with contact tracing if it was needed.
Candidates and volunteers had also been told to limit public meetings, and use phone-calling as much as possible to contact voters, although door-knocking had not been halted altogether.
Candidates had also been reminded to practice good hygiene and limit physical contact when meeting people.
Bennett said she was reluctant to halt door-knocking, as she believed that was an important part of an MP's job.
"We are representatives and we have got to care for our community. For some people, it may be the only contact they're having.
They can knock on the door and stand back as couriers are doing, and respect that some people might want to talk through the window rather than open the door. But we do have a role to be caring for our constituents and keeping some outreach in that way."
