I'd continue shouting "people have gone to war, been prepared to die even for the right to vote".
These are people who wanted a democratically elected government. Wanted a say, believed their vote could make a difference in how they lived their lives. Still a far-off dream in some parts of the world. Squashed at every attempt.
In New Zealand we have the luxury to individually switch off and refrain from voting in a general election if we want to. We have a choice. Not so in Australia. They demand that their eligible citizens take part in the general elections. It is compulsory to vote.
This year I sense New Zealanders are tired. We are getting worn down by the raft of issues staring us in the face every day. They won't go away: the increase in homelessness we are seeing around the country; the number of lives, over 500 people, succumbing to suicide each year; the 90,000 under 24-year-olds not in work or in training.
There are the house prices, rising weekly it appears, making it nigh on impossible for first home buyers to get a start in the home ownership stakes. Mental health support services are proving patchy at best and DHBs around the country are starting the financial year already in the red.
No wonder people are throwing up their hands, shaking their heads and want nothing to do with the election. Maybe they think this is as good as it gets so why bother? What difference will my vote make? Collectively it could change the government.
I suppose over time people want to know that things will change. Hope that conditions will start to improve, and for everyone, not just the favoured few. They don't want to constantly hear "things are getting better, progress is being made, we're making the necessary changes".
To them talk is cheap. They've heard it all before. They want to see and experience better times, progress being made and positive change happening in their own lives. All absent for most of the last decade. I think this is why so many people have disengaged from the voting process. Believing is seeing. And if you can't see it somewhere in the future then you switch off.
But there's a danger in having this attitude. If we decide not to vote we could be contributing to the "thinning of democracy".
It has happened in countries overseas - fewer people being prepared to vote with lower voter turnout. Many are young and working class. They don't know their Member of Parliament.
The disengaged and distrustful. They are extraordinarily difficult to engage and it's unrealistic to hope they could be converted to voters. The bored/apathetic group are also hard to motivate to vote. We have our own contributors to the "thinning of democracy" in New Zealand. We had a million eligible voters in the last election who stayed away from the polls.
I hope over the next nine weeks we will all find the time and energy to listen to our politicians. To hear what they have to say and evaluate "how will this affect me and my family".
As voters we have a powerful role to play. We can run our own measuring tape over the individual politician and the party he or she represents.
Are they prepared to listen, have they in the past? Do we ever hear from them outside of an election? Are they authentic and trustworthy? Do they advocate for the issues that are important to me? Can they articulate a compelling inclusive vision of the future for New Zealand?
The country where most of us will spend the rest of our lives. It's my future they're talking about. You bet I want a say in who'll be speaking and acting on my behalf.
Merepeka Raukawa-Tait is a Rotorua Lakes Council councillor, Lakes District Health Board member and chairs the North Island Whanau Ora Commissioning Agency. She writes, speaks and broadcasts to thwart the spread of political correctness.
