Election term should be four years
Well the Council and DHB elections have come and gone and again the voter turn-out was really poor, particularly in the Pukekohe subdivision.
On a personal note it was extremely humbling to receive the quite overwhelming level of support, particularly in the face of some things happening around the place that have been slightly contentious. Hopefully the support reflects that whilst we never get everything we want, I and the rest of our team have always fought as hard as we can to try to get the best results for the area.
Low voter turn-outs are common and they receive a few days media attention after every election then nothing happens until the next election. I have a few ideas on the subject and also the electoral system.
I am of the belief that the election term should be four years and this should exist across central and local government. The basis of this is with a three-year term, there isn’t enough time for a governing body to settle and drive things for which they were given the mandate to do. Basically the third year of any term is turned upside down as elected representatives start to concentrate on their political life often leading to some poor decision-making based on what they perceive will make them popular.
I also think there needs to be a change to how our DHBs are elected. It amazes me that with the importance of health services, we have such a random election process. I would far prefer to see appointments of people with relevant skill sets with perhaps an election of a couple of community representatives.
The vexed question is how do we get greater buy-in for local government. Quality choices and a decent battle help creating interest particularly at mayoral level. Name recognition seems to be the driver for voters which is probably based on the fact that for many people they simply do not know anything about the candidates.
Whilst I do not believe there is any place for central party politics in local elections, as has seen with results in Auckland, Labour Party tickets have done well in some areas. At least voters know what the underlying political philosophy is of candidates.
However for me, being on council means you should be driven by your community needs as opposed the direction of a detached political party. Incumbent teams such as ours have done well with independents struggling traditionally which tends to also drive down turn-out as people may think the result is going to be a foregone conclusion.
I often hear the comment that it doesn’t matter who you vote for, council will just do what they like. That irks me. What also annoys me is that we seem to take democracy for granted. Hopefully things can change in future.
- Andy Baker is deputy chairman of the Franklin Local Board
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