It’s important to know who you are voting for

Democracy is derailed when those standing for election hide information or outright lie to win votes. Now we have an anti-vax group with an agenda to make the country ‘‘ungovernable’’ standing candidates in local body elections and telling them to hide their affiliations. Is it time to follow California’s lead with a law allowing voters to ‘recall’ an elected official if there is widespread concern about their performance. An MP from each side of the House gives their views.

Earlier this year, the prime minister delivered a powerful commencement speech at Harvard University. Dressed in a kākahu and a graduation robe, she spoke about the challenge of disinformation, and the importance of democracy and kindness.

In the speech, she cautioned that we will continue to be exposed to disinformation, and that, over time, the ‘‘noise’’ that we’re surrounded by will probably get worse. However, she said, ‘‘while we cannot change everything about the environment that we’re in, we can change ourselves. To build greater strength and resilience, in spite of the headwinds around us.’’

The answer to how we build this resilience and protect against the disinformation corroding our democracy, I believe, lies within a few things.

First, if there’s one message that I can share with people as we approach local elections, it would be this: your vote is valuable, don’t throw it away.

We also need to be aware of the global rise of the disinformation movement, as highlighted by Stuff’s

Fire and Fury documentary. What Aotearoa is experiencing now, including candidates hiding extremist agendas, is

an imported trend from the United States. It’s designed to spread disinformation, undermine public institutions, and create division, hatred and violence.

Kiwis are smarter than that, but we can’t be complacent. We can’t take our democracy for granted – we need to act and organise to ensure our democratic institutions are protected from these dangerous views. We all have a role to play. As Dr Mona Krewel from Victoria University said, these candidates have a good chance of being elected if voter turnout is low. She also said voters now have a civic duty to research candidates before giving them their vote, because the consequences are big.

These extremist views won’t simply disappear, and as Stuff’s investigation shows, ‘‘it’s more effective to prevent disinformation gaining a foothold by showing people the context in which it exists, than to try to counter it with the facts, once people have fallen for it.’’

As a government, we’re working alongside other countries, as well as across departments, to address these issues. I’m also proud of the changes we’ve made to remove barriers and ensure that more Kiwis of good character feel comfortable to stand as candidates.

We will continue to look at the tools in our toolbox and make changes as needed, but we know it’s going to take an all of society approach to succeed.

Winston Churchill said ‘‘democracy is the worst form of government – except for all the others that have been tried.’’

It is not a perfect system, it never has been and, frankly, it never will be.

That said, it serves a clear purpose, which is to provide voters with the right to choose who represents them.

When voters go to the polling booths, no matter if they are local body or central Government elections, they can cast their vote as they choose.

Some members of the public will have done their due diligence before voting and understood the candidate or party they are voting for.

Others will cast their vote based on a familiar face or someone who seems recognisable.

Either way, an election is the opportunity for voters to set the political scene through to the next election.

There are some concerns being raised about candidates, with a particular view on vaccinations and mandates, and calls for them to disclose those views to voters.

There are even calls for a process to recall elected representatives if they are

not performing as expected.

We may not agree with a particular candidate’s views, policies, or even their ideology, but we all have the right to run for public office.

We live in a liberal democracy where freedom of ideas and speech should be welcomed, not restricted. That said, our liberal democracy has been sorely tested in the last few years, but it has endured and will continue to.

All functioning and stable democracies have one thing in common, and that is free and frequent elections.

Elections are a means of holding our representatives accountable, and in New Zealand this occurs at least every three years.

Elections are effectively judgment day where the will of the people will either change their representatives or keep the status quo.

Ultimately, democracy and freedom of representation go hand in hand.

We simply cannot have one without the other.

A well-functioning democracy does not restrict views or ideas, it allows free and open debate.

The alternative is group think, which is the hallmark of an authoritarian regime.

We all have the opportunity to take part in the upcoming local body elections.

Who you vote for is your choice, all I ask is that you get out and exercise your right and accept the results, whatever they may be.