Disappointing Voting figures

With only ten days left for people to cast their postal ballots in local body elections, it looks like it is going to be fewer that half the eligible voters - again - who actually participate.  Today's tally-up shows that so far only 20.25% of the potential voters, and fewer than 17% in the Nelson Park ward, have sent their papers in.  The total final percentage in the last election - 2010 - was just 44.88% and despite the huge number of candidates and the resignation of many incumbents creating vacancies this year, we are trending towards the same disappointing voting figures.

I thought the following opinion piece by Local Government New Zealand Chief Executive Malcolm Alexander hit the nail on the head.

If you were a shareholder in a huge business, one with $120 billion of assets and an annual budget of more than $8 billion, wouldn't you want a say in who should run it? Well, effectively, that's what you as a shareholder in your community have the chance to do every three years in the local authority elections.

Local authorities in New Zealand own vast assets and even small councils' annual budgets run into the millions.

Once every three years you have the opportunity, by casting your ballot, to play your part in deciding who will be running New Zealand's towns, cities, districts, regions and health boards. Democracy really does not get much better than that. Yet just over half of New Zealanders who are eligible to vote will not do so.

Research has revealed that 31 per cent say they do not vote because they do not know

Campaigning hard
- but is anyone listening?

enough about the candidates. A further 24 per cent intend to vote but forget and around 14 per cent were too busy. Only 14 per cent were genuinely not interested.

These statistics are surprising - apathy is the enemy of democracy. It appears many people have lost sight of the democratic process by which our local authorities are run, and simply take for granted this vast range of services, without understanding the processes behind it.

Local government needs to better tell the story of what we do - providing and managing the vast local infrastructure that supports the very fabric of New Zealand's communities.

Supported by skilled council employees, elected representatives oversee a huge range of services. It is the water you drink, wash your clothes in and shower in. It's the pavements you walk on, the roads you drive on, the swimming pools and parks where you exercise, and the recreation grounds where you cheer your kids on.

Your local authority takes your rubbish away, manages your sewage, provides street and traffic lighting, the libraries where you borrow books, and much, much more.

Frequently, tough decisions have to be made about how to prioritise use of the rates you pay. By voting for those who have the skills and leadership to strengthen local communities and revitalise our communities, you are providing your personal input into how your money is used.

This is how we have our say on the value we receive.

If something doesn't go the way they want it to, New Zealand ratepayers are quick to complain. Pretty much any hiccup in the system will see council switchboards light up like Christmas trees and letters to the editor increase tenfold.

That is good. It's healthy for people to hold their elected representatives to account. But exercising your democratic right as a citizen to vote and select those representatives is much more effective than simply complaining if you don't like what they do.

If you want the best value from the services your council provides then you need to ensure that the people who are elected best represent your values and your ambitions for the community you live in.

It is time to find out about whether the people standing in your area are open-minded, sensible and can effectively weigh up the pros and cons on an issue, and then vote for them.

Re-erecting my sign which had
been downed in the weekend's wind

Finding out about what your local candidates stand for has never been easier. Read the voting papers or simply go to vote.co.nz, key in your postal address and you will immediately be provided with details about the candidates standing in your area.

All local authority elections are conducted by postal vote - you are not required to go to a polling station. You can simply fill in your voting form, slip it into the prepaid envelope provided and next time you are passing a post box, drop it in.

It needs to be posted in time to reach the electoral officer by midday on October 12 - but there's no need to wait.

Why not fill it in tonight and post tomorrow morning? Voting is pretty straightforward and in 2016 it will get even easier when the local authority elections will be trialling an e-voting system.

I've already cast my vote, weighing up candidates standing in my local area and those which best reflect the leadership I'm looking for.

I accept that mine is only one of many votes and my chosen candidates may not be elected - but that is democracy - I've had my say.

The inappropriate behaviour of some of our youngsters often defies understanding; and while recent headlines have focused on the influence of synthetic drugs, on top of the usual alcohol-related madness which is part of our binge-drinking culture, a story in the Courier caught my eye this week and offered another explanation.

It's called Fetal Alchol Spectrum Disorder, and refers to the permanent brain damage caused when women - who often don't know they're pregnant - drink alcohol before their baby is born.

A group of women whose own children have been affected by this disability have formed a local group called FASD - CAN to promote the message "Say no to alcohol".  They say that even though children with FASD often look normal, the brain damage resulting from exposure to alcohol can cause attention and memory deficits, hyperactivity, learning difficulties, poor impulse control and judgement, immature behavior and hearing and sight problems. 

At least one in 100 children in NZ are affected by this, and many others un-diagnosed. 

According to Canadian research, 60 per cent of people with FASD over the age of 12 have been charged with or convicted of a crime.

So while I'm neither excusing criminal behaviour at any age nor diminishing its effects on victims, I believe it's about time we looked closely at possible causes of that anti social behaviour, and put FASD on the list.

And ask why health warnings aren't put on bottles of alcohol, as they are on cigarette packets.  This government had the opportunity a year ago to make legislative changes which would have genuinely reduced the alcohol-related harm which rips through our society at every level, but instead they listened to their mates in the liquor industry who want no regulations or limits on their ability to make profits. 

It will be interesting to see what happens with Labour MP Iain Lees-Galloway's bill drawn

Harm caused by Drugs
Ref.:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-term_effects_of_alcohol

from the ballot this week, calling for a reduction in the permissible blood-alcohol level from 80 miilgrams of alcohol per 100 milligrams of blood to 50, putting us in line with most other western countries.

At present, you can legally drive drunk.  The officer in charge of Road Policing, Carey Grifiths, told MPs in the law-and-order select committee last week that he had consumed 13 beers in two hours as part of a study in drink driving - and was still below the limit.

Alcohol is an accepted relaxant, social facilitator and very much part of our culture.  However, it's time we put the spotlight on the true cost of alcohol-related harm - to ourselves and our born and unborn children - and demanded legislative support to reduce the harm. 

We can't afford to let our MPs continue to operate under the influence of the booze barons.  

I'm going to be lobbying my MP to get him to support Iain Lees-Galloway's bill. A law which permits a man to drink 13 beers before driving is an ass.

Not a boot camp!

The Cactus group -WCC principal Daniel Murfitt,
WCC staff members, the Neighborhood Policing Team 

Time for a catch up on an important event I attended last weekend - the prize giving for the CACTUS (Combined Adolescent Challenge Training Unit and Support) programme, a leadership/fitness initiative which 25 William Colenso College students actively participated in over a period of eight weeks.  

These fit teenagers arrived at school at 6 am three mornings a week to work out in a grueling physical programme, which culminated on Saturday with a 8-hour team endurance exercise followed by dinner with

MC for the Saturday night, sergeant Phil Rowden
from the Maraenui Neighborhood POlicing Team
talking about some of his experiences on the course

whanau and instructors at the RSA. 

Not one participant dropped out (or dropped dead, which was what I might've!!) and even on Saturday night they seemed bright eyed and bushy tailed.  

They represented a wide range of students chosen not because they were particularly naughty or athletic, but who simply wanted to test themselves. 

Instructor Pita Llyod with Philip Saiga
and his father, Philip having received
one of the highest awards for effort and achievement

I had caught up with them a couple of times, fortunately only to eat breakfast (or dinner on Saturday) without doing any of the hard yards, and if these are our next generation's leaders, then bring them on! 

The principal's Riverslea
spokesman setting
the stage for the handover

Powhiri for a new Principal

Another more recent highlight was the powhiri at Pukemokimoki marae today for Richmond Primary's new principal - Maurice Rehu from Riverslea School.  

Wearing a stunning korowai (feather cloak) Maurice was brought over by his students and staff and whanau from Riverslea, to be welcomed and "handed over" to his new school family.  

Marae chairman Tiwana Aranui and
kuia Kahu, pou for the marae, pose for my camera.

Maori do these things so well, honouring their leaders by both farewelling and welcoming them with very moving ceremonies that are very fitting for people of this stature.

When the formal welcoming was completed by the tangata whenua, the manuhiri (visitors) spoke and sang then literally handed over their tumaki to his new "home" marae.  

After all lined up for a hongi - I had to bend down to knee level to hongi some of the little ones that had come over from Riverslea - then  we all went into the dining room for hakiri (kai).  

The Riverslea students sing
us a song after Maurice has spoken.

For over half and hour we were treated to the award-winning Richmond choir who performed a wide range of lively songs, ending with the "gangam style" item that some other brave souls joined in on.  

It was uplifting and entertaining, and again instilled me with great confidence in the younger generation!

On the campaign trail

My voting papers, and possibly yours, have arrived, and now we're on the home straight, with just over two weeks before the results are announced.

Just voting is rather daunting, with so many candidates vying for our support.  Even in my own ward, there are 8 of us going for two positions.  I tell people that my big advantage is that my name is top of the list of candidates (semi-joke!) but I'm hopeful voters will know me from the work I've done in the ward in the last six years and want to keep me on. However, I'm not being complacent about being re-elected, so am taking every opportunity to get out there and renew my contacts with diverse groups of people.

First Nations people welcomed to Te Kupenga Hauora Ahuriri

Welcoming the First Nations
Delegation to Kupenga Hauora Ahuriri

On Friday I was invited to a powhiri for representatives of First Nations health providers from Canada, at Te Kupenga Hauora Ahuriri.  

"We-are-fam-i-ly", as they say, so it was lovely to be back with the staff, kaumatua and kuia there, and to join them in welcoming the delegation. 

Special affirming words were spoken by their matriarch, bringing tears to my and others' eyes.

The MTG and pressing the flesh

Onstage doing my two minutes speech!

I had to leave before kai to go to a Grey Power committee meeting (I'm secretary so can't be excused!) then the evening to a cocktail party at the MTG/tai Ahuriri (new museum, theater  gallery) at which some key people in the Positive + Change campaign introduced themselves to me.  

I guess it was their job to "work the room" as it were, drumming up support for their slate. While it made me feel important, I'm aware that they were just doing what I'm doing at present - putting myself out there so people know who I am when they come to vote.

Saturday morning was another opening of the MTG, - I arrived a bit late and red as a beetroot as I'd squeezed in a spin class at the gym beforehand, and even a cold shower didn't take away the boiled lobster look. Not that anyone was looking at me - the focus was on this stunning building and the treasures it contains.  Now officially open to the public, it's a wonderful attraction for locals and visitors to enjoy.

All candidates meeting at Pirimai

With PRA chair Andi Plumpton in part
of their playground - the cardboard fence
 behind shows where the Council reserve ends.

Rushed off straight away to Pirimai, where the Residents' Association bravely hosted a candidates meeting at 11 am for the eight ward candidates, the six mayoral candidates, and 16 at-large hopefuls.  

So we all had two minutes of glory to sell ourselves to a rather disappointing crowd, outside on the Council reserve on which the PRA has installed a wonderful playground for which they had raised $60,000 before gifting it to the City of Napier.  

Andi Plumpton, the PRA president and driving force, was one of my nominators, and I was proud to say I have worked actively to support the PRA in their various submissions to local and central government.

My dear friend Mariana Seymour
who came to support me

The Council reserve is adjacent to a much larger tract of empty green space, formerly the site of the Pirimai Primary school, and thsi will be up for sale within the next few months. 

I believe Council should buy some of it to extend the reserve, as a one-off purchase to provide adequate green space for Pirimai families, and I pledged my support for this.

As usual the PRA provided hot drinks, home baking, free sausages and a bouncy castle, along with a stage and sound system so we could be heard.  

They reflect the very best of a residents' association set up to support and advocate for their community.

Highlights of a busy week.

Minnie, Maxine and Mauosamoa
talking housing in the warden's whare

The week started well with an opportunity to introduce Samoan pastor and matriarch Mauosamoa Fatialofa to Tu Tangata chair and trainee Maori warden Minnie Ratima to talk about housing.  

Christine Scott addresses the Grey Power meeting
along with Dave Pipe, Paul Bailey,
Pauline Elliot, Alan Dick.

It was great to have Mauo meet the Wonderful (Maori) Wardens at their whare and use Minnie's expertise in looking at housing options for her.

Tuesday was a meeting for Grey Power - and other members of the public - to hear the candidates standing for the three Napier seats on the Hawkes Bay Regional Council.  

All - Christine Scott, Tim Tinker, Alan Dick, Pauline Elliot, Paul Bailey and Dave Pipe (except for Alan Baldock who was unavailable) - acquitted themselves well, tackling some of the controversial issues such as the Ruataniwha Dam, Fracking and Amalgamation. 

An attentive Grey Power crowd
 listening to the candidates

I'd recommend you go to the election  site  www.vote.co.nz/ to find out more about their beliefs and what they are offering.  

It was nearly full house for us, with about 80 people attending, and the usual scrumptious afternoon tea.  

Inside the MTG or Tai Ahuriri at the opening

Grey Power is also offering cheaper electricity rates for our members with a new agreement signed between Grey Power and Pulse Energy.  

It must be good because I signed up and already my previous provider, Energy Online has rung me trying to take me back and offering me $100 tjo stay.  

Sorry, this horse has had enough of price increases from the power companies and I've bolted!

Early - 5:45 am - on Wednesday, I attended the powhiri/blessing opening of the new Museum-Theatre-Gallery - tai Ahuriri -  to witness the community's first look at this impressive building.  

Manuhiri representatives addressing the kaumatua

It was a Maori occasion, with the usual formalities and prayers so I left feeling the building had been blessed by tangata whenua and was ready to open. 

The public will be able to see it all from Saturday on, and though they are likely to be impressed, I am disappointed that the admission price is $15 which makes it inaccessible to many.  

Manuhiri representatives addressing the kaumatua

My efforts to have the fee reduced for pensioners and beneficiaries at the Council table were unsuccessful, though I haven't given up.  Vote Maxine!  and I'll take it up again with the new council!

Today I joined a contingent from the Keep Napier Beautiful committee that I chair and the National Aquarium staff in a beach clean up to commemorate Clean Up New Zealand week. 

The cleanup crew this morning after a couple of hours
cleaning up the foreshore along the Marine Parade.

Last year there seemed to have been more rubbish, and I even found a pink set of lady's underwear, but this year the only piece of usable clothing I found was a nice pair of jandals... You wonder how people manage without such footwear when they left the beach - and their shoes - behind.

So today is a full moon, and my dear friend Shirley U has invited me to join her and others at her house for a delicious meal to mark the Chinese "moon day".  Yum!  Any excuse to  partake of her delicious cuisine is good enough for me!!

The weekend looms and many of us will receive our voting papers, so the process begins... remember to check out the candidates on the website above, as we all have only 150 words to "sell" ourselves in the official booklet, and it's hard to get a real idea of who we are from that.

Women's Suffrage - 120 years on

NCW speaker Rosalie welcoming us
 to the breakfast at Heavey Hall, Napier.

On Saturday I attended the annual Women's Suffrage breakfast, organised by the National Council of Women to commemorate women getting the vote on 19 September, 1893 - 120 years ago now.  

The theme was women in non-traditional work, and as Rosalie, who welcomed us on behalf of the NCW said, women still have a long way to go.  

Fewer than one percent of our builders are women, two per cent of electricians, only 13 per cent of engineers.

On this topic, we heard from four women who were working locally in non-traditional jobs - a chartered accountant, a mechanic, an electrician and a firefighter.

The speakers - Elizabeth, Anna,
Nicky, Danny and NCW chair Kay.

Their stories had recurring themes: of having to prove themselves every day; of being mistaken for the receptionist; of comments like: "can I talk to one of the boys?"; of feeling like they have to be better than the other workers, because of their gender.

Danny, a mechanic who is now service manager in a local garage, came to New Zealand from Switzerland, fully qualified but had to start out as a car groomer.  

When she did get a job as a mechanic she had to go over the road to use a toilet, and had a broom closet for her changing room.  She loves her job, and wants to own her own workshop.

The indominitable Isabel Morgan
putting a smile on our faces.

Nicky, who's been a fire fighter for nine years, said that unlike the police, women have to meet the same strength standards to qualify, such as dragging a 90 kg weight, because she had to show she could cope with rescuing a 100 kg man.  

Like the others, she loves her work and wishes she had started earlier.

Anna, an apprentice electrician, said she'd had few problems, and was working for her father.  She said older women clients seem particularly happy to see a woman doing their "sparkies" work.  

Elizabeth, the chartered accountant said fewer than 10 per cent of her colleagues were women when she entered the profession in the 1980s, and locally only three to four per cent.  

Breakfast!

One of the problems she had was men-only networks such as men's clubs and Rotary which excluded women. Now over 40 per cent of the profession, women have proved themselves.  

While New Zealand was the first country in the Commonwealth to admit women into the profession; but reports at the time showed women were regarded with suspicion because they were "too impulsive and full of sentiment".

As well as these women, I looked around and saw others in "non-traditional" jobs. 

Local Body Candidates
Michelle Pyke (Napier Mayor and Councillor candidate);
Pauline Elliot (HB Regional Council candidate);
Beverley Fullerton-Smith (HB DHB candidate) and
 myself (Nelson Park ward candidate)

Barbara Arnott, Napier's Mayor, was there, part of a council six out of 13 members of which are women; and sitting at my table, a dentist. The message came across loud and clear: follow your dream, don't be put off by the stereotypes, and have faith in yourself and your abilities. 

And make sure you vote in the upcoming local body elections: it's another way of honoring and thanking the trail-blazing suffragists who fought for us to participate fully in democratic government.

The garden at Pukemokimoki marae

Marcia and Lionel in the hothouse

Lionel and others tending the mara kai gardens

Watering the trees which will
one day replace the picket fences.

Ahuriri Maori warden and Maraenui resident Marcia Crawford has been bugging me for weeks now to come down to Pukemokimoki and take some pictures of the awesome garden that she and other EIT students have developed and are tending, to grow fruit and veges for the community.

So with the tangihanga over, the way was clear for me to visit and have a look at this garden, which I have watched grow over the last few years.  I was impressed.

The 16 adult students, under HB EIT tutor Jackie, are now potting up summer veges as well as native tree plants.  

Their hot house gives the baby plants a warm boost before they are planted out into either the raised beds or around the marae.

They have recently planted about $500 worth of native trees, Jackie told me - kowhai, akeake, coprosmas, tarata and hebes.  The trees are around the edges of the marae property, and will serve as an attractive windbreak.  

Those being planted by the picket fence at the front of the marae will eventually replace that fence.

Marcia said schools who come to the marae are asked to bring a tree to plant.  She showed me some kaka beak trees donated and planted by Porritt school students who had come to the marae for a visit.

Marcia standing at
the gate - waharoa - to the marae.

"When the schools come, they learn about the inside of the marae, but I like to show them a special connection with the garden.  

Tu Ahuriri, one of the main figures at the front of the whare, looks like he's holding a spear, but it's a hoe.  He was a gardener and they too can plant a tree for the future.

"So when they plant their tree, Nanny Kahu does a karakia and they sing a song. When they come back to this marae in future years, their tree will have grown, just like they have."

Pukemokimoki marae is becoming more and more beautiful every time I visit, and has become the heart of a caring community who appreciate the special role it plays in bringing people together.

Pukemokimoki marae

I joined the friends and whanau mourning the sad, untimely passing of Maraenui stalwart Wally Hooper at the Pukemokimoki marae last night then again as he was taken off to his home marae in Te Araroa this morning.  It made me realise how important having our urban, community marae is to the people of Napier.

Last night, I went on to the marae with a group from the Maraenui Rugby and Sports Club (I'm on the committee) of which Wally was a long-time member.  He lay in state, surrounded by his family, as we all paid our respects, cried and sang and then hongied and hugged each other.  Shared kai in the dining room afterwards enabled us to share our stories of Wally, and strengthen our connections with each other.

Since Wally arrived at Pukemokimoki late Sunday night, thousands of people, including Kohanga Reo tamariki,  have come to say goodbye to Wally.  He was a pou, an important senior manager, in one of Maraenui's kohanga reo, E Tipu E Rea Taraia Kohanga Reo, which he had strengthened and supported in very practical, loving ways.  So tamariki and staff from the many Kohanga in the area visited him at Pukemokimoki.

Where else could this have happened?  Today when I attended the church service at the marae, in the whare where he lay, about 200 people were there, till he was carried out the gates and started his final journey up the coast.

If we had no urban marae, his body probably would have laid in state at a family member's house, putting untold stresses and strains on the family, the street (parking problems!) and probably put many of us off visiting.  But at Pukemokimoki, the facility is almost purpose built for people to stay overnight, to host and feed large numbers of people, in tikanga Maori fashion.  It is warm, it is welcoming, and the hospitality genuine.

As well, the marae is alcohol free, so no one was drowing their sorrows - and often creating more! - around this sad event. 

So I'm grateful that we have this urban marae - a truly beautiful place, where our Maori and pakeha history is honoured and celebrated - to allow us all to experience tikanga Maori without feeling like an outsider.  

Haere Ra, farewell, Wally Hooper:  you made a huge difference to those whose lives you touched, and you will always be remembered.

It's been a great week.

Yesterday our Napier Grey Power committee met to organise the third of our candidates' meetings to meet those running for office in the upcoming Local Body Elections. 

The first was held early in August, when we hosted all six mayoral candidates and questioned them in the All Saints Church hall, filled with well over 100 people. 

With the awesome Grey Power committee
From left, Lillian, Laurie, me, Jim, June and John

Although all six had their strengths, the difference between incumbent councillors (Cocking, Dalton, Lutter and Pyke) and newcomers Sye and Trim was most clearly noticeable on the question of amalgamation, with the former opposed and the latter ranging from "wait and see" (Sye) to "it's going to happen anyway" (Trim). 

The second meeting was even larger, same Mayoral candidates, but it was in the evening rather than the afternoon, at Princess Alexandra Retirement complex.  A different audience but similar questions and responses.  There's a lot of interest out there, particularly from our generation! 

In just under two weeks we are holding another - an all candidates meeting for the six candidates contesting the three Napier seats in the Regional Council, and in this picture we had just finished our meeting organising the questions, format and publicity.  

Apart from amalgamation, the issues are quite different - the dam, gas and oil exploration (including fracking) and privatisation.  The closure of the Napier-Gisborne railway is another of their issues.  

Mayoral candidates speaking at the All-Saints meeting. 
From left David Trim, John Cocking, 
Bill Dalton, Roy Sye, Michelle Pyke, 
timekeeper Laurie Jenkin,  chair Robin Gwynn, 
and candidate Rob Lutter (standing)

To be honest, most people don't know what the Regional Council does so this will give our members the chance to learn a bit more about their work.  Come along if you can - it's on Tuesday, 17th September, 1:30 pm at the Tamatea Community Church, 1 York Avenue.

So our little committe of us "over 50's", ranging in our political views from left to right, in religious beliefs from staunch to none, all have one thing in common: the desire to better the lot of the older generation through advocacy, education and fellowship.  

We hold monthly meetings with interesting speakers, produce a quarterly newsletter, make submissions to Council on issues of concern. 

However, our real success lies in what underpins everything we do: we work as a team. Respect, affection, division of labour and a commitment that we will all do "our bit" is a winning formula.  I'd love to see our new councils - local and regional - operating the same way; then we could really make things happen!