The chief executive of Auckland Council will be sleeping easier after being relieved of one item on his contractual list of “must-dos”.
Jim Stabback no longer holds the responsibility of lifting voter turnout in the October 8 elections by more than 3%, from a dire record-low of 35.2% in 2019.
Councillors struck-off that requirement from a list of performance yardsticks that Stabback must meet over the coming year, though avoided stating the obvious – that maybe they should carry that burden.
- Who shoulders the burden of lifting Aucklanders' voting habits? Stuff 2 August 2022
Leaving oversight of elections to those the current, flawed system put into power is significant conflict of interest. Out sourcing the operations to commercial businesses is hardly better.
Local government elections for councils should be managed by very capable and independent Electoral Commission. They run the central government elections for parliament extremely well and could easily take over council elections. They’ve proven that they’re capable of moving with the times, unlike Auckland Council.
Instead of modernising our voting to the more democratic STV (Single Transferable Vote) system that ensures that your views are considered, Auckland's elected representatives continue to support the archaic FPP (First Past the Post) system that the public stopped Parliament from using in the 90s. Why have councillors kept the same, out dated system? Because it works for them.
We've known since before the super city that voting in local elections has been declining. We've know for over a decade that postal voting is becoming less practical. We've known for long enough that most Aucklanders don't understand council or why their vote matters.
But our councillors and mayor have sat on their hands, done nothing. Democracy isn't just voting in elections, but turnout is good indication of public's faith in the system. Will modernising our voting fix everything? No, but it would be sign to the public that their views matter.
STV isn't radical, it's used by councils across NZ. Dunedin, Hamilton, Wellington, New Plymouth, Nelson and Gisborne to name a few. Auckland's outdated voting system is bad for democracy.
It has to change.
If elected I will do everything to ensure it does so your voice is heard.