Move out the way vaping, cryptocurrency, and ram-raiding there’s a new cool trend that’s just hit town: exercising your democratic right as a resident of Hamilton by voting in your local election! Believe me, all the cool kids are doing it and it’s honestly pretty embarrassing if you don’t.
In all seriousness, Kirikiriroa is growing fast. Super fast. With this, it’s feeling a few growing pains. You lose your breath just talking about the rampant youth crime rates, development upon development, and ever-expanding new suburbs. Behind this excitement, we often forget some pretty important people have a pretty big say in all of the shenanigans within our city boundaries. It’s not just the big things though, your day-to-day lives are affected by the decisions these members of the Hamilton City Council make.
Local elections occur every 3 years and give you an opportunity to vote on who you want in your particular council; they’re happening all over the country right now. In total, there are 15 seats around Hamilton City Council’s table up for grabs, consisting of 6 spots for the Hamilton East Ward, 6 spots in the Hamilton West Ward, 2 Kirikiriroa Māori Ward spots (more on that later), and 1 spot for the Mayor of Hamilton. This year, we have 46 candidates all placing annoying signs across the city begging for you to vote for them. The truth is, you’re in a pretty powerful position. They may look important proclaiming policies in their three piece suits but it’s up to us if they get a look in or if the door gets slammed in their face. You didn’t like what some of the candidates responded to the questions that follow? It’s up to you to make sure they don’t get in. The basic, underlying, and evidently large theme here is just that; it’s all up to you. Don’t let us down.
So, you’d think with a decision this heavy, that the voting sheet is practically falling and breaking the coffee table it sits on, and everyone would be wanting to have their say. However, during the last local elections, it was sheepishly reported that only 42% of enrolled voters got out and did just that. On average, city councils, such as ours, recorded a 39% turnout. Good job guys, democracy’s crying and it’s all our fault.
This year, Hamilton will be shifting from a ‘First Past The Post’ system to a system deemed ‘Single Transferable Vote’. All these fancy names entail is that instead of just putting a tick next to your favourite candidate, you’re being asked to rank them. This means that if you don’t get your first choice candidate, all of those candidates you’ve chosen to number off will also get your recorded support.
Remember when I said we’ll get back to the Māori Ward spots later? This is later. Due to some recently set up and pretty cool legislation, there are now 2 Māori Ward spots for Kirikiriroa. To join the Māori roll, you need to have Māori whakapapa. That’s it, easy as. This initiative goes beyond just making sure people don’t get angry about a lack of diversity. It’s an all too important and all too needed platform to ensure Te Ao Māori is brought among all the council does. It’s a long time coming and a positive step in the right direction. Make sure that if you can, you heavily consider enrolling. Unfortunately, if you are eligible and haven’t signed up for this roll yet, you’ll need to wait until the Census 2024. Still, better late than never.
I cannot find any other reason to give you to vote than the fact that it makes your voice heard. Hamilton’s population is 38% youth. Imagine how drastically different our city would be if we chose people that reflected what we want. Reflected what YOU want. Before I hear any claims that “my vote won’t make a difference”, I want you to realise how different things would be if everybody said that. Your one vote, especially on the local election scale, can be the one vote that sees greater support for mental health, Māori, education, youth or any type of issue that matters to you. If you feel the need, do some more research. I assure you all the information is out there. Get voting, it’s you that makes the difference.
Seamus’s Tip (s)
There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that Kirikiriroa needs some work; any candidate for the local election would agree wholeheartedly. The issue is that every potential councillor has a whole host of different issues at the forefront of their campaign. This doesn’t speak about how much work Hamilton needs but it does scream about how important it is to choose a candidate that sees the world like you.
Youth crime is only getting worse. All it takes is a quick Google search about Hamilton or any other major New Zealand city, to see how widespread the issue is. What’s more concerning is they only seem to be getting younger. 15, then 14, and then 12. Since a special youth crime team was set up here this year, 750 charges have been laid against young criminals in our city. There’s no debate, it’s a major concern. What’s worse is that it was found Māori children are approximately three times more likely than non-Māori children to become an offender by age 14. It’s sad because it’s clear tangata whenua are being let down by our system and Kirikiriroa is by no means an exception. But when asked, it’s clear far too many councillors aren’t focussing on this demographic as much as they should; there are too many blank stares, shoulder shrugs, and short, redirective answers. What’s just as important as seeing how a candidate wants to prevent this issue from getting worse is how they treat these young and vulnerable offenders. Do they want to throw them away along with the key or do they think a greater attempt at rehabilitation is the way to go? The more important question is what do you want?
Hamilton’s population is increasing at a greater rate than Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch making it one of the fastest growing places in the entire country. Some might say it’s because Hamilton’s such an attractive place, others say it’s just because people are desperately trying to escape Auckland. Whatever the reason, the approach that the council takes towards this rapid increase in people will leave an everlasting impression on the social and physical landscape of this city. Some candidates are calling for a super city by obtaining the surrounding districts. Others believe that there’s more land yet to take a bite out of. What do you want?
Amongst all this change, there’s a notable group who has an optimistic and lofty view of Kirikiriroa for the future: Waikato-Tainui. Under Tainui Group Holdings, our local iwi is doing what iwi does best by looking out for the people around them. Major developments across the road at our university and in the CBD are all things to jump around about. How will the new council support our iwi, the Kaitiaki of this land, with their strides towards a greater city for all? The key word here is support. Unfortunately, some candidates see it as an opportunity to lessen the financial burden by offloading development. Others see it as a chance to work with the original guardians of this land as they look to develop Hamilton into a world-class city for all. What do you see it as?
To me, these are some key topics that I’ll be looking at when I’m voting for candidates. You might have a whole different plethora of issues you see at the forefront for our council. That’s ok. Your political outlook is individual to you and that’s the beauty of it. Just make sure you know what you want before you fill out that form, it’s a pretty big decision.
