Opinion
I play golf at least once a week. Along with all the banter that seems to coincide with men’s sport, there’s the occasional serious topic.
Every three years, while on the second beer, I like to throw into the conversation, “So, who are you voting for?” This often draws blank faces and miscommunication. “That Warren bloke, he’d make a good mayor” said one recently. I pointed out he’s not running for mayor; he’s running for the Waikato Regional Council.
The indifference to our local elections never fails to astound me. Remember, these golfers tend to be older, retired, property owners and most likely have a dollar or two in the bank. You would think they would be engaged in our community more than any others, yet many it seems, can’t be bothered.
Just last week, a well-known local proclaimed to me quite proudly that he had never voted in local body elections. Personally, as a semi-retired media person, I love them. Often, the people running are connected to you in some way and watching them campaign is a wonderful distraction every three years.
Although I do tend to agree with a friend of mine who said in passing. “Mmmm, just an old bunch of white guys making promises they can’t keep”. No wonder there’s indifference if that’s what people think.
I was recently in Perth visiting family. For their house in North Fremantle, they pay A$1650 in rates, a friend in Sydney with a free-standing house pays $2,600. Today my rates bill arrived. $5,368. That alone will make me vote this year, and while the Thames Coromandel District Council has one of the highest proportions of people voting, we can do better.
The voting papers are out now; the more you ignore them, the more we all pay. Vote.
