As a cis-gendered female living here in the great land of Aotearoa, I am going to go vote next Saturday. I will not be harassed, I will drive myself there (probably) and I will choose who I want to run this country. My vote means the same as the kabillionaire that lives in Remuera, as well as the person living in poverty across town in Otara.
This is democracy.
My sisters in Saudi Arabia will only have this right from next year (having only been “given” it from 2011) and, no, they will not be driving themselves there.
Why is this important?
This is why
Yes that badly drawn line is mine, and yes it isn’t really accurate, but you get the idea.
That is an official graph on voter turnout in NZ since 1981 (click here to go to Statistics NZ site to see it without the badly drawn line)
Less and less of us are turning out to vote. We simply don’t care… or do we?
A lot of the Mainstream Media of recent times has been about Nicky Hager’s book ‘Dirty Politics’. The book outlines how some of our elected representatives use ‘attack politics’ to undermine senior civil servants, opposition politicians and even academics who disagree with Government policy.
This should’ve been a bombshell that rocked New Zealand.
However, the most common rhetoric I’ve heard is “New Zealand doesn’t care”, “only you political nuts care about this sort of thing”. Hager was labelled a conspiracy theorist and a ‘crazy’.
I don’t agree.
New Zealand is a wonderful country I’ve chosen to call my home. I am beginning to understand (in a recent immigrant kinda way) the true meaning of turangawaewae and it is definitely Aotearoa. This is not the country that ‘doesn’t care’ when people are being nasty.
This is why I signed the Action Station petition AND donated (I know, I actually put my money where my mouth is)
You should do it too. (Sign here and donate here)
They want to publish a full page ad in the Herald that will be a declaration of determination, an open letter to all political parties, telling them we expect better from them and are going to fight for our democracy.
Vivian Chandra 