John MacDonald: We need compulsory voting

If you voted in this year’s local body elections, congratulations. You can consider yourself a member of a very exclusive club.

Because, this year, voter turnout around the country was the lowest it’s been in 36 years. Which is pitiful.

So pitiful that I don’t even think my idea of having just one main voting day - like we have for central government elections - would make much of a difference.

In fact, I think there’s only one way to fix it. Something which has already been tried somewhere else with immediate results.

Because something needs to be done. Because local councils matter.

They have far more influence on our daily lives than central government ever will.

Our councils are responsible for the roads we drive on everyday. They’re responsible for getting the rubbish collected and getting water services to our houses and making sure the sewers work properly. They run our libraries. All sorts of things that we use and rely on every day.

Our councils are the majority owners of key infrastructure services. Christchurch City Council, for example, has the airport, the Port at Lyttelton, the Orion electricity lines company and others.

Not worth taking an interest in who is leading these outfits? Or having an influence in who is leading these outfits? Sixty-eight percent of us don’t think so.

Talk about apathy.

Andrew Geddis - who is a political scientist at the University of Otago - reckons that one of the main reasons for the low turnout is that the voting period is just way too long.

And people just forget about the voting papers sitting on the kitchen bench. He also points out the benefit of having one main voting day - like we do in the central government elections.

I used to think the same.

But I see only one solution. Which is something people talk about in relation to central government elections. But I think we need it for local government too.

Compulsory voting.

Because, after this pitiful turnout in this year’s elections, we need a kick up the jacksy - and making it compulsory to vote is the only way to achieve that.

In Australia, compulsory voting in federal elections was introduced in 1924 and, since then, voter turnout has never fallen below 90 percent.

More relevant, though, is what they’ve done in Tasmania. Three years ago, Tasmania made voting in local government elections compulsory, as well. And just like compulsory voting in federal elections sorted out the low participation problem, the same thing happened in Tasmania with their local body elections.

In just one election, voter turnout increased by 44.6 percent.

Councils in Tasmania have four-year terms - so the 2022 turnout is the most recent example.

But it shows you, doesn‘t it, how compulsory voting in local body elections works. And how it could work just as well here.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Canterbury Mornings podcast with John McDonald
from Newstalk ZB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
If you voted in this year's local body elections will
tell you what. Congratulations, Ah, well done you. You can
consider yourself a member of a very exclusive club because
this year voter turnout around the country was the lowest
it's been in thirty six years, with less than a

(00:33):
third of eligible voters bother and descend in their voting
papers thirty two point sixty five percent as the most
current percentage, Bearing mind that there are still some votes
left to count. But either way, either way, if you
did vote, you're an outsider. Ah, you're almost on your own.
Voters in christ Church did slightly better thirty four percent

(00:54):
bothered to get the voting papers away. But still that's pitiful,
isn't it. In fact, it is so pitiful that I
don't even think my idea of having just one main
voting day like we have for cent central government elections,
I don't even think now that that would make much
of a difference. In fact, I think there's only one
way to fix it, which I'll get to in a second,

(01:15):
and it's something which has already been tried somewhere else
with immediate results. But something needs to be done because
local councils matter. Wake up. Local councils matter. They matter
because they actually have more influence on our daily lives
than central government ever will think about it. It's our

(01:37):
councils that are responsible for the roads we drive on
every day. They're responsible for getting the rubbish collected, and
getting water services to our houses and making sure that
the sewers work properly. They run our libraries or all
sorts of things that we use and rely on every day,
which is the message that the Electoral Commission was pushing
last time. Remember this last time the local government elections

(01:59):
were on, But it didn't see any of that this year,
which that tells me that maybe even the people the
Electoral Commission have given up hope of encouraging more of
us to vote. Our council's more reasons to take an
interest in them. They are the majority owners of key
infrastructure services. Christ Church Council for example, got the port

(02:21):
at Lyttleton, the Orion Electricity Lines company, others. Not worth
taking an interest in who's leading these outfits, you reckon,
Not worth having an influence on who is leading them,
or sixty eight percent of us don't think so sixty
eight percent didn't buy the voting Talk about apathy. I
see Andrew Geddis, who was a very good political scientist

(02:44):
at the University of o Targo. He reckons one of
the main reasons for the low turn art is that
the voting period is its way too long and people
just forget about the voting paper sitting on the kitchen
benchure And look, I agree with him on that one.
He also points out the benefit of maybe having one
main voting day like we do in the central government elections.
I mean, I used to think doing the same for

(03:05):
local elections could be the answer, but as I said before,
I don't even think now that that would make one
bit of difference. And I see only one solution which
I want to run past you this morning, which is
something that people talk about in relation to central government elections,
but I think we need it for local government too.
Compulsory voting, because after this pitiful turnout in this year's elections,

(03:30):
what do we need. We need a kick up the
jacksy and making it compulsory to vote is the only
way to achieve that, I reckon now, I'm quite excited
to share this with you. In Australia, you'll know that
there's been compulsory voting in federal elections since nineteen twenty
four and in that one hundred and one years, voter

(03:52):
turnout has never fallen below ninety percent. More relevant, though,
to our conversation today, is what they've done in Tasmania.
Now you may not be aware of us. Three years
ago Tasmania made voting in local government elections compulsory as
well as federal elections. They said, nap, in Tasmania, you

(04:12):
must vote in your local council elections. And just like
compulsory voter voting in federal elections sorted out the low
participation problem. Same thing happened in Tasmania with their local
body elections. In just one election right back in twenty
twenty two, voter turnout increased by forty four point six
percent in just one election. Now, councils in Tasmania they

(04:36):
have four year terms, So the twenty twenty two turnout
was the most recent example. But it shows you, doesn't
It shows you how compulsory voting in local body elections
could work, how it works in Tasmania, and how it
could work here with an immediate improvement in voter turnout,
and I reckon we need to learn from this example

(04:57):
because it shows to me that compulsory voting is the
only way we're going to get more people voting in
local body elections.

Speaker 1 (05:06):
For more from Category Mornings with John McDonald, listen live
to news talks at be Christchurch from nine am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.