Rehette Stoltz: Gisborne Mayor and Local Government NZ Vice-President on the local body government roles won by default

More than 200 people have won by default in this weekend's local election, but that's an improvement on decades prior. 

Newstalk ZB analysis of the thousands of council races over five consecutive elections have found more than one in seven roles have been won by the only person who stood. 

Unopposed elections have fallen by about a third since 2001. 

Gisborne Mayor and Local Government NZ Vice-President Rehette Stoltz told Mike Hosking there are two sides to the story. 

She says that while in some areas the lack of people standing for office may be caused by apathy, it could also be that the people who are already there are believed to be doing a great job. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
New data. Speaking of democracy, on the magnetism of the
local body elections, we're going to end up with a
couple of hundred at least who will win unopposed. Got
two mayors and nobra eighty councilors already in multiple community
board's got no candidates at all now registolts as the
Gisbane mayor also the local government New Zealand VP and
with us morning to you, good morning. I find it
so depressing. Don't you find this depressing?

Speaker 2 (00:22):
It is depressing. But year in Gisbon we've actually got
an active race with thirty people standing for thirteen seats,
and we've been around the community. We've had about fifteen
community in actions with the Chamber of Commerce, Federated Farmers,
at the retirement homes. So in some places there are
a little bit of interest in local body bolt.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
Your numbers are as of yesterday at twenty three point
nine percent turnout. Three quarters of people can't even be bothered,
and that's true.

Speaker 2 (00:50):
We've seen forty percent of people usually vote in local
body elections versus the eighty percent and the general elections,
and that trend has been going down, down, down since
nineteen eighty nine.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
Yeah, should we if no one stands, should people be
elected unopposed? Or is that no longer democracy and we've
given up on it and we should just appoint people.

Speaker 2 (01:11):
I think there are two parts to that. We've barely
barely ever had a people standing unopposed here, but I
know that one lady in one of our rural wards
always were unopposed, and the reason she was unopposed because
she did a bloody fantastic job. So there are two
sites to that. There might be apathy and people not
wanting to stand there, but there are also people doing
great jobs.

Speaker 1 (01:31):
Yeah, that's true. That's a fair point. What about because
I lived in a ward where that was exactly the case?
What about the boards? Now, Glenn, our technical guy, made it,
I thought a reasonable point of the people when we
say twenty three point nine percent of people have turned
out to vote who they voted for in terms of
did they just vote for the mayor or do they
vote for the community boards as well? And the suggestion
would be they're probably mainly voting for the mayor, aren't they.

Speaker 2 (01:54):
So people, depending where you live, you vote for your mayor.
Depending on what ward you live, you would vote either
the general ward or the Maori ward and then if
they are community built as well, that would be on
your voting papers.

Speaker 1 (02:06):
As well, so I know now they actually vote. I
mean I don't know any of these people. I've never
heard of them. I don't know. So therefore I go, oh, well,
I don't know. There's people are not going to vote
for them mainly end up voting for the mayor.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
So can I flip that over? Why are you not
interested to look at your candidate and find out.

Speaker 1 (02:21):
No telling you my personal story. What I'm saying is
that's how most people, rightly or wrongly. What you're arguing
is is, I mean most people don't give the monkeys
because they're lazy. That's what it boils down to. They
can't be bothered.

Speaker 2 (02:32):
I think there are several issues affecting it. We're using
an old postal system which no one used mailboxes, there's
no more local newspapers people are there is apathy, lack
of interest, lack of faith in local government and central government.
And then also if I know you spoke to the
minister before, but I think if we do consistent marketing
and administration through the Local Government Commission going forward, where

(02:56):
everyone knows like the Orange Man, which is consistent with
general voting, there would be maybe more interesting there and
then CIVICX education. We do need to get people more
interested because if you vote or not, it is still
going to be part of your life.

Speaker 1 (03:10):
Couldn't Agreemore, couldn't agreenmore nice to talk to your registrants?
Who is the Gisbane WASH's VP of the New Zealand
government Auckland as of yesterday sixteen percent. I mean it's
truly pathetic. Wellington twenty You're stuffed. You can't use your
sprinkler in Wellington at the moment because they're so useless.

(03:31):
They couldn't fix the pipes, and yet you can't be
bothered voting christ Here's twenty four, Nelson twenty six. As
I said, Reddy is twenty three, Southland twenty nine. I
mean I go Buller Yay thirty six, and that's a thing.
Mackenzie District is the biggest in the country at thirty eight.
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(03:54):
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