September Newsletter Entry - CNA Journal By Ros & Patrick

By Ros Rice, Executive Officer.

Kia ora Team, 

On 14th October we will have the national election.  It is such an important event, and I want to encourage every single one of you to make sure you vote. Lots of people say, politics isn’t interesting and it doesn’t affect me!  Well, yes it does!! 

Check this out:  https://www.facebook.com/reel/1012362019940718 

What decisions politicians make affect all of us.  Examples are the increasing amount of severe weather events we and the rest of the world have been experiencing.  If years and years ago when the first warnings of climate change were articulated, politicians had seriously and with determination put policies in place, maybe people would still have homes, jobs and in some places their lives. 

Yes - politics have a huge effect on our everyday lives. 

The next question, is who should we vote for then?  It’s all so confusing!  Vote for the party that best reflects your values and beliefs.  How do you find out?  Take a couple of minutes and check out what can help you on-line.  What is a couple of minutes compared to 3 years of frustration? 

Here are a couple of suggestions: 

Radio New Zealand: https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/news-extras/story/2018902030/election-2023-rnz-s-guide-to-party-policy 

Here is a nice easy to read guide to voting: https://vote.nz/assets/Alternate-formats-2023-General-Election-/Easy-Read-guide-to-voting.pdf 

The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/18/at-the-2023-election-new-zealand-will-face-the-starkest-choice-between-left-and-right-in-decades 

Whatever you choose, please can I entreat you, take a walk in your neighbourhood, go on down to your local polling place, and put a couple of ticks on who you prefer.  Your vote could be the difference between who does and who does not end up ruling our country. 

Patrick's Hot Take! 🔥

Please Don't Vote. By Patrick Davies, Engagement Officer.

Please don’t vote - it’s not worth it, it just stays the same for us. No point in encouraging them. 

Getting out of bed can sometimes be a hassle let alone thinking about who to vote for. Yes, there’s the websites that can ask you questions and decide which party you align with. Yes, it’s too much to listen to Chippie, Luxie, Winnie rant on about the same sh*t again and again – anyone remember how many times Key started each sentence with ‘Akshully, at the end of the day, in my opinion, most new zeellanders…’ which translates as ‘Well, here’s some words that mean I summated what I think and listened to the party line and therefore it’s true’. 

Let alone the possible things that might not be really true or are just an interpretation of stats – the Huey, Dewey, Louie of Mis, Dis, and In – formation – to contend with. It feels like it depends on what ChatGPT or AI you’re listening to at the time. 

Might as well not bother voting. 

I mean, for our sector what can change? Its not like every person who owns a small business sees their vote as an investment, right? …right? 

I like to think of voting as part of my own strategic action plan. We do it for our organisations, so why not for us? We look at the risks and plan appropriately. So why not look at the possible outcomes with the same energy and strategy? 

Like any funding application, we might not get the answer we desire but we can plan for what might be able to happen should our voting be granted. And if not then most people are probably prudent enough to have a Plan B (right through to Plan AA). Probably. 

The truth is that we cannot know what’s going to happen if we could what fun would that be? If we took that same sense of possible despair to voting into our planning, we’d end up a mess. 

Perhaps we enjoy the ride knowing that we’ve been through so much that we’ve been taught to be frugal but fair, economic but engaging, whatever happens. It's not like we’re going to get a lot from any Government. So, let's let them get on with that while we get on with us. But we’ll still vote and encourage others who feel like we do to do so too!