Election date debated

Local Parliamentarians and General Election candidates are divided on the question of whether or not New Zealand should go to the polls on September 19.

National’s Chris Penk, who is the MP for Helensville, says that due to Covid-19 disruptions, it is unlikely that the country will be in a position to hold an election in September.

“I think most Kiwis will want the chance to get involved fully and that’ll be impossible if public meetings aren’t practical for a large part of this year,” Mr Penk says.

“Obviously classic campaign activities such as shaking hands and kissing babies are also out for the foreseeable future, so there’s a real danger that democratic participation will be denied if we don’t allow more time.”

Last month, New Zealand First leader and deputy Prime Minister, Winston Peters, called for the election to be delayed until November 21, but Prime Minster Jacinda Ardern has been steadfast in her commitment to a September election.

The latest that an election could be held without a law change under New Zealand’s constitutional framework is December 12.

In response to suggestions about a possible mid-November election, Mr Penk says that giving Kiwis a couple of months breathing space might be helpful, but it’s too early to say if that would even be enough time.

“People in this area are struggling with uncertainty in terms of health, jobs, social contact and life in general right now, so it’d be good if the Government respects that by allowing more time before campaign activity gets underway.”

However, Rodney-based Labour MP Marja Lubeck says it is as important to hold an election during a crisis as it is at any other time.

“It’s very important the public gets to hold its government to account, especially when the government is exercising extraordinary powers. We do that through elections,” Ms Lubeck says.

“So long as the independent experts at the Electoral Commission say it can be done safely, we should go ahead as planned.”

ACT Party deputy leader Beth Houlbrooke says her party is ‘raring to go’ no matter what date the election is held.

“However, it is premature to call a preference as we have no idea what level we’ll be at in August/September. We need to wait until at least next month to see if the lockdown has worked in terms of health outcomes,” Ms Houlbrooke says.

Despite a likelihood that public gatherings will be restricted for some months, MPs and candidates were against using online voting in place of paper based ballots.

Rodney-based Social Credit candidate, Callan Neylon, says the controversial 2018 census shows the country is not ready for online voting.

“There are still a significant number of Kiwis unable to use or access the internet. As a last resort, we could use postal voting as we do with local body elections,” Mr Neylon says.

Rodney-based NZ First MP Jenny Marcroft says increasing the number of polling booths at different locations across the district would help to mitigate the possible spread of Covid-19.

Coincidentally, law changes drafted after the Christchurch mosque shootings came into effect last month that allow for voting to take place in more places including supermarkets and shopping malls.

“You could be voting while you line up for your food shopping,” Ms Marcroft says.

If the spread of Covid-19 prevented an election being held before the end of the year, one possibility would be a special ‘government of national unity’ in which portfolios are shared across major parties.

The last time a government of national unity was called was during World War I in 1915, and it continued to preside over the country during the Spanish influenza epidemic.

However, Rodney’s MPs on both sides of the house agree that the special Epidemic Response Select Committee formed at the start of the lockdown has worked effectively and a special government is not required.

The committee meets virtually several times a week and allows Opposition MPs to question the Government.

“We’ve been able to provide scrutiny in a way that’s responsible but robust, getting a chance in Select Committee to ask searching questions of ministers, officials and other experts,” Mr Penk says.

“That seems a better path to tread at the moment than attempting to lump in all views behind closed doors.”