Editorial: Have your vote and a quiet cuppa

It has been a strange run-up to tomorrow's parliamentary election - more froth than substance, some might conclude.

All the party leaders of note have paraded through Hawke's Bay, their media advisers nipping at their heels, ensuring they stay "on message" and miss no opportunity for presidential-style photographs and TV grabs.

It is the way of the Western world when it comes to elections. Your own position needs to be summed up in 10-second sound bites and you keep hitting your opponents with the same stick - "they'll sell-off the family silver" or "they'll drive us into debt". Sound familiar?

If you are a party leader, you take note of what the focus groups tell you: Don't mention certain issues, even if you have a clear view on them, because the focus groups hate them.

The past two weeks have been dominated by an increasingly inane row over the "teapot tape", a saga that all but pushed any discussion of policy off the table. The Prime Minister must have at times wished he had ignored the incident.

Despite all the froth, bubbles and tea, New Zealanders are astute enough to work out who stands for what, which parties have policy positions that best align with their personal beliefs, and how they might cast their votes under MMP to reflect their will.

It is important to vote tomorrow - it is your democratic right and the best way to have your say in the future of New Zealand.

We take the right to vote for granted but we absolutely should not. It is a cornerstone of a democracy and the very thing that so many - women, minorities, entire nations - have struggled, fought and died for.

So get out early tomorrow and cast your vote. Then you can go home and have a cuppa. In peace.