Middle NZ: Health board popular choice

A total of 25 candidates are vying for just seven seats on the Hawke's Bay District Health Board. Photo/File

Local body elections — there are three camps when it comes to these elections — well, any elections really.

You couldn't care a less and the voting forms don't even make it out of the envelope camp, you do it because you think you should camp and you study the candidates in your area and make decisions based on what you think they will bring to the table camp.

The three stages, I think, also have a lot to do with age. Young people don't seem to care and to be honest when I was younger, I wouldn't have been able to name one candidate.

You get a bit older and think maybe you should take an interest so you tick the box beside the person with a name you like or a face you like.

Once all the kids have left home and time is on your side more people tend to take notice and be a bit more analytical about their vote.

This year's local body elections are in full swing and in today's paper you will find an Election Guide 2019. Inside there is lots of information about candidates (not all candidates chose to take part).

I have been thinking about who will get my vote and recently made a comment in the office about one. "Oh I voted for that person last year but not sure I will again this year because I haven't really seen or heard anything from them."

Our council reporter who attends most of the meetings said "actually they are always at the meetings and always take part — they are very active".

It just goes to show that it's not always the ones in the limelight that are doing the hard work.

What has caught my attention this year is the number of people standing for the Hawke's Bay District Health Board.

In 2016 there were 15 candidates, this year there are 25 vying for just seven seats.

What is it about being elected to the health board that is appealing to so many people?

Being a member of the health and disability board is a very important role. After all the health of our community is vital.

So what does it take to be a member. I looked up the "District Health Board Elections 2019 Information for Candidates" booklet published in June this year.

It said "DHBs are large and complex organisations responsible for most of the day-to-day business of the health system and administer around three-quarters of the funding".

And boy is there a lot of funding. "This year alone $18 billion from government has gone into health system. $13 billion of that the NZ's DHB to meet the needs of their local population."

Linda Hall

With an aging and growing population DHBs all around the country are facing challenging times. We need people who are committed to looking after their community.

The booklet also says that generic skills for a board member will usually
include:

■ a wide perspective on social, health and strategic issues
■ integrity and a strong sense of ethics
■ financial literacy and critical appraisal skills
■strong reasoning skills and an ability to actively engage with others in making decisions
■knowledge of a board member's responsibilities, including an ability to distinguish governance from management.

And then there's this: "In general, board members should be prepared to commit the equivalent of about 30 days a year to board business".

That's not a lot of time really is it?

For that they get an annual fee for their service, "fee levels vary from DHB to DHB, depending on the size and complexity of the DHB. Fees currently range from around $16,320 to $26,520 per annum".

So by my calculations at the lowest level that $544 per meeting. Not bad.
I'm sure there's much more to it and I have to say I admire people that are willing to put themselves out there in order to help the community.

So take some time over the next few weeks and have a read of the candidate profiles in the Election Guide 2019 and when the time comes make your vote count.

Linda Hall is Hawke's Bay Today's premium content editor.