Kelly Makiha: Voting is so important

While there's nothing I enjoy more than a good debate over who will be the best mayor and who we should vote for on the council, the truth is a majority of locals don't care.

That's right. The winner at the last local body elections was the "no" vote.

It's not just local people who are apathetic. This is a worldwide trend.

So, despite all the billboards, the advertising, the stories in this newspaper, the brochures in the mail and the face-to-face campaigning, most people's eyes glaze over when you mention local body politics.

That has got to be heartbreaking for the well-meaning citizens who have put their hands up as candidates for Saturday's elections.

They are the ones who are investing their own time and money into winning your votes.

What would the results look like if it were compulsory to vote? The fact is, local body politics is very important. We can't say it enough, that's why we are saying it again.

It affects the roads we drive on, the street lighting we have, how we dispose of our rubbish, the look and feel of our town centres, our sewerage and wastewater systems, our parks and reserves and how much money we fork out every three months in our rates. That's just a drop in the bucket of what councils do. - NZME