Local Focus: Hawke's Bay local elections turnout looks likely to drop

The week of urgency for Hawke's Bay voters has arrived if they want to have a say in who leads the city, district and regional councils over the next three years.

In a postal voting irony, all votes cast in the mail system must be in the box by the end of Monday, otherwise papers need to be delivered to voting boxes at specific council and library sites, supermarkets and other facilities by the time the election closes at midday on Saturday.

Online statistics to Friday night showed that in many areas the voter turnout was less than 20 per cent.

Hawke's Bay citizens are choosing from over 100 candidates across five different councils, but voter turnout is lower than in previous elections.

In Napier, where all positions were available – the mayoralty, council wards, and the regional council constituency – 8771 papers had been returned, representing 19.08 per cent of the roll of 45,963.

At the end of the second-to-last week at the 2019 Local Elections 23.03 per cent had voted, said Helen Barbier, deputy electoral officer of Napier City Council.

"It's hard to predict at the moment. It is a postal vote. Some delays can influence the returns. So we'll have to wait and see. We're hoping for a big rush at the end," Barbier said.

"The work of the council affects everything we do.

"If you haven't received your papers already, you can contact the council to do a special vote. We'll give you those documents, and you can drop them off in one of the orange voting bins around town."

This election, the Flaxmere ward has just one seat on the Hastings District Council, compared with two seats in 2019, and some Flaxmere residents are not happy about that.

"I think Flaxmere is actually growing, so it should probably be more," said Shane Seymour.

Tamati Kireka reckoned it's better to have two seats like it used to.

"He or she has to work very hard if it's only one person."

Regarding the candidates' options, Flaxmere resident Kirstin Stalker said it's a wide selection.

"It's nice to see the Pacific Islands and Māori candidates stand for our community, all the cultures just coming together. They have good policies, but can they keep them? Can they get done what they want to get done?"

But not everyone was happy with the options. Hastings resident Regina Carroll would like to see more variety.

"I think sometimes it's the same people all the time, but they obviously have a vested interest in the region."

Wendy Franklin preferred people in the past who had a greater sense of community. While others found their views were not represented by any of the candidates.

"They all seem to be anti-Three Waters which I thought was difficult because I'm pro-Three Waters," Napier resident Alexandra Gee said.

Residents in some wards don't have any choice. Like 17,000 others, Bill Roberts lives in rural Hastings and doesn't get a vote because the positions are all full.

"All the vacancies have already been filled. There's no one standing against the mayor, no one standing against the regional councillor and the two district council positions. That's a shame."

Voting in Hawke's Bay will close at noon on Saturday, October 8.

People who have not received voting papers, which were otherwise delivered in the third week of September, should be contacting councils, with details available on websites.

Anyone aged 18 or over is eligible to vote if they're on the roll, and they can enrol and vote up to closing time.

Voting places:

Napier

Napier City Council Customer Service Centre - 215 Hastings Street, Napier
Napier Library - 9 Herschell Street, Napier
Taradale Library - 24 White Street, Napier
Te Kupenga Hauora Ahuriri - 5 Sale Street Napier
Pak'nSave Napier - Munroe Street, Napier
Pak'nSave Tamatea - Leicester Avenue, Tamatea
Mitre 10 Mega Napier - 180 Prebensen Drive, Napier
EIT Taradale Campus - 501 Gloucester Street, Taradale
EIT Maraenui Campus - 18-20 Bledisloe Road, Maraenui

Hastings

Hastings District Council Customer Service Centre - 207 Lyndon Road East, Hastings 4122. Monday-Friday 8am-5pm (9am-5pm on Tuesdays) and 9am-12pm on Saturday 8 October.

Hastings Library - cnr Eastbourne and Warren Streets, Hastings 4122. Monday-Sunday.
Havelock North Library - 30 Te Mata Road, Havelock North, 4130. Monday-Saturday.
Flaxmere Library - Swansea Road, Flaxmere, 4120. Monday-Saturday.

In addition to the Hastings District Council Customer Service Centre, special voting will also be available at the following locations:

Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga: Friday, 9am-4pm in the Te Puawai Room
Flaxmere Community Centre: Wednesday, 10am-2pm
Havelock North Library: Thursday, 10am-2pm
Camberley Community Centre: Monday, 1pm-4pm

Wairoa

Council offices, Coronation Square, 97 Queen Street, Wairoa.

Central Hawke's Bay

Council Building, Waipawa Library, Waipawa Four Square, Te Huinga Wai - The Knowledge and Learning Hub and New World in Waipukurau.