Online tools like Vote Compass can help you decide which party to vote for. Photo / Martin Sykes
If you're wondering in this political maelstrom who the hell you'll vote for on September 20, you may like to try a couple of the internet's election tools.
There's On the Fence, but according to kiwiblog's David Farrar that's too unpredictable to trust. Farrar's bread and butter is
polling, so I'll trust his judgment. He prefers Vote Compass, so I gave it a try. Vote Compass is purported to be an anonymous survey that asks 30 questions about where you stand on policy and moral issues. It also asks what your Twitter handle and email address are, which would cancel anonymity, but you don't have to answer.
I know who I'm giving my electoral vote to; boundary changes have helped me with that.
But I was interested to see where Vote Compass thought my party vote should go. Everyone I know who did the questionnaire has been surprised — at least initially — at what it revealed. "United Future?!" expostulated one friend. "I'm SO not United Future. I don't even know what their policies are!" I was NZ First, I countered, with equal indignation. Admitting to that was like coughing up a fur ball. To be fair, Maori Party was first but they don't take Ngati Pakeha; then NZ First; then Labour.
But I think it shows we're centre voters. The only difference is if we dress to the left or the right. Vote Compass is a good talking point. It shouldn't be taken as gospel, but it does help define what's important to you in our society.
