Choice on system of voting a key issue too

You'd think given the relatively mild nature of this year's election campaign (so far), that perhaps more attention would have turned to the accompanying referendum on the system used to vote our politicians in and out of power.

This is particularly so when you consider that, arguably, the results of the referendum will have greater long-term implications for our future than who actually ends up forming the government for the next three years.

And yet, if you stopped someone on the street and asked him or her about the referendum, he or she would likely be hard pressed to name the options being presented as alternative voting systems to the current Mixed Member Proportional (MMP).

Some might even struggle to name MMP.

Amid the parade of leadership debates, shopping mall walk-throughs and baby-kissing photo ops, there's been next to no publicity around the referendum, which first asks voters whether they want to keep the existing MMP system, or whether they favour a change.

Voters can then indicate a preference for one of four optional voting systems, including First Past the Post, which MMP replaced in 1996. The other options include Preferential Voting, Single Transferable Vote, and Supplementary Member, all of which present their own benefits and drawbacks.

Some will argue that 15 years is too short a period to be looking at changing our electoral system - but there's been enough discontent with MMP in the short time it has been in place that an examination of how we as a country feel about it is at least warranted.

This weekend, we at the Chronicle intend to do our bit, by running a comprehensive guide to all you need to know about the referendum.

It will also serve as a reminder that on November 26, there are important decisions to be made that will stretch beyond just the next three years.

Today is Armistice Day, marking the cessation of hostilities in World War 1.

In recent years, there's been a resurgence in enthusiasm for services on Anzac Day, dawn parades in particular.

But while time has perhaps lessened the connection the younger generation feels with the sacrifices made by those who lost their lives in World War 1, we should never forget the tragic consequences of what was then the greatest conflict in human history.

Armistice Day is a special day, and should be honoured as such.

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