Two thirds of eligible voters did not turn out to vote in this year's Local Body Elections, the lowest national turnout in thirty-six years.
Local councils control much of the important minutia of daily life, like rubbish, roads, pipes and parks.
But lack of engagement is still a real problem.
Do we need a national voting day? Should we do what Australia does and make voting compulsory? Or do we just need better candidates?
Andy Asquith is a keen local politics watcher and governance scholar, a New Zealander but residing in Australia and he joins Mark Leishman.
Voting papers are arriving in letterboxes across Auckland, but turnout is tracking below 2022 and 2019. Photo: Supplied via LDR
