September 19th 2017: Politics

We usually try to avoid politics, but today we're going to go there. It does seem to be quite topical at the moment. Firstly, the system is broken. It's a disgrace that young Kiwis have to wait until they are 18 to be able to have their voices heard or contribute to their future. Of all the population they are the ones who have to endure the good or bad decisions the longest. It seems like lunacy that their voice is hijacked by older generations.

Next, it's 2017 so why aren't we voting online? Or at least have the option to do so? If we really wanted every New Zealander and expat to contribute to the shape of this country, then why wouldn't we have enabled online voting? Of course, there will still be those who cherish the ritual of visiting the polling booths, but surely the two methods can co-exist? That would truly be democracy, or at least a lot closer to it.

Finally, our three-year term of governance perpetuates a short-term view and promotes short-sighted goals. That precludes most governments from acting in the best interests of future generations. Or even looking at the 5, 20, 100, 200-year impacts of the decisions they make today. Instead they want to validate their decisions every three years in the hope they get elected again. That translates directly to how New Zealanders judge and assess them, too. And this bit is where that democracy falls to pieces. It doesn't help that humans are doing well if they live to 100. If we lived to 400 then surely we'd be looking at a different view of this world. But we live to 100 if we're lucky and that means we're too busy thinking about how each government affects us as individuals. We're mostly too focused on ourselves to see the bigger picture: the finite resources we have and the infinite generations who are going to depend on them. Elections are not a time to think about ourselves as individuals and how the policies might affect us directly. They're about the future. About how we want to see New Zealand in 5, 20, 100, 200 years from now. It's a journey and your vote this week will be the next step in where you want that journey to go.

Vote wisely.

That's it. My political rant over and done. Next week: religion.

See you at the beach ... Derek

PS Team New Zealand left for Japan this week – bound for the Vissla World Junior Surfing Championships to be held in Hyuga from September 23 – October 1. Dunedin local Elliott Brown will be reuniting with Jonas Tawharu, Kaya Horne, Caleb Cutmore and Kehu Butler along with the rest of the NZ team to take on the world's best. Some of the heats will be available live. Follow us on our Box of Light Facebook page to watch our best surfers progress through the competition.