Let’s have civics taught in school and a lower voting age
Thank you Brian Ward (Letters, Oct 14) for suggesting citizens’ assemblies and participatory democracy may help people’s engagement with decision-making.
Dissatisfaction and disconnection from councils and government serve no-one well.
Civics in school and a lower voting age are good ideas, connection with community and decision-making needs to be real.
Politicians have important work to do and close to my heart is the call from Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Eugenie Sage (Oct 14) to urgently protect our oceans.
Citizens’ assemblies and participatory democracy may help the vital cut-through with these serious issues where current systems are failing miserably.
Fay Brorens, Dallington
Basics neglected
‘‘Governance’’ has been dropped from ‘‘government’’. Successive governments should never have allowed to let basics in water and health and so on to get so bad they have to take over.
Yet it is abundantly clear, as some opinion pieces and letters have said, that significant improvements are needed in local democracy’s efficacy and engagement.
Like Brian Ward yesterday, I’m sure shallow reforms would miss the problem.
Unfortunately central government, no matter who holds the reins, is unsuited to timely responses to local problems (including lack of visas for critical staff) and where their big budgets and power to create emergency legislation might seem to be just what’s needed in an emergency, they often do more damage (as we saw during the earthquakes). They must stick to governance. What is most needed is not another expensive reorganisation or rebranding, but simple, timely communication between local government, central government, and representatives of local stakeholders... plus a code of practice that defines what a hospital, awater supply, a visa system should achieve.
When you have the same politicians being responsible for deciding outcomes and also being responsible for ensuring those outcomes are met, the results are predictable.
Mark Aitchison, Sydenham