The Election
This year, the Election will come early.
The Prime Minister recently announced the date for this year's General
Election: 27 July. This has been brought forward from the usual October
Election date.
This Hot Topic looks at the election as an opportunity for a number of
teaching and learning activities, and information for students who will
be first time voters.
Students who are able to vote
Students eligible to cast a vote in the election now need to start thinking
about how they will vote.
The first step to voting is to become informed. Information about the
ideology and portfolio policies of each of the political parties is available
through a number of sources: television (news broadcasts, live debates,
political party broadcasts); print (newspaper articles and editorials,
parties' promotional fliers and billboards); the Internet (political party
websites and neutral policy-comparison websites, such as www.policy.net.nz);
or public meetings arranged by your local member of parliament.
Once you are informed, you have to decide how to cast your vote. Under
Mixed-Member Proportional representation (MMP), each person has two
votes on the same ballot paper:
- Who to elect as the MP for your local electorate (vote for a person)
- What party you support the most (vote for a party)
Where do you vote?
On Election Day, there will be voting booths in your local area (often
in a school or church hall). If you would like to find out about where
you can go to vote, keep an eye on your local newspaper, or ring up your
local council or Member of Parliament. Voting booths are open between
9am-7pm on Election Day.
If you will be out of the country on Election Day, you will be able to
cast a Special
Vote.
Be sure to book your appointment with the ballot box on 27 July!
Elections – suggested teaching and learning activities Elections are very interesting events, even for students who are not
yet eligible to vote. They provide learners with opportunities to practise
research skills and critical thinking; can offer a real-life scenario
to apply statistical or mathematical theories to; and represent a significant
force shaping the history of New Zealand.
History and Social Studies
- Is this the first time an early Election has been called? What have
some of the reasons been for bringing forward the Election date?
- Women and the vote: over one hundred years ago, Kate Sheppard led
the Suffragist movement for women's right to vote. Why did women have
to fight for this right? What was 1890s New Zealand like?
- This is the third New Zealand General Election under MMP. How were
earlier governments voted in? What were the arguments for and against
proportional representation leading up to the 1993 Referendum?
English – higher order thinking
- Interview techniques: leading up to the election, candidates will
appear frequently on news and current affairs programmes and on television
debates. Are they trying to present an image? Do they directly address
the questions they are asked, or do they divert to another topic? Is
there a key statement they keep repeating? What techniques (for example
tone, speed, expression) does the interviewer use to "rattle" the candidate?
- Listen to the news on the radio (for example, Morning Report on National
Radio). What techniques do the interviewer and interviewee use to present
their point of view? How are radio interviews different to television
interviews?
- Watch the party political broadcasts on television. What image is
each party and/or candidate trying to portray? How do they achieve this?
Is music used? How are the candidates dressed? Where is the broadcast
set – someone's home, in a television studio, outside? What tone
of voice and types of words do the candidates use?
Mathematics
- Using the Virtual
Election site below, work out what Parliament would look like if,
for example, Party X got 30 per cent of the party vote, but Party Y
had 28 electoral candidates voted in.
2002 Elections - make the most of your right to have a say!
Resources on TKI
Active Voices
– Elections 2002
This site, written with students in mind, gives clear answers to questions
about the election process.
http://www.elections.org.nz/elections/pandr/av
Election
New Zealand: Resources
This website contains a list of resources related to elections and government
in New Zealand, political parties and local government, and electoral
maps. Includes references to websites, videos and publications which deal
with most aspects of the electoral process, and a glossary of electoral
terms.
http://www.elections.org.nz/elections/pandr/index.html
Elections
New Zealand: Virtual Election
This website provides an opportunity to complete an interactive "Virtual
Election". You can use MMP's Sainte-Lague formula to work out what would
happen if New Zealanders cast their party votes in a particular way.
http://www.elections.org.nz/cgi-bin/elections/generateElection.pl
Policy.net.nz – Political Policy
Online
This website allows the reader to compare the policies of all the main
New Zealand political parties - through detailed, straightforward summaries
in the words of the political party who developed their policy. Here you
can see exactly what they are offering New Zealand voters.
http://www.policy.net.nz
How
Parliament Works
This site contains information on the New Zealand government, law, and parliament.
It includes information about current political parties, how laws are made,
and the election process. Online activities and worksheets are available.
http://www.decisionmaker.co.nz/guide2003/tbp/index.html
The 30-Second
Candidate
Learn the history of political commercials. This American website notes
significant advertisements and explains in the context of the times they
are aired. Examine the step-by-step process from initial idea to the airing
of a campaign spot.
http://www.pbs.org/30secondcandidate/index.html
Hist/2/4
- B version 1
This assessment material entitled Pantry or Polling Booth?, relates to
New Zealand history achievement standards 2.4. This activity involves
students writing three responses to a letter decrying women's right to
vote. http://www.tki.org.nz/r/ncea/hist2_4Bv1_1feb01.doc
NZ
History.net: the Suffragists
This page from NZ History.net.nz profiles the movement to give women the
right to vote in the general election.
http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/Gallery/Suffragists/Suffragists.htm
Dictionary
of New Zealand Biography: Kate Sheppard
This website features the biography of Kate Sheppard – the leader
of the Suffragist Movement in New Zealand in the 1890s.
http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb
Please note: These links were valid when this page was posted. However the Web is very volatile, and TKI has no control over outside websites. Please let us know if you find anything inappropriate, if you find a broken link, or if you have an update for a link by emailing links@tki.org.nz. Te Kete Ipurangi recommends that teachers view all websites we link to before using them with students.
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