Did you vote? The Local Government elections came to a close last week and today, with hundreds of representatives accepting a higher civic responsibility and assuming a seat in one of the 12 Regional Councils, 16 City Councils, 21 District Health Boards and 57 District Councils across the country. To the successful, congratulations; and to the unsuccessful, please continue your involvement within our communities. Click here to view NZ Herald's 2007 election results.

So to start, the most high profile Maori campaigns were that of Willie Jackson (Manukau) and John Tamihere (Waitakere). Leading a campaign of high media attention and clear political intention, Tamihere was able to strongly contest Waitakere, losing by four thousand votes (12,000 to 16,000) to six term mayor Bob Harvey. Jackson (7,300 votes) ended his campaign in 4th position. I get the eerie feeling that no mayor in this country is Maori, but I do need to check that and hope you can help too whanau. We do know that Georgina Beyer was mayor of Carterton in 1998 and in Rotorua there have been three deputy mayors: Pakake Leonard, Sir Peter Tapsell and Trevor Maxwell but will need to check. We have heard that nearly 20 new mayors were elected (in Far North, Whangarei, North Shore, Auckland, Papakura, Manukau, Palmerston North, Kapiti, Taupo, Rodney, Selwyn, Nelson, Buller, Otautahi, Stratford, South Taranaki, Rangitikei, Tasman and Waimakariri).

In the Eastern Bay of Plenty Regional Council, where the only Maori representative seats in the entire country are contested, the seat of Kohi was won by Tipene Marr (1,400 votes), the seat of Mauao was retained uncontested by Raewyn Bennett and our brother, Hawea Vercoe, won the seat of Okurei resoundingly with 1,500 votes. Nau Mai. Karanga Mai e Nga Rangatira. Absolutely fantastic. The Eastern Bay of Plenty area hosts spectacular movement, growth and development and it will be interesting and exciting to see the direction of EBOP this term. And choice one Hawea – you da Man.

As for the Council level, it would be great if you could write and let us know if any Maori candidates were successful in winning a councillors seat. I know that in Rotorua, Trevor Maxwell (2,700) & Janet Wepa (2,200) return as West Ward Councillors and Maureen Waaka (2,100) remains the Councillor for East Ward. Ae, if you have any whanau who were successful on either the Council or the Health Board, please send us an email.

Now, much like the All Blacks painful loss to France, the post-mortem to these local government elections remains fixed on poor performance, as seen through record low turn-out. We're hearing figures like only 1 in 3 people returned their ballot paper (39% turnout in Auckland; 35% in North Shore and 34% in Hamilton). And that's why I started by asking, did you Vote? That's very poor by any standard.

There's a lot of talk of voter apathy, uninspired campaigning, a lack of exciting public debates on significant public issues, the continuation of a confusing electoral system (First Past the Post or Single Transferable Vote?) and greater youth disconnect but do any of these explain why voting has decreased year after year since 1991? Perhaps things are so good we trust whichever person puts their hand up – or maybe it's that we're not interested at all and we don't care much for local elections.

It then becomes understandable why some would suggest that we make voting compulsory, as happens in Australia. But surely that's not the answer – instead, how do we increase the rate of Maori participation (as well as Rangatahi Maori) as both candidates and as voters? Willie Jackson lamented that most of the people he represented– Maori, Pacific Island, Working Families – are too busy to consider who to vote for, so don't. So what do we need to do to bridge that divide and to stimulate greater involvement?

I believe the first step should be toward education and awareness using a flaxroots (or grassroots or even puha roots) approach, letting communities know what councils do and explaining the role of councils in the community. Then communication and feedback, this way the services utilised by the residents and ratepayers in an area can be developed and improved. And there is also a need for collaborative governance, so community groups, business leaders and political representatives are able to work together on projects in common. Bringing the best and brightest to discuss social issues can only be a good thing. But all this requires a person out and about, meeting as many people as possible and forming connections, someone who talks the talk AND walks the walk.

But it‘s our passive engagement and apparent lack of political participation that says we really need to think hard about the rights we have. If we're not going to use them, how much say are we able to have about council decisions? It might be a case of “No Vote, No Say” but I think the larger problem is that as the population gets younger, candidates and electoral committees will have a harder time connecting or forming any relationship with young voters, some candidates hiding behind a manicured photo and 5-line bio in the newspaper.

That's why we think eVoting (electronic voting) should be considered at the next election? Over 16 countries around the world have been using some form of eVoting since as early as 1991 and include Australia, Switzerland and France. In 2000, the European Commission launched the CyberVote Project with the aim of demonstrating "fully verifiable on-line elections guaranteeing absolute privacy of the votes and using fixed and mobile Internet terminals". Trials were performed in Sweden, France, and Germany. It was great to receive reminder to vote texts from Hawea Vercoe's campaign, impressive to see many campaign websites and forward looking to see Roddy Young's use of YouTube to highligh candidates during the South Waikato campaign but we know more can be and should be done.

We heard you could Drive-In and Drop-Off your vote in Hamilton (which had a 35.1% voter turnout), so why not be able to vote by letter, by txt or online? New Zealand Democracy is in a bit of a crisis due to low participation, so any innovative way should be discussed. Txt and online voting are real possibilities and may reverse the trend of low voter turnout. No doubt there are issues technological and security issues that need be be considered, but no system is perfect, as the debacle with the 2004 US Presidential elections confirmed (i.e. pregnant chads). Issues that surely must be considered if we are to have any impact on voter participation.

Again, congratulations to the all elected Mayors, Councillors and Board Members. Good luck in your endeavours and please don't forget where you came from.

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Comments from a Visitor - Recently we received the following email from a visitor to the TangataWhenua.com website:

"Hello, it was interesting to look at your site. Reasonably well constructed, although navigation is difficult. Collectively the editorial is, as I would have hoped was not the case, but none the less IS, a prime example of euphemistic racist slander. It would be nice to think that you, as a contributor, to the written word internationally, could get off your old grievance bike and be somewhat more aware of the real world that surrounds both you and I. When does the reporting of yet another meeting that is cloaked in aggreivance [sic], become newsworthy to your readers unless to arouse feited [sic] anger and the like? In short, get over it, get a life, your bitterness does no one any good."

TangataWhenua.com's response to this was as follows:

"Thanks for your comments and appreciate your interest. Navigation can be a little difficult as the load speed is slow (dense data) and much of the information rests in the e-newsletters. I have to say though that your comments are a bit off. Racist slander? Slanderous to whom and racist about what? What I write reflects the world of Maori, locally and internationally, connecting what is happening and sharing experiences. If you read the latest newsletter (Issue 14), you'll see we celebrate participation in the local government elections, the awarding of the Victoria cross and talk about my son feeding a horse. What you see as bitterness, we regard with fondness.

The stories we cover and report reflect the events and opinions of a diverse range of Maori communities - from those challenging Government policy to dance competitions; from education scholarships to a local sports festival. While we can go controversial on issues, I tend to be of the opinion that discussion reveals much and we use the internet to hear and read various opinions. Everyone is considered, much like I am considering your email.

Yes, for me personally there is grievance, but I choose not to air my personal issues in this forum, so no, I cannot accept your point that our website is cloaked in grievance and seeks to arouse anger. We seek to inform and connect and if people get angry from what we report, that is not our intention. If you are referring to the Foreshores & Seabed story we published in Issue 14, the debate rests with the Government, the Courts, the Public and Maori, who have all been talking past each other and need to find common ground. I agree, the issue is contentious and we may be seen to be biased toward Maori but the issue of social justice reverberates across all society - if politicians can strip land off one group, they can do it to all - so yes my friend, I will have to report it as such.

But to your entire angle, I appreciate your comments but I hope you appreciate that I do not agree. In the world where mainstream opinion marginalise minority voice (especially Maori voices), I am happy to provide a service which is positively Maori. So bei, my take on life is more sweet than sour and other people affirm my contribution, so chur for yours."

The viewer's response to this was:

"Firstly thanks for your well constructed reply. I will need to reflect on what you have written, however, my first thoughts are that what you have written doesn't ring true. The fact that you feel a grievance has prevailed, seems to intimate to me that your journalism may well be coloured by your perceived grievance That being said, I will review your pages, and hopefully achieve a balanced view."

TangataWhenua.com's final response was:

Again thank you for your message and again, I must urge you to read previous issues of Rangikainga (the e-newsletter).

Your intuitive style might capture the fact that each feature is written as a reflection of what is happening during that time and that I do not claim to be objective, more, I write very subjectively and personally, as do most journalists. It is very very difficult for any person to write without injecting a personal opinion or taking a subjective position. In every story, you can see the personality of the journalist and more often than not, judge that article according to your opinion of the writer. I am no different, although I suspect you want to see me as an aggrieved Maori minority, raging at the World and denouncing anything not fitting my paradigm.

I rarely denounce but do maintain the right to critically question and challenge, even myself. With a shortage of topical and relevant online Maori opinion, readers appreciate that we take the time and make the effort to draw the vast amount of activity in our communities together.

If you are looking for balance, weigh up the amount of positive Maori media coverage you find on mainstream tv, radio and over the internet over the next week and then get back to me. Is there any positive coverage or do you notice more negative news stories? Or worse, are Maori stories ignored all together? Again thanks and look forward to hearing form you soon."

... We haven't heard anything since.

What do you think whanau? Is our news service "cloaked in aggreivance [sic] " or do we honestly reflect what is happening throughout our communities? Please drop us an email and let us know your thoughts.

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Google Maori Update: Native Affairs has picked up on this project and included it a piece about Maori and Digital Innovations, you can check out the story by clicking here.

We have an upcoming article in Mana Magazine about this project (in the Xmas issue) so keep a look out! Whanau, we are still desperate for assistance with the translations and would appreciate any help you can give. If you can help, click here and email us, we can't do this without you.