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NZ Election 2017 - Make Your Vote Count

Election Series 2017
Posted August 14, 2017

Elections are milestones in our nation’s history. As such, how we vote represents a part of our legacy that will resound into the future as our descendants look back to see the issues we cared about and what direction our nation took as a result.

As in Jesus’s story of the Good Samaritan (see Luke 10), in our journey through our life we are invited to consider the responses we make to the human need we encounter. By extension, we are also invited to consider the responses our nation should make, especially in relation to those left behind on the road. What can be done about such critical issues as child poverty, homelessness and rising prison incarceration rates in New Zealand?

To make the most of the democratic process we need to actively engage by looking at what policies political parties are promoting—asking questions, attending meetings, reading manifestoes, watching debates, etc.

We need to avoid voting:

  • for a leader’s personality separate to consider a broader range of key policies
  • uncritically for the political party we have always voted for, out of loyalty to ‘our team’
  • with only our own self-interest or that of just our demographic in mind.

Instead, we as Christians need to vote for the party and people whose policies best reflect the kind of values and aspirations we have for our country and the diverse people that call New Zealand home.

To help people in this process, The Salvation Army’s Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit has provided a set of four brochures, with each considering an issue our nation is wrestling with right now and that politicians are offering their solutions to: Housing, Criminal Justice, Children and Social Hazards.

Please use these resources to think through how you, as an eligible voter, might best contribute to influencing the direction our nation takes in the next stage of our journey as a people.

Election Series Resources

Election Series 2017 Make your vote count - Criminal Justice (PDF,1.05MB)

Election Series 2017 Make your vote count - Housing (PDF, 704KB)

Election Series 2017 Make your vote count - Our Children (PDF,1.15MB)

Election Series 2017 Make your vote count - Social Hazards (PDF,953KB)