UPDATED 22/9: My Voice Matters, Equality Network
As fans of Boots Theory will remember from the 2016 local body elections, I love me a good election scorecard, endorsement, voting guide, what have you. And a few have started to pop up as the last few weeks of the general election campaign run down – so here we go again.
If you see an endorsement which isn’t listed here drop a link in the comments or hit me up @bootstheory on Twitter.
This list is thoroughly inclusive and non-partisan, because even the opinions of hateful extremist non-charity asshats like Family First may be helpful to people tossing up where their party vote goes.
Non-endorsement stuff
It was remiss of me to post this without including two major sources of voting/policy advice which may also be useful to people.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaall the policies you could possibly want. Pick ones you like and they’ll tell you which parties you match with – at least in terms of what they say they’ll do.
I have a fair number of issues about this one: predominantly the odd binary choices it forces you to make on policies, despite ostensibly giving you a sliding scale, and the positioning of the vast majority of NZ political parties in the top lefthand corner of the compass. I do appreciate NZ politics is far more leftwing and (socially) liberal compared to e.g. Australia or the US, but I don’t know if it’s helpful to suggest all but two of our parties are pretty much the same.
HOWEVER someone less picky and politically jaded might find it interesting.
Endorsements
Equality Network: 2017 scorecard
Covering everything from health, housing, living wage, collective bargaining and public broadcasting.
My Voice Matters: rating the parties on disability policy (Facebook)
Changing Minds: Mental health policies (Facebook)
Mental health is a massive issue this election, and here’s a handy guide to where parties stand on youth mental health, suicide reduction, pay parity for mental health workers and other topics.
Also on Twitter.
Where the parties stand on “policies that will restore New Zealand’s inshore fisheries to abundant levels.”
Scorecard and full answers from each party (except TOP, who declined to respond) about addressing domestic and family violence.
Tick4Kids: Education, family violence, health, housing and income
Five scorecards on all the major issues.
Ora Taiao: A Vote for Climate is a Vote for Health
The NZ Climate and Health Council has scored and ranked parties on the policies around a just transition away from carbon, emission reduction, climate change adaptation and the impacts of climate on health.
The Forest & Bird Society has surveyed parties on issues like DOC funding, the Ruataniwha dam decision, endangered species and fisheries.
Animal welfare
Both Animal Agenda Aotearoa and SAFE have released scorecards covering animal welfare issues like rodeos, farrowing crates, colony cages and live animal exports.
Action Station: the People’s Agenda
Action Station polled their community about what NZ could look like in 2040, and asked the parties about a range of issues. including mental health, climate change and gender equality.
New Zealand’s largest trade union has asked all parties about a set of policies including equal pay, tax, housing and industrial relations.
Unions Wellington: election scorecard
Rating parties against three criteria: supporting the living wage, supporting industry pay agreements, and ensuring a change of government.
It’s Our Future: 10 bottom lines
They say:
These positions are designed to reflect New Zealanders’ concerns about the TPPA and to provide a standard against which future trade and investment agreements can be assessed.
We have asked the trade representatives from the National, Labour, New Zealand First, The Māori Party, The Opportunities Party, and the Greens where they stood on each of these demands so that concerned New Zealanders know who to vote for if they want a positive change in New Zealand’s future trade and investment policy.
Family First: “Value” your vote
A “popular” voting resource for “families”. I can use scarequotes too, Bob.
Check out which party leaders support RAMPANT POLYGAMY and TEACHING OUR KIDS REEFER MADNESS etc etc. For some reason “positive” answers (from Bob’s point of view) are yellow and “negative” answers are in black.
Stephanie Rodgers 