Voting: it’s time to check, mates 

This week voting papers started arriving in the mail for the upcoming Local Body Elections. The work that council does often directly affects the work police do in the community and can have long reaching effects for all of us. Law and order among other things is becoming a nationwide issue and it does not sit solely with central government as local policy can give police tools as well.

I urge people to not be apathetic during local body elections. Don’t just tick a box for the sake of it, or not vote at all. Democracy will only survive for as long as we are willing to participate. This year there are a number of issues Waipa is facing, waste management, recycling, ram raids, cameras, Three Waters, third bridge for Cambridge to name a few. Within these issues it is highly likely you will be affected by the outcomes. I urge you to put some effort into researching the various candidates. Voting is a chess move for the world you want to live in.

Last Anzac day as we sang “God Save the Queen” I reflected that there wouldn’t be too many more times we would be singing that. Sadly I was  right. I would like to acknowledge the lifetime of service she performed including her service prior to becoming Queen Elizabeth II as an ambulance driver/mechanic during the war. Thanks for a lifetime of service Ma’am.

Now to get used to new terms such as His Majesty, and the fact that we have a King. We likely won’t see a Queen again in our lifetimes.

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