District Health Boards need Real People with Real Experience
Nominations close on 20 August for October's District Health Board (DHB) elections, which will use the Single Transferable Voting (STV) for the first time. There is a call for the boards to include people with a wider variety of backgrounds and skills to ensure a greater community voice in DHB decision-making; in other words, the boards need real people with real experience so that boards truly reflect the communities they serve.
The introduction of STV, where voters rank their desired candidates in order of preference, gives voters more choice and power to determine the total make-up of the boards. Voters are not restricted to just voting for a few candidates. You can rank as many or as few candidates as you wish under STV.
In this year's DHB elections, for the first time, voters will have a say in the election of all seven elected board members using "at-large" structures. This is different to the 2001 elections, where voters could only vote for a limited number of candidates on a constituency or ward basis. Voters have greater choice and flexibility under at-large structures. Instead of being required to vote on the basis of geographic communities, voters can support candidates who are more likely to represent their particular concerns (be they based on gender, ethnicity, locality or any other factor).
Rural people who want to make a difference to the health of their community should act now. To ensure rural representation on your DHB, rural communities need to put forward strong candidates and support them.
For further information on standing as a candidate, call toll-free on 0508 9 10 2004, visit www.moh.govt.nz/dhbelections, or contact your DHB |
Contact for Enquiries
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526, Wellington
Tel: 0800 00 83 33
Fax: +64 4 894 0720
Contact this person
