Can Auckland count on your vote? Why every vote counts

Can Auckland count on your vote? Why every vote counts

From 16 September 2022, it will be up to Auckland voters to choose who they want as their representatives to shape decisions for Tāmaki Makaurau for the next three years. Local elections are underway in all councils around the country, and candidates who are in the running for Auckland’s mayor, councillor and local board member positions have been announced. See full list of confirmed candidates here.

Last local elections, in 2019 only 35% of eligible Aucklanders voted, meaning 65% missed out on choosing the leaders who would represent them and their interests at the decision-making table. Now that candidates have put their names forward for election, this Auckland Conversations will bring together a panel of speakers to address why it’s important to vote and how voting can achieve great outcomes for Tāmaki Makaurau. Together we’ll highlight Auckland’s challenges and opportunities and explore how voting has an impact on our daily lives.

Auckland has faced some tough issues in the last three years which include the economy’s record inflation, the ever-increasing effects of climate change and the health and wellbeing of our community. This election is your opportunity to say who should take on these challenges and lead our region through the next chapter.

Back in June 2022, we heard from a panel of inspirational leaders who discussed the importance of diversity in decision-making and what leadership means. In this upcoming Auckland Conversations our panel, led by MC Matty McLean, will discuss why voting is important because we need everyone to support the best people for the job.

Thursday 22 September 2022
5:30pm to 7:00pm (Doors open from 5pm for networking)
Venue: Waitākere Room 1, Aotea Centre, City Centre

Register now. 

Have a question for our panellists? Join at slido.com #elections

 

Arriving by bike? Roll right up to the gate for free VIP parking.

Enjoy free secure bike parking, so that you can enjoy the event worry-free.
Thank you for easing congestion, reducing emissions and freeing up space in our city!

Check out Bike Auckland for more information. 

Erin Temu

Senior Advisor Community Engagement, Electoral Commission

Erin Temu, Senior Advisor Community Engagement at the Electoral Commission and Community Leader within the Auckland Region, has been a key part of the organisation’s Enrolment and Community Engagement team for the past six years. Erin leads the engagement workstreams to reach our Māori, Pasifika, Youth & Education, and Hard to reach communities, to ensure that these key groups have increased opportunity to engage in the democratic process and have their say. Erin is passionate about working alongside communities to achieve success, and building truly reciprocal relationships with communities and stakeholders.

Julie Watson

Programme Manager for Silver Rainbow and Rainbow Tick; member of the Rainbow Advisory Panel at Auckland Council

After a teaching career, Julie worked for two decades at the Human Rights Commission.  Currently she is a programme manager for Silver Rainbow and Rainbow Tick and is on the Rainbow Panel for Auckland  Council.

Latayvia Tualasea Tautai

Project manager, YWCA

Latayvia Tualasea Tautai is a second generation Auckland born Samoan and proudly the product of her grandparents' migrant dream, the sacrifices of her village and their collective prayers. Her family hails from the villages Levi Saleimoa, Solosolo and Amaile Aleipata. Currently working as a Project manager at the YWCA.  She is focussed on the empowerment of young people with an intersectional feminist lens. She currently sits on the board of trustees for Women's Health Action. Latayvia received a New Zealand youth award for leadership for her service to wahine in prison. She has gone from being raised by a resilient single mother on the benefit, moving over fourteen times including a women's refuge, to speaking on breakfast news about the ethnic and gender pay gaps as part of the ‘Mind the gap’ campaign. Latayvia is passionate about making more space for young Pasifika to be part of decision making in meaningful and authentic ways.

Teuila Fuatai

Journalist

Teuila Fuatai grew up in Tāmaki Makaurau. This election, she will be voting as part of the Maungakiekie-Tāmaki ward. She is a writer at the online Sunday magazine e-tangata, and is focused on Pacific issues and stories. She has a background in news and current affairs, with work on a range of platforms including Re:, the NZ Herald, Newsroom and the Spinoff.

Matty McLean

MC

Matty McLean has virtually grown up on our screens. Beginning as a baby-faced 20 year old, wearing an ill-fitting suit in an attempt to at least look like a grown up, he first appeared on TVNZ’s Breakfast show. It was there he quickly became a firm viewer favourite.

After convincing the bosses at TVNZ that he’d matured, he became a reporter for One News. His time at our national broadcaster has taken him from the Chatham Islands to Malaysia, and has seen him reporting on some of the biggest national stories of our generation.

Following a sting in London working at international organisation Al Jazeera, and probably consuming one too many pints, he returned home after TVNZ came calling, offering him the role of Breakfast weather presenter – bringing his TVNZ career full circle.

Matty lives in Auckland with his partner Ryan and their dog Otis. He’s a fiercely competitive indoor netball p-layer, is learning the ins and outs of DIY on his first home, a loyal Hufflepuff, and will never stop watching re-runs of Friends.

Matty is known for his relatability, his wit, and his charm. At least according to his mother.

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