Local Voting system to change
🗳️ Whangarei District Council has decided to elect the Mayor and Councillors for the 2025 and 2028 local elections using a Single Transferable Vote system
How does STV work? 1️⃣2️⃣3️⃣
Instead of putting a tick beside the candidates you want to vote for, you rank them with numbers: '1' for first choice, '2' for second choice, '3' for third choice and so on. If a voter's first choice doesn't have enough support to get in, their vote transfers to their second choice. If their second choice doesn't have enough support to get in, their vote transfers to their next choice, and so on.
Voters can still choose just 1 candidate if they prefer, but those votes wouldn't transfer if the candidate is not elected. Under STV, voters can support as many or as few candidates as they like.
The change to use STV may be overturned if 5% of the District’s electors demand a poll by 11 December 2023 to countermand August’s decision. For more information, please click "Read More"
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Would you like a free copy of our February 2025 issue?
Kia ora neighbours. We give away free copies to readers whose recipes are used in our magazine. We're still on the hunt for tomato recipes, so send your family's favourite way to use up your homegrown harvest, to: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz. If we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of the mag