The most basic and cherished right in a free society is the right to vote. Wars have been fought over it, and people have given their lives and endured other indignities in defence of the right to cast a vote for whom they choose at election time. It is the great leveller – the one time when the say of the loftiest and the lowliest in society has the same value.

Therefore, revelations last week that nearly 800 New Zealanders living overseas have the lost their right to vote due to the closure of the borders because of Covid19 are extremely concerning. The situation arises because under current electoral law New Zealanders living overseas must return home at least once every three years to retain the right to vote here. When Covid 19 struck and the borders were closed it made it impossible for a number to fulfil that obligation, hence the cancellation of their right to vote.

Some may see this as an unintended consequence of the pandemic. More correctly, it is a direct result of government policy over control of the borders. The government was made aware in 2020 this problem was likely to occur but, to its eternal shame it chose to do nothing to protect New Zealanders caught out this way, either before the 2020 election or since. It could have easily passed emergency legislation back in 2020 to cover those likely to be affected but declined to do so.

Even now, when the borders are reopening, making it easier for New Zealanders to return home when they wish, and thus protect their eligibility, the Justice Minister remains non-committal about resolving the issue of the 800, saying only that he is prepared to “look at it”.

The vehicle for resolving this would be the normal legislation the year before an election to tidy up some of the administrative issues arising from the previous election. But even if this issue is addressed in this year’s legislation it seems unlikely to be in time to enable the affected 800 to vote in this year’s local body elections if they were of a mind to join the minority of other New Zealanders who do so.

Of more concern is the Minister’s lethargic approach to the matter. This involves the right of fellow New Zealanders to be able to cast a vote like the rest of us. It should not be a matter that the Minister needs to “look at” before deciding what to do. The issue is a no-brainer – the right to vote is absolute and it should not have been beyond the Minister’s wit to make a clear statement that the right to vote of those 800 New Zealanders will be immediately restored. This is one of those “no ifs, buts or maybes” issues that deserves a clear, unequivocal Ministerial response immediately. His inaction so far has been unconscionable.

Restoring their rights so they can vote in upcoming elections this year and next is straightforward. It should be treated separately from the wider issue of the so-called three-year rule itself. But it looks as though the Minister is keeping the rights of the 800 and the future of the three-year rule closely and incorrectly linked, which could well delay progress in resolving this electoral injustice.

The three-year rule has not been looked at for at least 30 years, so a review is probably timely in any case. It is presently one of the most restrictive voting rules in the world when it comes to citizens living overseas. Yet only Ireland has a greater diaspora than us amongst the OECD countries, with over 62,000 New Zealanders voting from overseas at the last election.

In the United States, France, South Africa and most recently Canada, there is no limit on the time a voter can live overseas and still vote in elections in their home country. In Britain, the right to vote is protected provided the person undertakes to return home within 15 years, and it is 6 years in Australia. Italians living in a country with no Italian Embassy where they can vote are reimbursed up to 75% of their travel costs to return home to vote.

Alongside these more generous provisions elsewhere our three-year restriction looks out of step and harsh. Other countries seem more intent on keeping their diaspora closely linked to the home country than we do, even though around 20% of our population now lives outside New Zealand.

Strangely, there seems little domestic political appetite for reviewing three-year rule, let alone extending the period to something more in line with other countries. Perversely, New Zealand political parties have become far more active in recent years in campaigning overseas for the votes of those expatriate New Zealanders still able to vote and can be expected to increase that role in the future. In its interim report on the 2020 election the Justice select committee did recommend considering allowing votes from overseas to be cast electronically, given the difficulties often experienced in getting voting papers to overseas in time, but this was separate from the three-year rule.

For those New Zealanders living overseas already aggrieved at being shut out of coming home for so long because what was the world’s most oppressive state-run isolation and quarantine system, and who have now lost their right to vote as well, the “team of five million” has become no more than a cruel and sick joke Indeed, it is a testament to their patriotism that they remain so determinedly New Zealanders, in the face of what is at best indifference and at worst callous disregard by the government for their circumstances.

The right to vote is absolute, not conditional – it needs to be restored immediately to those New Zealanders who have lost it because of government policy.

No ifs, no buts, no maybes.