The media has a very important role in a democracy. It's up to journalists (as well as voters) to find out what different parties stand for and to inform citizens about their policies and all the big issues.

To be informed you will have to start following the news - that's one way you'll find out about political candidates and party policies.

Newspapers

Newspapers are a great way of finding out what's going on, because you can read them at any time of the day. They have a mix of news stories and opinion pieces. Every day, papers publish editorials, which say what the paper thinks about different issues. The letters to the editor will give you a good idea about what other citizens are worried about and editorial cartoons often give a quirky spin on politics.

The web has an enormous amount of information just waiting for you to find and download. You can figure out what's going on all around the world just by clicking a few buttons. These news sites will get you started:

www.bbcworld.com

www.cnn.com

www.tvnz.co.nz

www.scoop.co.nz

www.stuff.co.nz

Radio

As well as music, radio stations tell you what's going on in the world. Talkback radio gives you a chance to have your say about the big issues for you, and is another way of being an active citizen. If you're in Wellington, you can visit Parliament and see the MPs debating the big issues. But if you can't, you can listen to the debates on Radio New Zealand's AM Network.

Television

TV's a good way of keeping informed. There are news programmes every day and heaps of other current affairs and documentary programmes.

What are the big issues at the moment?

Follow all the big stories in daily newspapers over the next week or two. Break them down into categories e.g. local, national, overseas; health, education, employment, crime. Clip all the reports, which concern you. Keep them in a file or scrapbook. What different viewpoints are expressed in newspaper opinion columns, editorials and letters to the editor? Which views do you support? Where do you stand? Why?