Latest News
Youth say councils need to do more to reach young voters
Thirty-five percent of Porirua’s population is aged under 24 – making it the third youngest city in New Zealand after Hamilton and Dunedin.
RNZ asked some young people in the city if they knew who their mayoral or council candidates were, or if they were talking about the elections.
Ruby Sei, 24, said she only knew about the council, the elections and candidates due to her current job.
“Some of my friends, we were talking about it recently, they didn’t even know who the current mayor was.”
Andrew Mokalei-Leiataua, 17, agreed.
“It’s not like everyday you meet a young person like yourself and the first thing you bring up is ‘oh have you seen the election yet?’ – no one ever says that.”
Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Oriwia Kingi, 18, said she hears about the council through her family, but not through her peer group.
“It’s definitely talked about more with me and my older siblings, but when it comes to me and my friend groups, I don’t think we’ve ever talked about it to be honest.”
Voter turnout at local body elections hit a low of 41 percent in 2022, and no agency had the complete national data on what the youth turnout was.
Voting based off a billboard ‘not going to work’
Sei said information about candidates or council policies was not reaching the platforms where young people got their news, such as TikTok and Instagram.
“If you ask a young person who to vote for based off of seeing a billboard, it’s not going to work.
“Young people like to know people, they like to know who they are and what they stand for, and seeing a billboard is just a face – so there’s a lack of connection there I think.”
Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Sei said the council needed to focus on reaching young people, explaining what it did and who the local leaders were.
Kingi said she would support a Youth Council being set up in the city, to act as a bridge between the council and young people in the community.
A Youth Advisory Group was dissolved in the mid-2010s. Porirua City Council said recommendations for a Youth Council to be set up would be considered after the elections on 11 October.
“Then at least we have people that are there just to talk about our opinions as young people, ‘coz a lot of young people share the same opinions, especially with the way social media gets information out, and the way the young people feel about that information, and all of those things.
“I think it would be a big benefit for the young people to be heard for their voices to be heard on council.”
Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Paris Oliver, 23, said diversity was important in council politics.
“Youth is diverse … everyone has different levels of neurotypical, neurodiverse, or cultural, religion, because they all play a part in how we see the world.”
What do young people want to see from their council and local politicians?
RNZ asked young people want they wanted to their council to focus on. Answers ranged from addressing homelessness, fixing roads, cleaning up the streets, and setting up more places for young people to spend time.
Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Liana Hull said public transport needed to improve drastically.
The 19-year-old, who worked and studied part-time, said she catches two buses and a train to get to university each day but the journey was far from straightforward.
“Public transport it sucks, it really does suck. The delays, it’ll get cancelled last second, and bus drivers will drive past me all the time.”
She said the costs amounted to about $15 a day – with a tertiary concession.
“Buses and trains will just get cancelled, and they say it will arrive in half and hour, but if I have a test in the morning I’m screwed.”
Twenty-three-year-old Paris Oliver said she wanted to see parking costs decrease. “I would definitely say bring back the free parking.”
And 17-year-olds Andrew Mokalei-Leiataua and Ezekiel Fuimaono wanted to see rubbish and vandalism adressed.
“On my way here, I think before I crossed under the highway, there was a burnt out car just lying on the grass, it seemed like it had been there for a couple of days.”
rnz
The chief executive of the Parliamentary Service is confident there will be enough room to accommodate the increased number of MPs and their staff coming into Parliament.
On current numbers, up to 131 MPs could be sitting in the Chamber following the election, brought on by a record overhang result.
Clerk of the House of Representatives Dr David Wilson told the Spinoff that currently the debating chamber had enough chairs to seat 124 MPs – including the Speaker of the House – and work was being done to accommodate more by altering the seating arrangement.
In a statement, Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said planning for a larger Parliament had been going for “some time”.
“Now that the election results have confirmed an increase to the number of members we are looking at several options.
“We are confident we will be able to accommodate all members within the Chamber.”
VNP / Phil Smith
Gonzalez-Montero said office accommodation for members and their staff would be “stretched” for a short time, but the new Members’ Building was only a few months away from “practical completion”.
That building – located behind Parliament – was due to be ready to occupy in April next year and had capacity to accommodate around 30 backbench MPs.
“All members should be in fit-for-purpose accommodation from that point,” Gonzalez-Montero said.
Following the 2023 election, 123 MPs sat in the Chamber – a record number at the time. That decreased to 122 following the resignation of National MP Judith Collins.
Collins held the seat of Papakura and stepped down in May and Parliament voted against holding a by-election because it was too close to the election.
The election result also meant high-ranking National Party MPs like Chris Bishop, Paul Goldsmith, Nicola Willis and Gerry Brownlee – Speaker of the House and an MP for 30 years – would likely not make it back into Parliament.
Only resigning or retiring MPs were permitted to give a valedictory speech meaning none of them would get the chance to give a valedictory statement.
Asked if their would be special allowances for valedictories, Wilson said in a statement that normally only MPs were allowed to speak in the House but the House could suspend its own rules or temporarily alter them.
“It could do so to allow former members to address the House.”
Wilson said no such arrangements could be made until the next Parliament opened and members sworn in.
rnz
Police say person who fired gun at officers still at large
New Zealand sides named for RLWC finals
Parliamentary Service working on extra chairs and offices for increased number of MPs
-
Latest News2 months ago‘Chilling’: Business groups speak out against National’s supermarket break-up plan
-
NZ News2 months agoTom Phillips report: The missed opportunities to find the children
-
Politics2 months agoNational vows to try to split Pak’nSave and New World
-
Latest News2 months agoCars bearing Chinese police markings stir unease in Auckland
-
Fiji News2 months agoPlans to have new Constitution by Dec 24th 2026
-
NZ News2 months agoCop who stole $68,000 can now be named as champion Muay Thai fighter Haimona Tamati-Te Paki
-
Politics2 months agoMBIE confirms botched biometric projects costs blown out to $50.7 million
-
Latest News2 months agoFive Karangahape Road venues lose their liquor licences after police intervention