Local body elections: I'm one of 'those' millennials - here's why we should vote

Sunday, 8 September 2019

People around the country will be voting in this year's local body elections.

OPINION: I have a confession. I'm one of 'those' millennials.

You know, the ones who are full of opinions, but who – according to baby boomers – don't have a right to complain about their lot in life because of their failure to exercise their democratic right.

At 26, this year's local election will be the third in which I've been eligible to vote, but the first time I've actually bothered to do so.

Despite the prevailing stereotype of people my age being selfish, my reluctance to cast my ballot hasn't been due to apathy.

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Instead, it's been more of a case of a lack of awareness.

Before I worked as a journalist I simply hadn't realised how much of an impact local government had on my life – and it just seemed boring, to be honest.

So, in a bid to inform myself – and hopefully other young people – I asked three experts why young people should vote in the local elections in October.

Karl Kane, senior lecturer at Massey University specialising in 21st Century citizenship

For Karl Kane, Brexit is an apt example of what can happen when young people abstain from voting.

'It's sad to think that those who voted 'leave' won't be around to see many of the consequences and young people who overwhelmingly voted 'remain' - they're going to have to deal with the consequences of an isolated Britain their whole lives,' he says.

'It's a bit like that in local body politics, the younger you are, you've got longer to deal with the consequences. Young people just have more skin in the game.'

Young people must vote in the October local elections because they're going to be alive the longest - and therefore will live with the consequences of local authorities' decisions the longest. (File photo)

Younger people are generally cash poorer than older people, so they're more likely to have to rely on infrastructure and services owned and controlled by local governments, such as public libraries, bus stops, skate parks and swimming pools.

'A lot of the big leaps we've made culturally in New Zealand have been council-led and only because the electorate has given them permission to do so', Kane says.

'From Diwali and Matariki, to bilingual signage and our more compact 'livable cities, councils have a huge impact on us all socially and culturally as well as the more 'functional stuff many of us tend to foreground.

'I guess if young people do want to advance to a more progressive society, a lot of that progress happens at a local level.'

Ruby Sands of Rock Enrol, a youth-led organisation focussed on encouraging young people to vote

The low voter turnout across all age groups at local elections could actually be an opportunity for young people, Ruby Sands says.

'In most places, engagement in local body elections is low, meaning people get elected largely on name recognition and there's often not a lot of competition.

'This year, there is a huge [number] of young people running for local body elections, meaning their potential to actually get elected is really high – but only if young people come out and vote for them.'

Whether you realise it or not, you're paying rates – and so, Sands says, you should have a say in how your money is spent.

'We often think of landlords as being the people who pay rates, but this is only true to an extent. In fact, everyone pays rates that are set by councils,' she says.

'For renters, the costs of rates are passed onto tenants through rent. If you live at home, your family pays them. If you own your own home you pay them directly.

'These fees are calculated and spent by council, so by voting in local government elections you are indirectly voting for how the rates you pay for (whether directly or indirectly) get spent.'

Lisa McLaren, national convenor of the Zero Carbon Act campaign, run by Generation Zero

Young people need to ensure they have a voice now if they want to have a voice after the election, Lisa McLaren says.

'We need leaders that will ask young people what a resilient and inclusive community looks like to them, and who are prepared to call out current decisions that are failing that vision.'

They also have an obligation to their peers, McLaren says.

'Many projects already being run by young people are crucial to community well-being. These projects are currently under-resourced and often go unacknowledged for their impact.

'Having representation in local government that prioritises youth voices will allow more of this work to be championed.'