#makingmokoupunadecisions: The rangatahi voice
Huntly Community Expo
Democracy only works if everyone gets involved. Unfortunately, many young people, Maaori, Pasifika and other underserved communities are disengaged from democratic processes. Low voter turnout is a major concern especially for local government elections but also evident in the general elections.
Taurikura NZ has been involved in civics education for three years. We found that most people were unaware of the roles that councils played in their everyday lives. As one young participant, standing for district council, said “We’re not taught anything really about why we should vote, what we’re voting for . . .”.
Lack of awareness has meant a persistent lack of diversity in candidates for local government. Elected members, typically, continue to be white, male and beyond middle aged. They also tend to own property, be employers and, in rural districts, farmers. This narrow range of perspectives determines the priorities and makes the decisions which affect the lives and wellbeing of whole communities, as well as the futures of young people.
Representation: Having a voice and why it matters
Every three years we get opportunities to vote. The democratic dream is that our governance spaces authentically represent the diverse needs, visions, and priorities of all their communities. It is crucial that our democracy be 'representative' of all the people it claims to act for. This means we all need to engage, participate and vote.
While national elections attract more attention and resourcing, most decisions that affect our daily lives are made in local and regional councils. There are now more women and Māori in local government, but there are "still some glaring gaps" including young people.
Young people are passionate about complex issues like climate change, poverty, housing, and education. They are enthusiastically involved in leadership spaces within their own environments. They have great knowledge and skills but are reluctant to participate in spaces that seem irrelevant, unwelcoming and culturally indifferent.
When young people have enough information to make informed decisions and are connected to the issues, they commit to political engagement. For rangatahi Maaori, political campaigns that emphasise the cultural values and perspectives of Te Ao Maaori are clearly appealing. The results of this have been seen throughout the country with young Maaori leaders becoming Mayors and councillors as well as new parliamentarians. Galvanising and building on this engagement is our key task as a democratic society.
We need to support diverse candidates, including young people, to stand for election. This would offer real choice in representation and voting, and inevitably transform the culture of governance spaces.
Voter turnout declining
Voter turnout, especially in local government elections continues to decline. Young people vote the least of any age group in Aotearoa. A 74.2% turnout in the general elections for 18 to 24-year-olds, may be indicative of more appealing candidates, especially for the Green Party and Te Pāti Maaori. However, turnout remains highest for voters over 55 years.
For local elections, turnout is stubbornly low, and those who do vote are often doing so based on scant information and confusion about who and what they’re actually voting for. A case in point is the current Hamilton City Council byelection where only 22% of eligible voters voted. Despite major issues affecting young people nearly 700,000 people who were enrolled didn’t vote in the 2023 general election.
Non-voters are more likely to have low incomes, fewer assets and rent their homes which often means changing postal addresses. This makes it more difficult to contact people, especially young people who rarely use postal services anyway. In contrast, there is a clear relationship between home ownership and voter turnout in local elections, influenced by the visibility of groups like ‘ratepayers associations’, and the prominence of local businessmen and property owners standing for election.
Diversity leads to better outcomes
Diversity in local, as well as national, government matters. Everybody benefits. Diverse representation means a greater range of perspectives, values and priorities brought to the table. This leads to better, more informed decision-making and outcomes that reflect the needs, wants and desires of communities.
Unfortunately, it is very difficult to encourage and support people, especially Māori and young people, to vote when there’s ‘no one like me to vote for’. Equally, it is difficult to encourage young people, Maaori, Pasifika and other underserved communities to stand as candidates because “it can be really hard to see yourself in those positions". Yet, these communities need to be at the table, to frame issues and priorities, set agenda and bring a cultural lens into decision making. A lack of diversity in candidates perpetuates an unrepresentative democracy.
Engagement and participation in democracy: barriers and pathways
Councils are responsible for improving the social, economic, environmental, and cultural wellbeing of our communities However, many people don’t understand the roles council play, or that they have any ‘rights’ unless they are rate-paying homeowners. This is particularly concerning when so many young people are facing generations of vulnerable tenancy with home ownership out of reach. In fact, decisions made locally impact on generations to come in terms of housing, employment opportunities, public facilities, water supplies and the environment.
There are increasing calls[1] for investment in civics education to empower young people to participate. As one of our young participants stated, “We just cannot continue to just accept as the norm low voter turnout when all the decisions that local government makes directly affect us”. Practical changes to voting methods, such as mobile ballot boxes are one solution that should increase participation and voting rates amongst Māori and young people.
Conclusion
Taurikura’s vision for our Mana Tangata Mana Maangai civics education programme is “knowledgeable and engaged communities participating enthusiastically in democracy”. A collective effort is vital to increase democratic participation and representation of all communities in local government as well as our national political and electoral systems.
[1] See for example, Joni Tomsett, Make Civics Education a Core Subject in All New Zealand Secondary Schools, Dec 2023 on Action Station Community campaign platform. Also, the Independent Electoral Review (2023) and Future for Local Government Report (2023).
The socio-political landscape is getting younger and browner. The challenges our current and future generations face means #makingmokopunadecisions[2], at both local and national level, is ever more urgent.
[2] #makingmokpunadecisions is a term created by the Young Elected Members of Local Government NZ to explain the need for decision making that looks ahead 30years or more to fully consider the impacts for generations to come