Young voter felt 'left out of the conversation' during debate

September 29, 2020

She says she's "bored of the politics that happens within politics" and wants to hear the truth from politicians.

One young voter says she felt "left out of the conversation" during TVNZ's Young Voters' Debate last night.

"Parties were going back and fourth with why their policies are better for me," Gia Hineaea, from grassroots organisation For the People, told TVNZ1's Breakfast this morning.

"I'm bored of the politics that happen within politics, you know, I just want to hear the truth from politicians."

Last night it was issues important to the nation's young people which were meant to be aired at TVNZ1's Young Voters debate, moderated by Jack Tame. Younger politicians from New Zealand's major parties battled it on issues related to rangitahi.

However, Hineaea didn't feel satisfied.

She told Breakfast's John Campbell there was no sense of truth from politicians.

"All of the parties tried to represent their own party in a way that was slandering the other ropu," she said.

"I'm so sick of it ... I didn't want to see that, I wanted to hear a good conversation about the future for Aotearoa New Zealand.

"As a rangatahi I felt left out of that conversation. There were policies that were being discussed by different parties that made me feel as though they're not even considering me."

However, Hineaea did praise one MP.

"I thought [Greens MP] Chlöe Swarbrick did such a great job. I love the fact that she spoke about Te Tiriti (Treaty of Waitangi) so fluently and how she linked it back to environmental sustainability."

Following the debate last night, Vote Compass results revealed the biggest issues for young New Zealanders aged 18-29 is the economy, the environment and Covid-19 management.

Rahman Bashir, also on Breakfast this morning, mirrored Hineaea's low feelings following the debate.

He said he felt less hopeful about the election and at at odds with the political system.

"In terms of our economic systems as well, it really frustrated me how people were thinking we're going to operate as a business as usual again, I mean, Covid is obviously an unprecedented scenario," he said.

"I think the ACT representative's comments about a 'fiscal child abuse' , things like that, it doesn't help anything to move forward and we need to recognise, again, that this is an unprecedented event."

Bashir also felt it was hard to judge how well Labour had done in Government based on one term.

Statistics show that only two thirds of 18 to 24-year-olds are on the roll to vote, compared to more than 90 per cent of over 40-year-olds and 97 per cent of New Zealanders in their 60s.

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