A Youth MP with a remarkable story of survival has revealed her hopes for the South Auckland community as she joined Youth Parliament this week.
The Electoral Commission places voters under 25 as one of the groups with one of the lowest turnouts with 70 per cent, compared to upwards of 80 per cent for all age brackets over 45.
The lower numbers could be driven by several reasons, including not knowing enough about how politics works and the media impacts on young people, but learning on the job may provide a way around the issue.
For two days this week, Youth Parliament will replace the Beehive’s familiar faces with 120 young people with fresh ideas about how to make our country better.
Youth MP for South Auckland Jennifer Thonrithi admitted she "doesn’t know much about politics and Parliament", adding that "in South Auckland, there's a very skewed kind of outlook on it".
"All I know about Parliament and politics is all that I've actually researched on my own and I've actually found information, etc, on my own, so there has been a huge lack of education around that," she told TVNZ1's Breakfast this morning.
Ms Thonrithi said she "absolutely" believes politics is disconnected from the South Auckland region and its communities.
"I think those who do know about it, they are actively trying their best to learn but South Auckland really is not educated in that kind of aspect and that needs to really change."
She said she wants to become a representative for her community in the future following the completion of this week's youth Parliament.
"South Auckland is an amazing community and we are overlooked so much, and I think the one thing that I want to really, really, really highlight is that no matter where you're from, who you are, you can do it and you have that ability to be someone.
"You know, you can make changes just by your voice and that is something I really want to highlight, too, for my peers in South Auckland."
Ms Thonrithi revealed that she has been in foster care for "quite a long while" after being abandoned by her parents and family as a baby.
"I have no biological blood relatives in New Zealand, and I have never met one in my life and so, growing up … I was brought up by family friends, I believe, from the age of when I was abandoned by my parents until the age of 10.
"Growing up with them, it was a very abusive environment, so I would be physically abused, etc, and at the age of 10, I believe, I found an escape and I just ran.
"I ran away from them and doing so, I alerted the police and from then on, I came into Child, Youth and Family, now known as Oranga Tamariki, and I have been in foster care ever since."
Ms Thornrisi said she hopes to "be a voice" and to "represent voices" in the future.
"I want to pave the way for others to share their voices, but I want to do all of that and just be me. I want to do that by showing my story as I have now.
"I think, no matter what, I want to embrace my story. I grew up my whole life sort of shying away from it, wanting no one to know that I was brought up in foster care – just all the stuff that I just wanted to hide away, and I think that is the most backward thinking that I had as a child because this story, this past of mine, has made me who I am and I am so very proud of myself.
"I'm not going to stop anytime soon, so my goals, my dreams – I'm going to keep succeeding and I’m not going to do that just by myself.
"Every single door that I open, I hope to leave that open and grab the hands of anyone that I can and pull them through as well."
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