Make yourself youthful
Martin Doyle
You know, this whole thing doesn’t surprise me at all.
Yeah, I’m talking about the low numbers of young people enrolled to vote in the General Election that waits for us, like a hospital pass, not too long after the end of the Rugby World Cup. I am not in any way linking these events, although one or two elements surrounding the oval ball can be brought into play to illustrate why the low enrolment is not a good sign for Wellington. In fact, the demographics of rugby players and young voters are almost identical. Both the players and the voters are, well, young, unmarried, and full of beans (and oats) and looking to their futures.
But just think of this for a moment: if one third of the All Blacks on the field suddenly said “Bugger it, I’m going home” and walked off, what effect would it have on the outcome? Well, unless there was something profoundly disabled about the other team, we’d just get savaged. And as exhaustion and injuries took their toll on the depleted team, we’d have no ‘new blood’ and no new ideas to bring on. If it became a habit, we’d end up as a pack of blind, deaf, toothless fatsos blundering round the field and tripping over our own colostomy bags. But the good news is, it doesn’t have to be that way.
The Electoral Commission says nearly a third of 18-to-24 year-olds in New Zealand are not even enrolled. As a Kiwi, this shocks me, but it doesn’t surprise me. At the deepest level, people don’t participate in things they can’t identify with. Why turn up to a party where you’re not welcome? Too many of our arrangements unfairly disadvantage the young. For example, why should young people be asked to take on huge student loan debts just to get an education? Why should young drivers be singled out and banned from drinking and driving when so-called adults are the greater offenders (and cause more deaths)?
You’d think that young people would use their potential electoral power to change the policies that affect them. The fact they are not even enrolling suggests they either see no hope in the parliamentary process, or worse still, no hope for themselves in New Zealand. And the solution to all of this doesn’t require money – what’s needed is a change of attitude by the System towards our unvoting young.
The other thing that is irritating is the lack of a Wellington examination of the enrolment stats. It’s nice to know the New Zealand figures, but in practical terms, we live in Wellington. We need to know how many Wellington young people are enrolled. And if they’re not enrolled, then Wellington City Council, as a vote of support for our own citizens (and our own future), ought to get involved.
Otherwise, [putting my mouth-guard back in] when the Wellington team bus turns up for the game, there’ll be no one on-board.
Yeah, I’m talking about the low numbers of young people enrolled to vote in the General Election that waits for us, like a hospital pass, not too long after the end of the Rugby World Cup. I am not in any way linking these events, although one or two elements surrounding the oval ball can be brought into play to illustrate why the low enrolment is not a good sign for Wellington. In fact, the demographics of rugby players and young voters are almost identical. Both the players and the voters are, well, young, unmarried, and full of beans (and oats) and looking to their futures.
But just think of this for a moment: if one third of the All Blacks on the field suddenly said “Bugger it, I’m going home” and walked off, what effect would it have on the outcome? Well, unless there was something profoundly disabled about the other team, we’d just get savaged. And as exhaustion and injuries took their toll on the depleted team, we’d have no ‘new blood’ and no new ideas to bring on. If it became a habit, we’d end up as a pack of blind, deaf, toothless fatsos blundering round the field and tripping over our own colostomy bags. But the good news is, it doesn’t have to be that way.
The Electoral Commission says nearly a third of 18-to-24 year-olds in New Zealand are not even enrolled. As a Kiwi, this shocks me, but it doesn’t surprise me. At the deepest level, people don’t participate in things they can’t identify with. Why turn up to a party where you’re not welcome? Too many of our arrangements unfairly disadvantage the young. For example, why should young people be asked to take on huge student loan debts just to get an education? Why should young drivers be singled out and banned from drinking and driving when so-called adults are the greater offenders (and cause more deaths)?
You’d think that young people would use their potential electoral power to change the policies that affect them. The fact they are not even enrolling suggests they either see no hope in the parliamentary process, or worse still, no hope for themselves in New Zealand. And the solution to all of this doesn’t require money – what’s needed is a change of attitude by the System towards our unvoting young.
The other thing that is irritating is the lack of a Wellington examination of the enrolment stats. It’s nice to know the New Zealand figures, but in practical terms, we live in Wellington. We need to know how many Wellington young people are enrolled. And if they’re not enrolled, then Wellington City Council, as a vote of support for our own citizens (and our own future), ought to get involved.
Otherwise, [putting my mouth-guard back in] when the Wellington team bus turns up for the game, there’ll be no one on-board.
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