Opinion: In the latest in our State of the Nation series, a first-time voter shares his views and voting intentions.
What’s your occupation? I’m a student, but when I’m not a student, I’m a law clerk.
How many people live in your household? I’m living in university halls.
Do you have a student loan? I do, to cover tuition and living costs. I also got $15,000 in scholarship money. And when I’m working, I earn approximately $1000 a week.
Which ethnicity do you identify with? Well, I primarily consider myself New Zealand European, but I am partially Māori, and I consider myself an Australian too because my Dad is Australian and I spent a bit of time there growing up.
Have you decided who you’ll vote for in the November election? Yes, NZ First.
And what’s your thinking behind that? Well, my primary issue going into this election is probably immigration. That’s probably not what a lot of young people are thinking, going in. But having grown up in Auckland, I’ve seen this city change quite a bit over the past 18 years. I mean, I’m quite lucky, I’ve got a reasonably well-paying job, but a lot of my friends can’t find jobs, and I’m a bit concerned about that.
So you feel like immigration is affecting unemployment? Well, not just unemployment. I think society and things are changing in New Zealand because of it, and it’s causing a lot of tension, I think.
Apart from immigration, are there other NZ First policies that align with your values? Broadly, my values and NZ First values are quite similar. I don’t really disagree with a whole lot of their policy, like the supermarket [duopoly] break-up, that to me just seems like common sense. And on a personal level, I quite like Winston Peters – that plays into it.
Labour has said they won’t work with NZ First, so you’re essentially voting for another right wing coalition which would see Christopher Luxon as National prime minister again. Would you be happy with that? On a personal level, I don’t like the guy. I don’t think he’ll be in after the election; I think if they win, they’ll roll him shortly afterwards. But it’s the lesser of two evils kind of thing. I greatly distrust both of them [Luxon and Labour’s Chris Hipkins].
I really don’t like this idea that some CEO was just pre-appointed to come in as National leader and run the country like it’s a business because it’s not a business. I don’t like how he very clearly has economics above social issues. I don’t think he’s a great speaker, I don’t like him representing New Zealand. But like I said, he’s the lesser of the two evils.
I’m very much against the free trade deal with India. I’m really unhappy with Labour and National sort of subverting the normal processes to pass that between them, working together against the will of [National’s] coalition partners, and I think, against a considerable portion of the country, for some meagre economic benefit.
One of the things NZ First have implemented is the The Legislation (Definitions of a Woman and Man) Amendment Bill. What’s your view on that? I’m highly supportive of that. I’m quite a religious person – I’m a Roman Catholic, and that influences how I vote, my opinions, and I consider that Bill to broadly align with those beliefs.
NZ First also advocates that New Zealand should remove itself from the Paris Agreement. What do you think about that? That’s further down on my list of priorities. But yes, I would agree with that. I don’t really consider that an amazingly important thing. It’s more about national sovereignty and whether we’re beholden to international agreements.
Are environmental concerns very high on your list of priorities? Not really. I have a great appreciation for nature, but I wouldn’t say it’s top of my priority list this election.
You’re not concerned about climate change? I suppose you could say I am, but I don’t know. It all gets a bit overwhelming at times when everyone tries to make it seem like it’s the end of the world, and that annoys me a wee bit. I’m not a scientist, but I’ve come to be a bit distrusting of the people who are scientists, I suppose you could say of the media too. No offence. It’s all a bit of a mess.
NZ First MP and minister Shane Jones has become quite unpopular with some people over his enthusiasm for mining. How do you feel about mining? He wants to rip the gold out of central Otago doesn’t he? I mean, it’s more use to us, especially in these economic times, out of the ground than in the ground. I know that there’s a plan as part of that policy to give a certain amount of the profits from said mining operations back to those regions. So, you know, in my mind, that would serve to somewhat mitigate the environmental impact. I think it’s important that the country can afford environmental protections before we put them in place.
So you’re not so long out of school. What do you think of Nationals cellphone ban in schools? The high school I attended was decile 2, so I can say with confidence that the cell phone ban wasn’t necessarily as effective or adhered to in a school like as I’ve been told it was in schools like you know Auckland Grammar School or your private schools. So it wasn’t really effective for us. But I would support it if they could properly implement it.
Do you think that social media should be banned for under 16s? Yes. I think social media is quite a bad thing for young people. It’s really addictive. I can understand the ACT Party saying it should be up to the parents, but I think this goes beyond individual parenting, and it’s just such a such a harmful thing that I think the government just has to step in. Because otherwise you’ll get a generation of zombie-headed, zombie-eyed people who just can’t function without it.
Do you think the education system needed the big overhaul that Erica Stanford is currently giving it? I’m massively in support of that. I know implementation of the curriculum and how it’s taught will vary between schools, but that direction from above is really needed. The NCEA curriculum is shocking. Especially in history, you learn about the same three things: Hone Heke, Gallipoli, and the Treaty of Waitangi almost every year, and those are very important things that people should be learning about, but it’s very repetitive.
And I know the bigger schools can afford to put their students through [alternative exams such as] Cambridge but what about the rest of the students in the schools like mine? The low decile schools that don’t have that kind of money. They’re forced to teach this iffy curriculum and have silly open plan classrooms with 90 students running around in the same area.
Anything you’d like to add? I’ve got friends voting for ACT, National, Labour, the Greens and a couple of friends voting for Opportunity too. So I’d say my friends are pretty widespread but I think immigration is a bigger topic than people think it is, among young people.
As a social experiment, I bought an NZ First jacket, and I’ve been wearing it around campus, you should see how people react. I’ve had I had one girl refuse to get into the lift with me. It’s almost like I’m back to Covid, like I get my own social distancing circle. But I’ve been pleasantly surprised how a lot a lot of people who would appear to me to be Green voters, like people handing out flyers for Bird of the Year, have been willing to talk and engage with me about this kind of thing. Others will give me evil looks and form opinions based on what I’m wearing and my political affiliation. I think that’s representative of how polarised New Zealand’s getting. That’s part of why my main concern is immigration and wider social issues over economic ones. But there’s still people who aren’t going to try and crucify you for your political opinions, and that I was quite happy about. You know, the hope’s still there.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. The views expressed do not represent those of TVNZ.