Thomas Brocherie. Photo: Supplied / Lola Fisher
Correction: This story has been updated to clarify that NZ First youth MPs have not signed the open letter, as RNZ was initially told.
A majority of this year's youth MPs have, once again, signed an open letter calling for the voting age to be lowered to 16.
Youth Parliament, held every three years, is taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday. It was originally established in 1994 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of lowering the voting age to 18.
The Make It 16 campaign was founded during Youth Parliament in 2019, making this the third consecutive Youth Parliament where young people have called for the government to lower the voting age even further.
Sixty-three youth MPs, from every political party represented in Parliament except New Zealand First, signed this year's open letter, extending the legacy of their predecessors.
"Our diversity of thought proves that there can be cross-partisan support for this policy," the open letter read.
This year's Youth Parliament was also the first since the government's withdrawal of the Electoral (Lowering Voting Age for Local Elections and Polls) Legislation Bill, drafted after the Supreme Court declared the voting age of 18 inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act in 2022.
Last year, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown said he wrote to the chairperson of the Justice Committee informing him the government did not intend to support the bill through further Parliamentary stages, and requested that the committee end consideration of it.
Make It 16 co-director and youth MP for the Green Party's Lan Pham, Thomas Brocherie, said it was "deeply ironic" that many of them will not be able to vote in this year's local election "despite being invited to stand up for our communities on a national stage".
"Fundamentally, 16- and 17-year-olds will deal with issues that politicians deliberate on more than any other generation, and we don't get our voices heard at the highest level with our right to vote, and I think this is the greatest shame of modern democracy.
"This open letter shows that young people are capable, that we have nothing more to prove, that we can vote and that we will vote."
Parliament. Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson
Youth MP for the National Party's Hamish Campbell, Sam Allan, said it was a "strange dynamic" to go into Youth Parliament after the withdrawal of the bill.
"We're about to spend three days with politicians saying how important they find youth voice, and how amazing it is to have young people's perspectives, but they never put their money where their mouth is."
Lincoln Jones. Photo: Supplied / Lola Fisher
Youth MP for the Labour Party's Willie Jackson, Lincoln Jones, said lowering the voting age was about "fairness, inclusion and strengthening our democracy".
"Young people are already engaged, informed, and taking action on the biggest issues facing Aotearoa - from climate change to education, to mental health, to cost of living. We contribute to society, we pay taxes, and we speak out, but yet we're excluded from the most fundamental democratic right, which is voting.
"The open letter, signed by a majority of youth MPs, over 60 youth MPs from across the political spectrum, across Aotearoa, sends a really clear message to Parliament: we're ready... the legal case has been won, we won at the Supreme Court, the support is growing, and the momentum is real. I guess the only thing missing now is the political will.
"We're not asking for special treatment, we're not asking for anything like that, all we're asking is to be heard."
Youth Minister James Meager. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
However, Youth Minister James Meager told RNZ the government had made it clear it had no intention to change the voting age.
"It's great to see our youth MPs engaged in the political process and developing their advocacy skills, that's what Youth Parliament is all about," he said.
"I'm looking forward to seeing the robust debates on issues like this over the coming days as Youth Parliament 2025 gets underway."
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