Whanganui Youth MP Taiko Edwards-Haruru delivers mental health speech in Parliament
Whanganui's 2025 Youth MP Taiko Edwards-Haruru has had a busy few months, with his most recent achievement being attending Youth Parliament.
The Youth MP programme is a triennial event in which every MP selects someone aged 16 to 18, who gets the opportunity to connect with their MP, engage with
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Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Youth Parliament ‘once in a lifetime experience'
Waitaki Youth MP Enya O'Donnell speaks during Youth Parliament in the Beehive earlier this month. PHOTO: JOSEPH KELLY Youth Parliament was in session at the Beehive earlier this month. Waimate High School year 12 student Enya O'Donnell was the representative for Waitaki MP Miles Anderson. The 16-year-old said it was an amazing experience. "I told Miles last time I met him I wish they did it every year because I would definitely be going every year. "It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience and I'm really glad I had it and I learned quite a deal from it." The Youth MPs were given a tour of the Beehive and engaged in group work as well which was presented to the ministers. There was also a general debate where some Youth MPs gave speeches. While Enya did not give a speech, she was able to ask an oral question. She asked what the Ministry of Youth and Development was doing to reduce tall poppy syndrome among youth. "For me, tall poppy syndrome is a very huge and pressing culture in New Zealand and Australia that I often think is overlooked, especially in school communities. "We often see tall poppy syndrome within classmates, friends, family, people who are close to you. "So I thought I'd get it out there, get people thinking about it." The experience has made her rethink her plans for future study. Enya said when she first started choosing her NCEA subjects she was "quite science orientated" but now enjoyed the humanities side of things. "Doing the Youth Parliament has kind of made me realise that 'oh maybe I do just want to go down the road of doing stuff more with people'." There was a bit of controversy across the two days as some Youth MPs claimed they were censored and were told to change their speeches. Mr Anderson said that was not the case. "If you saw the debates, you could see that there had been certainly no censorship. "The minister has made a statement around that and a number of the students themselves have said themselves that yes they were given guidance but they were certainly told that there was no censorship." He said the guidance given was mainly around avoiding defamation. "Some of the protections that are available to parliamentarians weren't available to the student politicians." Youth Parliament gave the participants a close look at how government works, he said. "It's a really good way for the younger generation to get an understanding of how the parliament works because it's quite complex and it's not as most people think it is. "They think it's Donald Trump sitting at a desk signing executive orders and that's not how it works. "It's good to see all those that attended enjoyed the experience."
NZ Herald
3 days ago
- NZ Herald
Empowering youth voices is crucial for NZ's future
Some of the 143 youth who travelled to Wellington for Youth Parliament. One-hundred and forty-three youth travelled to Wellington for Youth Parliament from July 1-2. This included 123 Youth MPs and 20 Youth Press Gallery. The energy was electric! Chelsea Reti, born and raised in the Far North, mokopuna o Te Aho Matua, stood as my Youth MP. Reti, with our other tai tamariki (youth) of the North, came with their heritage, their culture and their communities, ready to participate and share their unique northern perspectives. In Youth Parliament our representatives participated in working groups akin to select committees, addressing issues such as gambling harm, sport and recreation, te reo Māori and other critical systems and issues facing Aotearoa. For Reti, it was retirement income. These are important issues in our communities today and will be in the future. As our youth shared many times in Youth Parliament, today's decisions will be inherited tomorrow. Our Youth MPs also had the opportunity to ask questions of ministers and make general debate speeches in the House. For Reti, it was a question to Minister Louise Upston on the issue of child poverty, asking what measures the Government is taking to reduce child poverty in our communities – something very relevant for the Far North and rural communities. There was a lot of coverage in the media of Youth Parliament, where our youth expressed concerns at the feelings of being censored in their general debate speeches. In liaison with officials and our youth, it was important to highlight the desire for our young people to express themselves authentically but also maintain safety, as matters such as privilege do not apply in Youth Parliament. The general debate speeches were fiery, passionate and on point, which brought local issues into national thinking.
Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Call for NZ rethink after UK lowers voting age to 16
Photo: RNZ The director of a campaign to lower New Zealand's voting age to 16 says the country is falling behind others in terms of democracy. The United Kingdom announced on Friday it will lower the voting age - joining countries like Germany, Austria, Argentina and Brazil. It comes after the majority of New Zealand's youth MPs recently signed an open letter calling for the voting age to be lowered to 16. 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. Following the British government's decision today, Make it 16 co-director Lincoln Jones renewed calls to lower New Zealand's voting age as is it had pride itself on being a world leader in democracy since becoming the first country to give women the right to vote. "The UK's decision is a turning point for young people's position in democracy. 1.5 million people have just been enfranchised, roughly the population of Auckland," he said. "Just like in the United Kingdom, young people in Aotearoa are already engaged and ready to participate in the systems that will shape their future." Jones said New Zealand had since fallen behind, and it was time to catch up. Concerned youths were taking up opportunities overseas instead, he said. "Young people are leaving this country en masse because they simply do not see a future here," he said. "It is paramount that when we are making decisions on our economy, environment, education and healthcare, young people are a central part of that conversation so that we have a place in Aotearoa as well. "The political landscape has dramatically changed since the voting age was first lowered from 20 to 18 in 1974 in Aotearoa. It is more important than ever that young people are empowered to make decisions about their future in an increasingly volatile world. "Lowering the voting age is the key to ensuring our democracy is fair and ready to face the future head on."
