Migrant News Vol 15 No 3, 2022

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P a g e 0 2 w w w . m i g r a n t n e w s . n z I w w w . f a c e b o o k . c o m / w w w . m i g r a n t n e w s . n z I email: migrantnews@xtra.co.nz In a few months, New Zealanders will head back to the polls to vote. Every three years, on the second Saturday of October, New Zealand holds local elections. Kiwis get the chance to vote for many different things: City and district councils, mayors, community and licensing trusts. That is a lot of choices for a young person voting for the first time. These elections elect many different roles that help run our local communities. With such an important job, why did only 42.2 percent of eligible voters in the 2019 local election vote? When it comes to our general elections, New Zealanders are eager to vote. In the last general election in 2020, there was an 82.2 percent turnout of eligible voters - a 40 percent difference compared to the last local election! This lack of engagement is even more concerning when you look at the statistics of young people voting. According to a 2016 Local Government New Zealand report, young people aged 18-24 years old were only about half as likely to vote in a local election as MP for Tukituki, Anna Lorck pictured with her Youth MP Keelan Heesterman. Photo: Georgia May- Gilbertson. By Gryffin Powell * youthpressgallery @parliament.govt.nz LOCAL ELECTIONS 2022: somebody over 65 years of age. For many young New Zealanders, this upcoming local election will be the first time they can vote. With turnout low for the youngest eligible voters, there must be reasons why young people aren't voting. “Young people aren't aware of the many impacts Local Government has on their daily life,” said Youth MP for Mount Albert, William Bell-Purchas. “Information about Local Government is inaccessible to young people, and there is a lack of education on Local Government in schooling. As a result of this, many young people don't see the significance of their vote.” New reasons to care The issues in our communities have changed since the last local election. The Covid-19 pandemic had not started and inflation was not at the scale seen today. As well as this, the effects of climate change and the housing crisis have become more noticeable. Many councils are also facing a debate over intensifying their cities to allow denser housing to be built. Many youth are concerned with whether there will be enough housing for them to live in the future. Other groups have raised concerns about the potential demolition of heritage buildings, and increased noise and pollution due to denser housing. “Intensification will be a very important issue. As New Zealand cities grow, we have to ensure that the services councils provide are delivered equitably to all communities, are sustainable and designed with people in mind,” Bell- Purchas said. All these problems seem very overwhelming to many young people but in October, they have the chance to help select representatives to act on these local problems. Youth MP for Tukituki, Why youth should care Keelan Heesterman identified the most important issues in the upcoming local election. A sign points towards a polling place on Manners Street in central Wellington Photo: VNP / Daniela Maoate-Cox "Three Waters, despite being a central government reform, will affect the role of councils around New Zealand. Putting water infrastructure management on the table will create a big talking point. Other issues will be around housing, and what candidates’ views are on intensification and building up.” “For young people, I suspect many will be approaching these issues through a lens of how they’ll be affected, primarily in the long term," he added. The issues Aotearoa faces on both a national and local level have changed in the past few years. In October, when many youth can go to the polls for the first time, they have a chance to have a say in how their community runs. With low voter turnout, and a lack of information for youth about local elections, it remains essential to get rangatahi out to have their say. * Gryffin Powell is a member of the Youth Press Gallery which takes the role of independent media reporting on Youth MPs and Youth Parliament 2022. This story was originally published on RNZ and is republished with permission. “We need to make our votes count”. BY SUNIL KAUSHAL My wife Cherie and I have lived in Henderson Massey for 23 years, raising our four Kiwi-Indian kids. I am standing as an independent candidate for the Henderson- Massey Local Board. I migrated from India in 1995 and attended Faith Bible College. After completing my Diploma in Leadership, I was an Assistant Pastor at a local church in Auckland. During that time, I ran a Bible course for at risk youth, helping them to gain confidence in their God given abilities and talents. It is great to see many of them helping others after all these years. Later I joined ANZ Bank as the Head of India in their Migrant Banking and helped develop the Funds Transfer Scheme helping many migrants to provide Immigration NZ with proof of funds. Being a migrant, I know the struggles we all have to go through to restart our lives in this beautiful paradise. And I want to ensure that as a local board member I can provide a greater voice around the table for migrants. We contribute more than $60 billion to the NZ economy. Henderson-Massey has nearly 31% of our whole migrant population. We need to make our votes count. Talking to locals and business owners, I know that safety is a key concern. I will ensure that more funding is allocated to local safety initiatives. I am campaigning to protect our green spaces, including planting more trees, cleaning up shared spaces and stopping the sell-off of our parks. We urgently need to prepare for more people in our area, which means upgrading Waitakere Hospital and building new community facilities like a swimming pool complex in Massey. My career is in management and finance and my passion is serving the community. I have been involved with local organisations for many years, including Sport Waitakere, the Community Organisation Grants Scheme, the Waitakere Indian Association and as a Community Board Member. I want Henderson Massey to thrive. Vote Sunil Kaushal – vocal for local. Please visit my website https:// www.sunilkaushal.nz/ or follow me on Facebook - https://www. facebook.com /sunilkaushalnz and Instagram - https://www. instagram.com/ sunilkaushalnz/ - Supplied content
w w w . m i g r a n t n e w s . n z I w w w . f a c e b o o k . c o m / w w w . m i g r a n t n e w s . n z I email: migrantnews@xtra.co.nz P a g e 0 3 MIGRANT NON-VOTING COSTING THEM SEATS 0N COUNCILS LOCAL ELECTIONS 2022: AUCKLAND – You can tell that the elections for local government are just around the corner, because of the multitude of billboards lining the streets emblazoned with the close-up images of the candidates who are vying to become the next mayor, local councillor or local board member. And every three years during this election period, Auckland Council takes great pains to drum home this message to its citizens: ‘If you care about your city, then it’s important to vote and have your say on who will represent your community and shape decisions for Tamaki Makaurau.’ In the case of migrant voters, Auckland Council’s message may be falling on deaf ears, reveals Paul Young - a Howick ward councillor and the first and only Asian councillor in the super city’s governing body. Young is an independent candidate who is campaigning for re-election to the Howick ward as well as for a seat on the council. “I am standing on a ticket alongside Bo Burns and our campaign slogan is ‘Moving forwards, not backwards’.” Young migrated to this FLYING SOLO: Paul Young - a Howick ward councillor and the first and only Asian councillor in the super city’s governing body. Photos supplied. country from Taiwan in 1989 to study marketing in Auckland. “I used to run a photo studio and a marketing and events company in Auckland that brought world famous pianist Richard Clayderman to New Zealand and Australia, as well as many famous Asian pop stars.” Over the years, through his businesses and his work in the community, he has developed high visibility in the Howick area. Consequently, when he decided to get involved in local politics he was phenomenally successful. Young believes that non-voting amongst migrants is a perennial problem. This is borne out in a major study of the country’s electoral LIONS IN COUNCIL? Paul Young envisions a time, in the not too distant future, when migrant communities come together and become a representational force in New Zealand politics. laws back in 2015 which revealed that migrants and ethnic minorities are disproportionately represented in the growing number of New Zealanders who could vote, but who simply choose not to. ‘If new migrants continue not to vote, then this will have adverse impacts on social cohesion and New Zealand’s democratic legitimacy,’ the report states. ‘This is especially the case as superdiversity grows in New Zealand and, with it, linguistic diversity. 160 languages are now spoken in this country.’ Titled ‘Superdiversity, Democracy and Electoral Laws', the study was conducted by public law specialist and Chair of the Superdiversity Centre for Law, Policy and Business Mai Chen. ‘Over time, if new migrants continue not to vote, there is a risk that the existing underrepresentation of New Zealand’s superdiverse population in central and local government will increase, despite their numerical increase as a proportion of the population.’ Council statistics in 2018 revealed that Asian Aucklanders were the fastest growing ethnic group, comprising 28.2% of the super city’s population; by now it would be more than 30% percent. Based on these figures, Young reckons that there should be at least six or seven Asians representing their ethnic group on the 20-strong Auckland Council. “After all, we Asians have a better understanding of the concerns of our people and can be a strong voice for By MEL FERNANDEZ their interests on the council.” “As a migrant you need to vote,” exhorts Young. “Non-voters could play a pivotal role in the election if they were to use their votes,” he explains. There are roughly 260,000 Chinese residents and over 600,000 migrants in Auckland, which translates into a staggering number of potential votes in the elections. “For example, in the 2019 local election in Auckland, of the 1 million votes, more than 300,000 votes could have been Asian votes and they could have influenced the outcome of the election.” Young is quite upbeat about the participation of migrants in local politics and believes that it is only a matter of time before the tide turns. In the interim he says that he will, “continue to work with community leaders to motivate migrants to move forward in a positive way”. He envisions a time, in the not too distant future, when migrant communities come together and become a representational force in New Zealand politics. The council elections are being held on October 8. Voting will open on 16 September 2022 and close at midday on 8 October 2022. For more information or to enrol to vote go online to: www.voteauckland.co.nz SHOWTIME: Over the years, through his businesses (running a photo studio and a marketing and events company in Auckland that brought world famous artists to New Zealand and Australia, as well as many famous Asian pop stars) and his work in the community, he has developed high visibility in the Howick area. Keep up-to-the-minute with Migrant News now ! Link with us on our print, online and social media channels: www.migrantnews.nz You can read the print edition of Migrant News online (free of charge) and at the same time check out all the latest migrant news on our refreshed website: www.migrantnews.nz or ‘LIKE’ us on Facebook page www.facebook.com/www.migrantnews.nz.
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Migrant News Vol 15 No 3, 2022

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