#yvote

Pick up a piece of rubbish and put it in the bin; push the boundaries of discussion; and have a cup of tea with someone you don’t know. These were some of the ways to effect change in society, through other methods than voting, put forward by our panelists at The Wireless’s Why Vote? event at Auckland’s Q Theatre last night.

“Think knitted sweaters, skinny jeans and smartphones. Student activists and Twitter’s aristocracy.” That’s how Radio New Zealand’s political reporter Craig McCulloch summed up the discussion on Morning Report this morning.

Much of the discussion was focussed on what makes a good citizen; paying taxes on time and voting every three years or being active in one’s community. 

RockEnrol’s Laura O’Connell Rapira spoke about her organisation being a foundation for a new youth movement – and a way to hold decision makers to account after the election. Non-voter Rich Bartlett of Loomio expressed genuine concern about the collapse of society, and said he thought there are better, more collaborative ways to make decisions. The Pantograph Punch’s Joe Nunweek was scathing about political youth wings and their ability to engage young people in politics. 

We’ll have all the audio and video of the discussion up on the site tomorrow.