People without a vote
Hannah King
At the Youth Voters Forum held after the Child Poverty Forum in Wellington on 5 August, an interesting and compelling idea was put before us – that nothing will change in this country unless people cast their vote not for themselves but for those in need.
The child-poverty statistic will not be reduced unless those of us who live outside that statistic use our vote to support parties and policies that prioritise and advocate for these children and their families. It isn’t a question of our outrage over the situation in which a quarter of our children live – as surely we all see this as unacceptable.
It’s a question of the level of dedication we each have to making a difference.
If we want to see all Kiwi children fed, clothed and housed adequately, we must be willing to sacrifice our own self-serving agendas and use our voice and influence for the children in this country who have neither.
Hannah King is a Year 13 student at St Catherine’s College, Wellington.