Assignment 3: rdel910 (272662085)

Option A: Politics

K: NZ youths have a low voting turnout in national and local elections.

Q: Why do young New Zealanders have a relatively low voting turnout in national and local
elections?
B1: New Zealand lacks a civics course in high school education (Flood, 2017).
B2: Young New Zealanders lack the political knowledge to cast a vote (Stuff, 2019).
B3: Young New Zealanders are unaware of the different parties and what their policies are.

H1: New Zealand secondary schools lack a civics course in its curriculum
SP1: There is no dedicated course or topic on New Zealand politics, civics or assessable
content on policies and parties (Ministry of Education, 2019).
SP2: Social Science teachers are focused predominantly on rules and practises, history of
NZ’s Treaty of Waitangi, understanding social practises, cultural values and traditions and
the implications on society.
U1: Civics courses have been integrated into Social Science courses with a basic knowledge
(not in-depth) understanding of politics, the process of voting and local and national
election.

H2: Due to the lack of a dedicated Civics course in the NZ secondary school curriculum,
young New Zealand voters lack the political knowledge to cast a vote.
SP1: An article on “Stuff” suggests that due to the lack of political knowledge, NZ young
voters leave the decision to vote to their parents.
SP2: Lack of political science education means that students will choose to waive off voting.
Young voters assume that their vital role and votes is insignificant.
U2: Some NZ schools actively encourage voting and will even go as far as to help explain the
different parties and policies for young voters in order to help them make a decision.

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H3: Lack of knowledge to do with political parties and policies mean that young voters shy
away from voting (Rowe, 2019) .
SP1: A study conducted by the Australasian Marketing Journal (which looked at Young Adult
Voting across Australia and New Zealand) suggests that there is a lack of youth involvement
from the parties requiring votes. This lack of involvement stems from 1. A lack of knowledge
from educational institutes and 2. A lack of involvement from political parties to involve and
to educate young NZ voters (Winchester, Hall, & Binney, 2014, p. xx).
SP2: Part of the reason as to why there is a lack of knowledge surrounding political parties
and policies is because the legal age to vote begins at eighteen years old. There is also a
requirement that voters must register and enrol in order to cast votes. This could explain
the possibility that those aged below eighteen years old will show no sign of interest in
voting until they are legally able to (Immigration NZ, 2019)
U1: Not all young voters have this particular mind set. Some voters actively participate and
are knowledgeable about political science, social sciences, policy and political parties (Stuff
2019).

ER: There is a lack of knowledge and education when it comes to voting, who to vote for and
reason as to why voters should vote for a particular party and its policy.
A1: Integrate policy, political science and political party and policies into the NZ secondary
school curriculum.
SP1: Integrating these areas mean that more involvement from NZ youth is expected
because of a greater understanding and greater emphasis of importance.
SP2: Further integration of these areas at the early stages of high school (year 9-11) mean
that there is greater confidence in NZ youth to cast a vote on their chosen party
U1: Legal age to vote is still set at 18 years (Year 13 and University students)
A2: Hold workshops to facilitate knowledge on policy and political party.
SP1: Holding workshops increases awareness and knowledge.
SP2: Holding workshops will likely influence others to come attend which can have a flow on
effect on their attitude to cast a vote.
U1: There are funding costs when it comes to holding workshops to facilitate knowledge on
policy and political party

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A3: Increase awareness and importance of voting by letting NZ youth know that their vote
matters as this influences the advancement of NZ. They too have a role to play since NZ
youth will be future drivers and decision makers of NZ.
SP1: Encouraging youth to vote will mean they take responsibility for the future of NZ.
SP2: NZ youth are the future of NZ and therefore placing a certain level of awareness and
importance will give them a voice towards their future.
U1: Only applicable to those who have met the legal age to vote

HR1: The NZ local and national elections come every four years. Therefore, there is a need
for voters in order to advance the future of New Zealand.
HR2: A lack of voter turnout means that a policy and party could be elected that will may
not sit well with some individuals – this could cause a divide within NZ.
SR1: Decrease the voting age in order to target more NZ youth to enable them to vote
SR2: Use incentives to get NZ Youth to vote

Therefore, probably,

C: Decreasing the legal age to vote can increase the likelihood of turnout in votes.
Integrating Political Sciences which encompass the different NZ parties and their policies will
raise awareness and the importance of elections (local and national) and its importance
towards advancing the future of NZ. This will allow NZ youth to take responsibility for their
votes – a requirement in order to shape NZ.

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Bibliography:

Flood, B. (2017, August 31). Civic education 'silver bullet' in getting youth to vote.

Retrieved from https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/96138955/civic-education-

silver-bullet-in-getting-youth-to-vote?rm=a

Immigration NZ. (2019). Who can vote in New Zealand elections? Retrieved from

https://www.immigration.govt.nz/knowledgebase/kb-question/kb-question-5121

Ministry of Education. (2019). Achievement objectives / Social sciences / The New Zealand

Curriculum / Kia ora. Retrieved from http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/The-New-

Zealand-Curriculum/Social-sciences/Achievement-objectives#collapsible8

Rowe, D. (2019, August 9). Young voters in the south show lack of interest in local

government elections. Retrieved from https://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-

times/114576077/young-voters-in-the-south-show-lack-of-interest-in-local-

government-elections?rm=a

Stuff. (2019, September 21). 'Politics is everything': Two teenagers make the case for

lowering the voting age. Retrieved from

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/115985181/politics-is-everything-two-teenagers-

make-the-case-for-lowering-the-voting-age

Winchester, T. M., Hall, J., & Binney, W. (2014). Young adult voting decision-making:

Studying the effect of usage from a consumer behaviour perspective. Australasian

Marketing Journal (AMJ), 22(2), 144-154. doi:10.1016/j.ausmj.2014.01.001