Today, the Herald on Sunday reported:
Teen superstar Lorde will urge people to vote in this year's general election — even though she's not old enough to have her say.
The Electoral Commission is hoping the 17-year-old Royals singer will convert more than 100,000 youth voters.
She tweeted excitedly about her involvement but was not giving much away.
"I went and spoke to youth enrolment about why young votes are important a few weeks ago, should be out soon," she posted.
If there's a better argument than Lorde for lowering the voting eligibility age I'd like to see it?
Not only is this young lady imminently successful in her chosen profession, she's obviously switched on and knows that youth participation in politics matters. Without youth participation we simply won't be able to change New Zealand for the better, it's as simple as that.
Unfortunately there's been a very unproductive argument from the establishment as to why things shouldn't change. Basically they believe that young people don't really know what's going on and therefore shouldn't have a choice about who represents them.
Of course this is the same old ageist argument that ensures our government is made up of a particular age group that promotes policy which only benefits their demographic.
Lorde is perhaps the best argument as to why the current system should change and be more inclusive of young people's ideas and beliefs. In fact I cannot think of a better person to be a role model to encourage youth to get out and vote. Therefore Lorde wins this weeks Hero award...well done.
