Teasing the chance to have a yarn with big ticket item Chris Hipkins, the Labour Party and Young Labour Party hosted an open to all, town-hall-esque kōrero at The Bog. “Ngā Reo Rangatahi, The Voice of the Young People” was organised on Wednesday 19th of March, shortly after The Bog’s big St Paddy’s blowout. The purpose of the event was to give youth in Dunedin the chance to raise concerns to Chippy and members of the Labour party, following their loss in the 2023 election.
Despite the reputation students have earned of political apathy, a punctual crowd of mainly students packed out the function room of The Bog – eager for an event of comic contrast to the St Paddy’s celebrations there earlier in the week. Club representation was strong, spanning all flavours of political portfolios: POLSA, Amnesty International, Thursdays in Black, Otago Campus Greens, OUSA Exec, Free Fares, Pride In Law Otago, the Local Electorate Committee, environmental groups, and more. Each group came with a list of questions, seeking to push their agenda into policy (points for guessing what Free Fares wanted to ask).
King of the Gingers and Leader of the Opposition Chris “Chippy” Hipkins made an entrance befitting any good opposition entering the boxing ring of politics: to Madonna’s ‘Material Girl’ (no, really). Cue clapping and camera flashes for the former Prime Minister. Chippy was led in by coach Jill Day, President of the New Zealand Labour Party and former deputy mayor of Wellington; and joined by rising star Ethan Reille, the Young Labour President standing as the youngest candidate in the 2023 General Election.
Chippy strode past the star-struck young politicians to wait in the wings while Southern Young Labour warmed up the crowd: the comedian to Chippy’s main act. The King appeared humbled, calm, sincere, and slightly tired as he took his place. He pulled off his red tie and popped his first button with one hand, Coke in the other (the drink). The jury’s out on whether this was a display of immense “chill” or rising heat from anticipation.
Jill Day was next to take on the crowd. She explained her role in facilitating the party’s campaign and building the manifesto. Looking at those gathered, she stated with sadness but also an air of hope that, “A huge number of people are disengaging from the political process, claiming democracy no longer is working for them. This is sadly disincentivising young people in particular to vote.” Her goal in this campaign is to increase engagement across the whole population. To maintain a thriving democracy, “we need all hands on the deck.” A bold thing to say in a Kiwi accent, but she executed it perfectly.
It was then Chippy’s time to shine – and the people were excited. He first addressed key issues facing the next generation: the unbuilt hospital gathering cobwebs under this coalition; the long-term fears of climate change for the world that students will inherit; and the Treaty Principles Bill which is an “attack on our national identity and constitution”.
Mr Chip then became nostalgic. He shared his “why” for entering politics in the first place: to make a difference and create an Aotearoa New Zealand which he and the people believed in. This narrative began at a young age, blossoming within his university career as the Victoria University Student President between 2000 and 2001. He spoke with passion about his “central focus” of the “unity of the people and having individual rights. We’re talking access to appropriate healthcare, healthy homes (maybe even owning one), and NZ-based jobs (no more jumping across the ditch).”
To segue from this speech, Chippy announced: “I want to hear from you, not monologue at you.” And into question time we went – an experience of student political engagement at its finest. The respectably prepared cohort of clubs were equipped with more questions than Critic Te Ārohi has the space to report on in detail (you had to be there). Two salient moments included Thursdays in Black’s question about the recent repeal of the Sexual Health Programmes within the school system (Chippy wasn’t in favour); and Amnesty Youth’s about the current government’s handling of youth crime (also not in favour).
Critic Te Ārohi used their chance in the bullpen to ask why students aren’t receiving the benefits of the coalition's 2.9 billion dollar tax cuts on landlords. Chippy asked the room, "Has anyone had their rent go down?” Crickets. Point made, he proceeded to critique the government’s decision to reinstate full interest deductions for residential property. National’s argument that tax breaks would decrease rent “does not hold up,” he argued. Without disclosing any future plans for tax policy, he suggests that “if we're going to have tax incentives for property, it should be for the people who are building more rather than the people who are buying existing houses.” All with the intent to set a more even playing field for first-home buyers.
Following question time, Critic Te Ārohi took the opportunity to approach Chippy as he was paying for his niece's bar tab. The most pressing question on our mind was why Hipkins thought he had the right to call himself the “King of the Gingers” on national television. To that, he proudly gloated that he was the “first ranga Prime Minister of New Zealand.” Between that and Residential Rep Callum telling Critic that his biggest takeaway from his own interaction was Hipkin’s weirdly “soft hands”, it was an evening of hard-hitting politics and pints.