Green Party targets South Auckland youth as poll support climbs

The Greens say they are already winning over Labour voters in South Auckland as the party rides a jump to 14.8 per cent in the latest RNZ-Reid Research poll.

The result puts the Greens at their strongest point this term, with Labour on 30.8 per cent and National on 25.9 per cent.

At a media stand up in South Auckland on Wednesday, PMN News asked Green co-leader Marama Davidson whether the party could persuade Labour supporters in Māngere, Ōtāhuhu and Manurewa to switch votes.

“Yeah, we already are,” she says.

Davidson says the Greens are competing with parties that have had support in some communities for generations.

But she says voters are increasingly looking to the Greens on issues including the cost of living, the environment and who holds political power.

Green co-leader Marama Davidson, with Christchurch East candidate Teresa Butler talking to the public in South Auckland. Photo PMN News/Candice Ama

“People are trusting the solutions that we are putting forward because it is addressing the important issues that people are worried about today.”

For Pacific voters, the cost of living remains a major election issue. The PMN-Horizon Pacific Issues Election Survey found 67 per cent of Pacific respondents ranked it as a top priority, ahead of health and housing.

The Greens are now putting much of their South Auckland effort into getting young people enrolled before the 25 October deadline.

Enrolment among 18 to 24-year-olds is below 50 per cent in Ōtāhuhu, Māngere and Manurewa, according to a recent study. Photo/RNZ/Anneke Smith

Enrolment among 18 to 24-year-olds is below 50 per cent in Ōtāhuhu, Māngere and Manurewa, according to a recent study.

Ōtāhuhu candidate Te Whatanui Skipwith says a five-week scholarship programme with local gym Oliver MMA South Auckland is bringing rangatahi and their families through the doors and helping get people enrolled.

Māngere candidate Michel Mulipola says the campaign is also taking to the trains, with candidates travelling from Karanga-a-Hape Station at about 3.30pm to talk to students heading home.

“We have a whole bunch of South Auckland rangatahi who may be voting for the first time, and we’re going around just talking to them and seeing if they’re enrolled, seeing if they’re engaged,” Mulipola says.

“A lot of the work we do is about meeting people where they are.”

That approach will reach a different crowd on Friday, when Mulipola holds a pro-wrestling enrolment drive at Māngere Arts Centre. People who enrol before the doors open get a free ticket.

Under the Green party’s transport policy, fares are free for under-25s, Community Services Card holders, Total Mobility Card holders, students and apprentices, and capped at $2 for everyone else. Photo/RNZ/Quin Tauetau

The campaign's focus on meeting rangatahi where they are comes as questions remain about how to get more young Pacific people engaged with the election.

Stacey Kokaua, a research fellow at the University of Otago, told PMN News youth voting efforts need to connect with young people's own interests.

“Any initiative that builds youth voting will come from youth and their specific interests,” she says.

That challenge is also reflected in the PMN-Horizon Pacific Issues Election Survey, which found 58 per cent of Pacific 18 to 24-year-olds were enrolled but only 33 per cent were certain to vote.

The Greens are also pushing their wealth tax as a key part of their campaign.

Listen to Marama Davidson's earlier interview on Pacific Mornings below.

The latest Ipsos Issues Monitor found 64 per cent of New Zealanders support a wealth tax, the highest level of support among the tax measures tested.

Davidson says the Green proposal would tax individual net wealth above $10 million, excluding the family home.

She says the party's wider tax package would give 96 per cent of people a tax cut, while its transport policy would make public transport free for under-25s, students, apprentices and some people receiving support.

Asked what is still to come before election day, Davidson says jobs and training will be a focus.

“The Greens are going to be able to show how we can invest in jobs, support students and apprentices better, so that they can study here and stay here,” she says. “We don’t need to lose them to Australia.”

The general election is on 7 November, with advance voting starting on 26 October.