Waikato Youth MP Meghana Gaddam says the voter turnout rate among the youth is abysmal.
Her recent stint in Parliament, along with other youth representatives from across New Zealand, has shown her that young people are passionate in bringing about real change.
“I think we need more youth in that space for our voices to be heard and I would love to be a part of that, moving forward,” Meghana told the Indian Weekender.
One of two Telugu-origin Youth MPs, Meghana attended the Youth Parliament from July 18 to 20 and queried ministers during Question Hour. She also chaired a parliamentary select committee.
Meghana’s experience with the parliamentary process has strengthened her faith in democracy and the right to vote.
“I was astounded. Every single person who participated had been doing incredible things for their community. Add to that, their public speaking talent,” Meghana gushes.
“I heard so many issues from so many different places and communities that I never would have heard from otherwise.”
A first-year Auckland University student, working towards a commerce and property conjoint degree in Economics, Meghana has teamed up with Waikato MP Tim Van de Molen.
Her parliamentary outing has left her convinced about the importance of community engagement.
“I think the select committee process was especially cool to be a part of, because we heard submissions around housing affordability from the Disabled Persons’ Association and the Wellington Youth Council, as well as Maori and Pasifika communities. Normally, you would never get that first-hand experience of seeing their engagement in local politics,” Meghana explains.
When pressed on why the voter turnout among the youth was low, Meghana said:
“Youth think that their vote doesn’t matter. And they also think that they don’t know enough about politics.”
Meghana says “35-year-olds and 60-year-olds often only vote on one policy that matters to them. But youth are passionate about more than one policy.”
The Youth Parliament heard discussions around policy issues such as mental health, climate change, equity for indigenous peoples and much more.
“But if the youth feel that their vote doesn’t matter, then those are the issues that aren’t going to be acted on by the people in power today,” Meghana points out.
“So, it’s important to educate them [youth] that even if they are only voting on a single policy, any vote is better than no vote”.
One stand-out moment that Meghana remembers from Parliament was when she voted on the mock Minimum Wage Abolishment Bill.
“Someone called for an in-person vote, which meant you had to walk through the doors of either “Aye” or “Nay” in the general debate chamber.”
Meghana describes that moment as being “especially evocative because you are walking through the doors that thousands of MPs and ministers and prime ministers have walked through before you.”
How does Meghana rate the level of debate on the issues discussed at the Youth Parliament?
“On the Abolishment Bill, there were very persuasive arguments in favour of abolishment. However, on the negating side, there were some creative proposals to changes within the existing bill itself. I abstained, because I wanted to hear more about those creative amendments.”
However, the issue of housing affordability, about which she is passionate, raised a startling revelation.
“On housing affordability, it was noted that only one per cent of New Zealand’s entire housing supply meets universal design standards.
“This means accessibility [is denied] for disabled persons, even though 90 per cent of those modifications require zero to very little extra cost to implement, and that was shocking to learn about.”
But chairing the parliamentary select committee provided Meghana with a platform to express her views.
“So, chairing the committee meant that we presented our committee reports to the whole debating chamber, which means we got to present our findings and our opinions as well as our general consensus on the submissions we heard to the entire chamber.”
Meghana will be presenting those findings to the equivalent select committee in Parliament in a month’s time.
Meghana was the head girl of St. Peters High School, Cambridge, before being selected to join the Waikato MP’s team on the basis of her leadership and community engagement record.
Meghana’s parents, Ravi and Usha, who migrated to New Zealand 20 years ago, are rightly proud of their only child’s achievements. Ravi runs a granite manufacturing business and is also involved in affordable housing development.
Meghana says she owes her commitment to succeed to the work ethic instilled in her by her parents.
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