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Chloe Swarbrick’s visit to Springs this week to meet with our Year 13 students has highlighted the valuable work we have been doing with the Electoral Commission NZ (Orange Guy) to get Year 13 students eligible to vote onto the electoral role. Many visitors to this year’s Careers/Options evening will have seen the Electoral Commission NZ stand at that event. In other visits to the school, they have worked with our 17-year-olds to register. When our 17-year-olds turn 18, they are then automatically registered on the Electoral Roll and are eligible to vote without having to do anything more – who knew? (Check out our other article in this newsletter related to this)
Springs has now returned to the Auckland Central electorate after recent boundary changes have transferred us out of the Mt Albert electorate. Chloe knew this – hence her request to visit the school as the sitting MP for our electorate. We arranged for our Year 13 students to meet with her in Te Rehu, the whare tapere in Waiōrea where she was greeted with loud applause and a cheer before speaking briefly and then moving into a Q&A session with our students, before heading off to an RNZ interview. She was farewelled with a stirring rendition of – Ko Wai Ake Mātou (our school waiata) from our Waiōrea ākonga.
Chloe clearly resonates with our young people, and I was able to share with our students that she entered parliament when she was just 23 years old – barely 5 years out of high school! I know many of our young people have the passion and smarts to emulate that – but would they want to given the way we treat our representatives these days? Let’s hope this experience will get the ‘youth quake’ activated to vote at least!
Candace Kinser, the National Party candidate for Auckland Central organised a breakfast meeting with principals in Auckland Central along with Education Minister Erica Stanford this week, but that was unfortunately cancelled. We have had no contact from others contesting the seat.
On the basis of the response Chloe received from our students, I reckon she’ll easily hold Auckland Central – remember you read it here first!
To students and staff – enjoy the term 3 break, a brief two weeks before the rubber really hits the road with last minute prep for the external exams, prize-givings and of course, the election.
Nga mihi,
Ivan Davis
Principal
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