Te Mana o Te Pōti

Kaitlyn Mclean (she/her) - Ngāti Uenukukōpako, Ngāti Whakaue, Tūhoe, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, Kāi Tahu

“We should vote because they expect you not to.”—Dr Ria Holmes

Unless you’re pushing 30 like Nanny Shay, this year might be your first or second chance to participate in a general election.

And if you’re sitting there thinking—“Why should I care?”—fair enough. Politics can feel like a bunch of people just arguing on reels about things that have nothing to do with you. Except, they do.

It’s not just about fixing potholes, higher taxes, and all that other shit that your parents might complain about around this time that matters (although potholes are definitely a major issue if you’re a Swift driver like me).

It’s your rent. Your student loan. Your course fees. The scholarships on offer. Whether you can afford to move out. Whether there’s a bus that actually gets you to class. How much that bus fare is subsidised. What happens to the whenua, the environment, and the resources our communities depend on. What support is available to your whānau.

You might not be interested in politics, but politics is interested in you. It expects you not to care, and it expects you not to vote. And that’s exactly why we should vote.

For tauira Māori, for rangatahi Māori, there’s another reason to care.

Our tīpuna fought for their voices to be heard in the Pākehā political system for generations, and ka whawhai tonu tātou. Māori were largely excluded from the first Pākehā elections held on Aotearoa’s whenua because the voting system was based around individual property ownership, despite Māori land being cared for collectively. Four Māori seats, which eventually evolved into the seven we see today, were established in 1867, finally giving Māori a guaranteed place in Parliament to advocate for our people.

But Māori political participation has never just been about having a seat in Parliament. Our tīpuna organised, petitioned, marched, formed political movements, and established institutions like Te Kōtahitanga because they knew that decisions made about Māori without Māori could have serious consequences for our whenua, whānau and rangatiratanga.

So when someone tells you your one vote won’t make a difference, remember that political power has never simply been handed to Māori. It has been fought for. Why would we willingly give it away?

Voting isn’t the only way we exercise mana or tino rangatiratanga. It isn’t even necessarily the most important way. But it is one of the tools available to us. And if our tīpuna fought to make sure Māori had a political voice, we can at least use the one we’ve got, while continuing to fight for more.

So enrol and find out who’s standing for your electorate. Have the tough kōrero with your mates and whānau. Ask questions. Take your friends and kaumātua to vote. And when the time comes, get your ass to the polling booth. 

They expect you not to. 

Vote anyway.