<[link removed]>Hi Friend,

Did you see the news over the weekend? The Hastings District Council has appointed school children onto its committees to sit alongside and vote with elected councillors!

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The Hastings Mayor used her casting vote to appoint members of the council's advisory "youth council" onto the council committees where most of the day-to-day council decisions are made.

I am emailing to ask for your support so we can urgently mount a campaign to force a U-turn. <[link removed]>

Unless we act now, this will spread to councils across the country and allow left wing councillors to appoint kids who we all know will vote to spend more and more on 'nice to haves'. 

Most would support young people taking an interest in politics, and maybe even sitting as observers on some council committees. But giving school children decision-making powers as full voting (and paid) members is a step too far. Even important decisions such as long term plans, rates, bylaws and zoning decisions are often delegated to council committees.

In appointing unelected teenagers to council committees, the Hastings Mayor has changed the voting balance around the council table. It will ensure she can drive through her big spending policy agenda.

This 'screwing the scrum' needs to be stopped. And if the Taxpayers' Union don't call it out, who will? <[link removed]>

At the very time we need local government leaders to grow up, they are literally appointing children 👶

Last year we successfully beat back an outrageous attempt by the Hipkins Government to give 16-year-olds the vote for local councils in the dying days of that Parliament.

Now, the Mayor of Hastings (using her casting vote!) has decided to do one better: just appoint school-aged kids to vote alongside councillors. 

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Friend, mark my words – if this is allowed to take hold in Hastings, kids on councils will soon spread across the country.

That's why we need to nip this in the bud RIGHT NOW. <[link removed]>

The Council didn't publicly consult on the proposal (according to one of the councillors we've spoken to, the Mayor gave her colleagues only two days' notice that the motion was to be tabled) and one of the councillors opposing was on leave and couldn't be there to vote!

There's also the precedent that, when exercising a casting vote, the Mayor should have deferred to the status quo – especially on matters that affect the voting make up of the Council.

We think there are numerous options for our lawyers to look at judicial review and for the High Court to overturn the decision.

<[link removed]>But none of that will be possible without your support. <[link removed]>

Unelected iwi reps, youth reps, what's next? 👀

If councils start having kids school-aged 'youth councillors' voting, the precedent is set for any number of other so-called 'representative groups' to also be elected appointed.

We only need to look at Maori wards, where self-interested politicians have tried to sneak them in without referenda and boost left-wing voting majorities.

Having kids voting at the Council table on things like bylaws, asset procurement, budgets and rates, is a recipe for even more to go wrong. And we all know young people (who haven't even paid rent yet – let alone seen a rates bill!) won't be voting against the 'nice to haves', will they?

Friend, based on the hundreds of emails I have received since this decision, local ratepayers don't support the Mayor's decision. I know that if we put together a quick response and high-impact campaign, we can force the Council to overturn this anti-democratic decision.

But to launch a campaign we are counting on your support. <[link removed]>

We can't book the adverts, or engage lawyers until we know we can pay for it. Please chip-in so we can put a stop to school kids holding the council purse strings before this spreads to other councils <[link removed]>

Underage, unelected school kids are inherently vulnerable to influence from the officials, Mayor, and Councillors. This is not how we improve the governance of our local town halls! 

Kids should not be literally paid to skip school to tell grown-up councillors (who have actually paid rent, and seen a rates bill) what they should buy for them to make their lives nicer.

We need to make this decision a national issue, expose the misuse of power, and ultimately protect democratic integrity, and if we can't force the Hastings Mayor to see sense, ensure the Government steps in.

>> Rush a secure donation << <[link removed]>





Thank you for your support.


Jordan Williams
Executive Director
New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union. 

Ps. The campaign team are contacting the newspapers and local billboard companies about last minute advertising for this weekend and early next week.  But we can’t book anything until we know what funds we have available. Please click here to make a secure donation. <[link removed]>

New Zealand Taxpayers' Union Inc. · 117 Lambton Quay, Level 4, Wellington 6011, New Zealand
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