David Farrar: Questions media didn’t ask

Radio NZ reports:

A new rangatahi-led campaign is calling on young people to help deliver the biggest youth-voter turnout in Aotearoa’s history.

‘Roll With Us’ has launched on Sunday as part of ‘On A Roll’, a kaupapa aimed at getting more young people enrolled and voting in this year’s general election.

Whenever I read about a new campaign, I get inquisitive. I check out their website. Who is involved. Who funds them etc.

They didn’t have a website a few days ago, but they do now. They say they are a collaboration between:

• Climate Club Aotearoa
• Social Change Collective
• Ngā Māhuri Tiaki | Forest & Bird Youth

Their aim is to increase youth turnout, but specifically:

To increase youth voter turnout by 15% across the motu, especially among rural, Māori, and Pasifika rangatahi.

No surprise who Maori and Pacifika youth tend to vote for.

And who are their key people. The co-convenor is Ethan Reille, who stood for Labour at the last election, and is an organiser for the PSA (which are running a Change the Government campaign)

Now I’m all for left wing lobby groups running get out the vote campaigns. But I bet you that a huge amount of taxpayer dollars has found their way to this group.

David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders