A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
Opinion
Re: Keen to see youth councillor sit at the main table, Sept 17 story.
As a keen member of the Gisborne District Youth Council for the past three years, and the youngest local body election candidate for the City Ward at 18 years of age, I felt I must commenton the “reintroduced” Youth Council. I have closely followed the review of its terms of reference this year. Like I said at the recent Community Development meeting, frustrations often drive politicians — my frustrations partly led me to stand to represent the youth voice and be a future-focused face for Tairawhiti.
I appreciate councillor Foster and councillor Dowsing’s comments. In some sense the Youth Council has been a success because they have driven a young person to stand, but the council should be inspiring youth through leadership.
The Youth Council, after this review, should serve its full purpose and be a youth equivalent of council. It should be consulted on with the current hot topics, it should be mentored by councillors, and for sure should be at the council table regularly — if not councillors at its table as well.
I have read the draft terms of reference and feel confident that we can make it work better than before, however I do not agree with the current draft age limit of 13-18. The proper definition of youth is 12-24, which is a popular model for Youth Councils across New Zealand.
With my standing I hope to bridge the divide between older and young. If successful, there will be no choice but to take me seriously as I will have been voted in by the people — unlike the GDYC, which is selected by the council. I want to see our youth voice being heard.
