Green Party and musicians work together to get youth enrolled

The Green Party launched the ‘Hey Kiwi’ campaign today, designed to get young Kiwis and expats overseas to enrol in the up-coming general election.

The Green Party believe the ‘Hey Kiwi’ campaign is a great way to get young people active in politics and remind those Kiwis living overseas how important it is to engage with what is happening back home.

They invited Kiwi musicians to support the democratic process by gifting a few tracks of Kiwi music to encourage young New Zealanders to enrol to vote. Over a dozen Kiwi musicians and bands have each donated a track to the campaign that can be downloaded when people enrol, and when they invite their friends to enrol, through the website - www.heykiwi.org.nz

“Sadly, only one in four young people are enrolled to vote. They need to be enrolled to vote and once they are, the Electoral Commission can contact them every three years to engage them in the democratic process. We’re stoked that bands as diverse as The Phoenix Foundation and The Clean are supporting such a great initiative,” says Green Party Youth Affairs spokesperson Gareth Hughes.

Many young people feel their one vote doesn't make much difference, however the Green Party feel the Hey Kiwi Campaign and getting people to enrol will help them realise voting is an important part of the democratic process.

“We are extremely grateful to all the musicians’ who are supporting the Hey Kiwi campaign and realise it would have been impossible without their collaboration and partnership,” says Hey Kiwi Campaign Manager, Rawa Karetai.

The musicians’ include Phoenix Foundation, Minuit, The Clean, Jayson Norris, Anna Coddington, and Jess Chambers.

Auckland-based singer/songwriter Anna Coddington believes it's really important that more young people vote and that it’s especially significant now given the issues effecting young people.

“We are more than happy for our music to be used as the carrot to entice more young people to enrol. We hope the Hey Kiwi campaign gets young people interested in having a say in their future,” says Luke Buda of The Phoenix Foundation.

For more information visit www.heykiwi.org.nz