Tipler says that a major turning point came during the cannabis referendum, which ultimately resulted in the proposed legislation being rejected by the public.
“I was following that quite closely and I did a lot of my own research and educated myself on that referendum,” Tipler says.
“A lot of my friends and the people in my community, who were 16 or 17, knew a lot about that [issue] and had a stake in that referendum. When I couldn’t vote, I became quite frustrated, especially when I realised that I might not be able to vote in the next general election. That motivated me to join the [Make it 16] campaign.” The cannabis issue is just one of many that will have a direct impact on the younger generation in the future. Everything from public transport to climate change decisions will ultimately have a far larger impact on the lives of younger people in the future.
Singh says that many of the major political talking points today are defined by “crisis and emergency and are acutely felt by people who are marginalised or underrepresented”.
“All these factors intensified during the period from 2020 to now, where we’ve seen some really large-scale system failures with stuff like mental health, climate change and education,” says Singh.
“Especially with those systems, the solutions to those involve how our future is going to look. It makes sense to have young people involved in that. And clearly the way we’re involving them now is not conducive to positive youth outcomes right now. And for a lot of young people, it’s not looking like it’s going to lead to positive outcomes in the future.”
Tipler and Singh aren’t the only young people in New Zealand fighting for change. Around the country, we’ve seen protests, campaigns and initiatives started by teenagers to challenge the status quo.
So what is it about Gen Z that makes this generation so willing to take a stand against the system?
“I think we’re sick of it,” says Singh.
“That’s the short answer, but the long answer is that we have a generation that’s much more engaged and much more informed. I think that all culminates in our ability to [say] that clearly there are some things that are not going right here.
“We see ourselves as wanting to create a pathway so people like us can come into these spaces and have a say. We see ourselves more as something born out of necessity than passion at times.”
The question now is how far our politicians are willing to go in giving voting representation to young people like Tipler and Singh.
Listen to the full episode of The Front Page to hear whether the pair have longer-term political aspirations.
