Guest Blog: Labour Party MP – David Clark

CivX team member Briar Colville  caught up with David Clark, Labour Party MP for Dunedin North, to talk about civics education and youth engagement in politics. 

What is your opinion on civics education in New Zealand schools?

Personally, I believe civics education should be compulsory and well funded in schools. Students should leave secondary school with a practical understanding of how to vote and the value of their vote.

Civics education is valuable for three reasons: first, the content of the discussions is important; second, on a personal level, it is important to for youth to see just how accessible local politicians are to aid them in a variety of ways; and third, it just feels like the right thing to do.

Education is about teaching people to think for themselves by giving them the tools and information. Civics education leads to engaged citizens who own political outcomes and engage with these outcomes.

What do you think about the voting age being at 18 years old?

It is my personal view that the voting age should be lowered. People are often concerned that young persons are not informed and thus should not be voting, but if we are providing a good civics education in schools then this critique has no real basis. In fact I suspect that a secondary student who has undertaken a civics education course in school may be more informed than many of the voting adults as to how our system works.

Research shows that if people start voting at a young age, they are more likely to be a ‘voter’ throughout their life, while those who do not vote young largely do not vote as they get older.

Government policies and decisions are going to affect youth much longer than the older generation who dominate voting figures, so their opinions should count – and to some extent, should count for more.

Your electorate office is effectively right on the University of Otago campus. How do you share civics education?

Our office location was a deliberate move to be between the university campus and the Dunedin CBD. I actively try to visit both the University and Polytechnic campuses to talk with students, and write a regular feature in the University student magazine and on occasion participate on student radio. I also deliberately try to visit several schools, and residential colleges at the University to speak about civics education broadly and specific social issues.

It is 80% about turning up – whether in person or online. It is about being present and a part of the discussions, ideas and concerns of constituents.

How do you think we can improve youth participation?

Deliberate engagement is very important. In my experience, youth are keen to participate and engage if you ask them to. It is easy to blame youth for a lack of involvement, but I think as society has become more atomised people tend to turn to people who are like them. For politicians often this is not the student age group.

It is also important to be available.

The heartening thing for me is that in the last 5 years or so there has been a much more engaged group of youth coming through who are prepared to challenge the assumptions they have grown up with, and think of creative solutions and act upon them.