The Prime Minister has nixed plans to advance legislation aimed at bringing the voting age down to 16 for general elections, though the Government will push ahead with law changes to lower the age for local body elections.
It’s another casualty of the bonfire of the policies the Government announced on Monday afternoon.
Sophie Handford, one of the founders of School Strike 4 Climate and now a Kapiti District Councillor, has backed the Make It 16 campaign, telling O'Brien on Tuesday morning that she is concerned about this nixing decision.
"In terms of the wider shift and reprioritisation, I do have to say I feel like we're just kicking the can," Handford said.
"I think it would be a mistake to emerge from the cyclone and also the cost of living challenges, still clinging to the past and not using this opportunity while we have it to really take the bold and transformational action that our next generations will require."
When asked if this decision could put the Labour Party at risk of alienating young voters, Handford said that isn't necessarily the case.
"It's hard to tell," she said.
"I think what we do know is that potentially having more young people voting will provide a bigger mandate for us to go further and faster on making those bold moves for the sake of our people and our planet's future," she said.
"We have to keep that at the centre and invest in a better future... I know there'll be many people who feel like we need to make this change now so that we're not continuing to just pass the buck.
"Also ensuring that our democracy is fully functioning, in that it's fully accessible to everyone, is also a huge issue that if we again continue to let fester and not address, especially while we have this kind of golden opportunity - we've just got to do it.
"Why don't we just be bold and courageous in the face of what we know are some huge challenges?"
Listen to the full interview between Sophie Handford and Tova above.
You can also download the full interview on the Tova podcast, and listen on the go.
