Your Voice, Your Choice

The NZ Government, including opposition parties, are gravely concerned at the number of young people not exercising their right to vote in the general election, particularly young females. At their request you are to come up with a way to encourage 16-20 year olds to enrol, when eligible, and participate, once enrolled, in the 2014 election.

Establishing Our Data

You are to complete two of the following activities: 

1. Timeline

When did women in New Zealand gain the right to vote?

Do women in every country have the right to vote? If New Zealand women were the first in the world to gain the right to vote, when did women in other countries gain this right?

Read Factsheet A and the world suffrage timeline information on http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/politics/womens-suffrage/world-suffrage-timeline 

Using the information,  label a map of the world with dates to show when each country or region granted women the right to vote.

       The white camellia

The white camellia became the symbol of the New Zealand women’s suffrage movement. Read Factsheet D. Why do you think the camellia was chosen?

2.  How New Zealand democracy works

What do you know about how the New Zealand democratic system works?

Do you think the system was the same in the 1890s when New Zealand women gained the right to vote?

Read Factsheet B. How has the system has changed? Note the changes on a chart. You could use Timetoast to create a timeline to illustrate the development of New Zealand's democratic system.

Do you think the system was better then or now? Provide reasons for your opinions.

3. Women in Parliament

Women gained the right to vote in 1893 but were not eligible to stand for Parliament until 1919. Elizabeth McCombs, the first female Member of Parliament, was elected in 1933. The first Māori woman to win a seat in Parliament was Iriaka Rātana in 1949.

Study the graph of women in Parliament http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/graph/28634/women-in-parliament

Why do you think the number of women in Parliament remained low until the 1990s? Provide evidence to support your theory.

 4. Women in politics

Research and write a profile on one of these prominent women in the suffrage movement (such as Kate Sheppard, Helen Nicol, Amey Daldy, Ada Wells, Harriet Morison and Meri Te Tai Mangakahia) or one of these more recent high-profile women in New Zealand government (such as Dame Catherine Tizard, Dame Silvia Cartwright, Dame Sian Elias, Helen Clark, Dame Jenny Shipley and Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan).

 5. Maori women and the vote

In the nineteenth century, Māori women were involved in two suffrage movements: the right of women to vote, and the right of Māori women to vote and stand as members of the Te Kotahitanga (Māori Parliament). A leader in the successful fight for these rights was Meri Te Tai Mangakahia.

Research the political voice of Māori women. Explain how Māori are represented in the electoral system today.

6. Petitions

People can have more influence on what happens if they act together rather than alone, and groups are able to share opinions and solve problems.

Make a list of the types of activities people can do to have their voices heard.

What is a petition? How does it bring about change? What was the process in 1893? Investigate the suffrage petition of 1893 (see Factsheet A). Is this how we would gather signatures for a petition today?

Research how online/social media petitions work. Use Graphic Organiser C to make a comparison between the 1893 suffrage petition and modern-day online/social media petitions.

Note: To find out if your family was part of this historic event, you can search the petition online at http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/politics/womens-suffrage/petition

7.  Referenda

In democracy today, a petition is still the mechanism that voters can use to force an issue onto Parliament. This can result in a Citizens Initiated Referendum, where the voters can have their say on an issue that affects their community.

Investigate the referenda process and recent New Zealand Citizens Initiated Referenda and Government Initiated Referenda. You will find information at: http://www.elections.org.nz/voting-system/referenda

The Citizen Initiated Referenda Act 1993

What are the benefits/disadvantages of a referendum?

If the outcome of a referendum is not binding, have peoples’ voices been heard? Why/why not?

Should all referenda be binding? Give reasons for your opinion.

 8. How can you participate?

We live in a democracy in which everyone over the age of 18 can take part in the election process.

How do you know when you are eligible to vote? How do you enrol to vote? Visit 

Get Ready, Enrol and Vote  to read and consider the information.

What can you do if you are too young to vote? How can you participate?

The Christchurch earthquake has given Christchurch children the opportunity to be involved in decision making as they plan a new playground for the central city. Read the articles, watch the videos and see the outcome of the competition.

Articles on The Amazing Place competition

Competition Winners

Education Gazette Article

Why was it important for children to be involved in the design of the playground?

Find other examples around NZ of what children have done.

Suggest a project in our community that Kimihia students could be involved in.

You have thought about what you know. As questions arise add them to the What I Want To Know page.

 Identify one area into which you would like to delve a little deeper. You will need to establish a convincing reason that will persuade the younger generation that they should vote in the upcoming election. You are to provide background information with evidence to support your position.

Consider how you are going to get your message across. E.g. Television advertisement, poster, speech, dressing in character from times past...

Evaluation: Your work will be marked according to this rubric. Please make sure you have read the marking criteria before you start so that you are aware of what is expected.