Kerre Woodham: This campaign has been a head-scratcher

This time next week we'll have voted. The preliminary results will be in, discussions will be underway to form a government. Thank heavens. Seems like a very long haul this particular election, but I have to remind myself that we are so very lucky to have the luxury of getting bored during an election campaign. Mexico, Colombia, the Philippines, Serbia, they're countries that would love the unimaginable luxury of peaceful campaign meetings and walkabouts in public and election days where you can just walk up, cast your vote, and come home to family members that might have voted differently from you, doesn't matter. 

Christopher Luxon was on with Mike this morning for a couple of hours – that concludes the Leaders Breakfasts. I have Chris Hipkins on tomorrow between 10 and 11, taking your questions and that will conclude the Leaders Hour for me, and then it's just a matter of counting down to Saturday. Some of you may have voted already. I do like to cast my vote on the day because I recognise what a privilege it is to vote and the actual casting of the vote feels really special. 

There's been some argy bargy about the timing of the election. With the election date being November 7th, that meant advance voting opened on Labour Day, a public holiday, and in a letter to the Prime Minister, the Chief Electoral Officer back in August of '25 warned that school and public holidays could see large numbers of voters away from home, potentially reducing voter turnout. "Our practice has been to advise on avoiding an election date during those times." But the actual election date isn't on a public holiday, it was just the advance voting opened on a public holiday. Surely people can sort it out. They can wait, they don't have to vote on the very first day. I think the Guy Fawkes night and fireworks and things like that was also a concern. 

But there's been a bit of snarkiness about having to register to vote early with extreme claims of voter suppression and locking young people out of the of the election, which to me is just absolute nonsense. The ability to rock up on the day has been removed and I actually think that's a good thing. Maybe it will make people take their vote more seriously, encourage people to think about the responsibilities around voting along with exercising their right to vote. I wasn't so very concerned about that. 

But where I do scratch my head when it comes to National and the coalition government is why you would introduce benefit changes involving young people with just six days to go before the final day to cast your vote. I very much doubt that 18 and 19 year olds on Jobseeker would be National voters or ACT voters or New Zealand First voters, but making it harder for them and their parents to get any kind of support at a time when youth unemployment is extremely high seems somewhat ill advised, if I can put it mildly. Why couldn't they have introduced benefit changes on April 1st, which is when most benefit changes take place and long after any kind of election? 

18 and 19 year olds now need to do a parental assistance test before they receive Jobseeker support. Payments will be blocked for young people whose parents earn more than $67,000. It seems somewhat punitive at a time of high youth unemployment, as I say. But yeah, it could make undecided voters look at that and think, well that's a bit mean, it's a bit unreasonable. $67,000 is not a lot of money in this day and age. It's very, very hard to find jobs at all, but especially for young people. 

This whole campaign seems to have been somewhat disorganized, honestly. I'll put up my hand for campaign manager of National and Labour next time, see who takes me, because they could have done a whole lot better. I'd love to get your thoughts on the actual campaigns that have been run by the parties and also on the 18 and 19 year olds being dependent on their parents if the parents earn more than $67,000. Sure, I was off and away at 18, I didn't need parental support from then on in, but they were vastly different times. I think it was even you, Producer Helen, you leeched off your gorgeous family for a bit longer, didn't you?  

But no, I was off and away and a lot of us were. Some people were even married. Well, you didn't really go to university, it was polytech, but nonetheless, a lot of kids need to stay at home in this day and age. It just it just seems unnecessarily punitive at this particular point in time and why you'd introduce the benefit change with six days to go before voting day seems insane. Anyway, love to hear your thoughts on this. Have you voted? Do you have a problem with having to enrol and register early to vote? Do you see it as denying people their right to vote if they can't rock up on the day? I just see it as taking it seriously basically. And why would you introduce the benefit changes with a week to go before voting? Nuts.