Yesterday (Thursday 24 September), I had the privilege of hosting a debate between 5 of the Auckland Central political candidates for the 5 major parties; Candice Kinser: National, Naisi Chen: Labour, Chloe Swarbrick: Greens, Antonia Modkova: Act, and Johan Chang: Opportunity.

They came to discuss a wide range of issues, from cost of living to rent to personal issues on race. They shared their stories on how they got into politics and why it's important for young people, like the Year 11s, 12s and 13s in the room, to be involved and educated on the political climate of New Zealand. In the end, while there was no formal ‘winner’ of the debate, the boys gained valuable insight into the inner workings of politics and learned about the different values of the various parties in a deeply personal way.   

Matthew Blanch, Year 13