Kia ora koutou,
As we head into the general election season, VUWSA would like to publicly state our approach to this election.
We are a non-partisan organisation, which is an organisation that will not officially affiliate with, promote nor endorse a party or candidates. We will not tell students who they should vote for; it is entirely up to them. Our interest is in encouraging students to engage in the upcoming election and vote.
At the same time, we are not a politically neutral or apolitical organisation that has no political attitudes or views. VUWSA is a representative and advocacy body for students. We hold free and fair elections to elect a VUWSA executive that campaigns on issues that students care about.
For example, we are currently campaigning on a Study Wage for All (also known as a universal student allowance, or universal education income), which has often been campaigned for by VUWSA, other student associations and NZUSA since the 1990s. We are also actively partaking in a Free Fares campaign for free public transport. These campaigns are not intended to run only during this general election but are long-term campaign efforts that predate and extend past 2023.
We understand there are natural tensions between being non-partisan and being a political organisation in a democratic society, particularly in an election year. A significant portion of our work is inherently political, and we cannot be indifferent to the needs of students as a student advocacy body.
We have the goal of encouraging students to vote for whomever they wish as well as a goal of wanting to achieve successful campaigns on student issues. To achieve the latter goal, we can work with political parties that also align with our campaign goals and in our view, can critically further the success of our campaigns. This is why we are involving the Green Party of Aotearoa in our Study Wage for All campaign, particularly on our Study Wage for All workshops.
However, this does not mean we officially endorse the Green Party as the party that students should vote for. The onus is on political parties to come to us with policies that benefit student welfare or align with our campaign goals, not on VUWSA to compromise its campaign goals to work with political parties. If other parties across the spectrum were to put forward a Study Wage for All or other policies that we are actively campaigning on, we would work with them to further our campaign as well. We urge other political parties to place a focus on student welfare and come to the table to work with us on future campaigns.
To further our other goal of students engaging in the general election and making informed decisions on voting, in Trimester Two we are hosting election debates and panels where we have invited political candidates across the spectrum to appear. This is another valuable way for parties or candidates to engage with VUWSA and students, as we understand that not all parties will share our campaign goals.
Ngā mihi nui,
VUWSA Team
