Responding to Hastings District Council’s decision to give voting powers to unelected youth councillors, ACT Local Government spokesman Cameron Luxton says:

“The Council seems to have given up on the whole point of democracy, which is that the people who have the power to take our money in taxes or rates should be accountable to the rest of us.

“The phrase ‘unelected representative’ is an oxymoron. These youth councillors will not be accountable even to their peers. Some are as young as 15, meaning they do not pay rates or even rent, and won’t have financial skin in the game when voting on major Budget decisions.

“It’s hard to blame the kids for trying to increase their influence, but the seven councillors who supported this move ought face the judgment of voters next year – including the Mayor who used her casting vote to get this over the line and was apparently swayed by an AI-generated letter. That’s just embarrassing.”

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