A Greens-Labour voter who worries about her student loan

This Ōtepoti Dunedin student says her biggest issue this election is the cost of living.

Name: Rachel Eckhold

Age: 20 

Occupation: Full-time student, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in physics. I’m hoping to finish this year. 

Living situation: I flat with five other girls. We’re in North East Valley, and our landlords actually take care of our house for us, so no property management or anything.

Electorate: I'm on the Māori roll, so I’ll be voting in Te Tai Tonga.

Who will you vote for in the election? I'm not entirely decided, but I think it’ll be party vote Green and candidate vote for Mananui Ramsden and Labour.

What appeals to you about those parties? The biggest issue for me is the cost of living, like everyone else. I enjoy what Labour and the Greens have to say about helping people get ahead. I think it takes a really long time to do big policies and change tax systems, but there’s also the smaller things like capping your petrol, capping public transport, trying to bring down grocery prices, which can be done as soon as you get into parliament. Having policies like that mean people can save a little bit of money in their pockets every week.

In particular, I really like the wealth tax from the Greens. I’m not sure if that's something that will actually make it into parliament this election cycle, but I like to think that if they have enough voters and enough seats in parliament, maybe there's some sort of negotiation that can be done at the table. Also, free healthcare, free dentistry. I have ADHD. I’m at the doctor a lot, I'm paying for new prescriptions every month. Having that be free would save a lot of money for me over the course of a year. 

How was your chat with Labour leader Chris Hipkins [during Friday’s walkabout at the University of Otago]? I’ve met quite a few politicians because I used to work in hospitality and they do the rounds, but I found him really personable. I was mostly talking about student loans and wondering about their pathway with that. It sounds like they have a solid plan to wipe 10% off student loans for people, and that’s their number one incentive to keep students in the country. Having 10% wiped off my student loans would absolutely make me think for a second before moving overseas.

Do you talk about politics with your friends? I do. I’m very politically minded. Some of my friends care less about politics than others, but I think whether you're involved in politics or not, politics are involved in your life. You know, grocery prices are political, petrol prices are political, your ability to be a student or a trainee or pursue a good income, all of that is political. 

Describe New Zealand at the moment: Divided, hopeful, possibly a bit angry. 

Which politician would you get tattooed on your body? Oh, that’s such a hard question. I'm not a big fan of faces, but why not get a little cute ode to Marama or Chlöe? Not their faces necessarily, but a little Easter egg towards them.

Will you vote early or on election day? I’ll be voting beforehand. 

How will you spend election night? I will be eagerly watching my TV screen. After that, who knows? I’ll probably go out with friends to have a couple of drinks – whether that’s in sorrow or happiness, I’m not sure.

As told to Tara Ward.