A Wellington student studying politics says she’ll vote for Opportunity. Read about why in this instalment of Characters of the Campaign Trail, an election series delving into voters’ minds.

Name: Lauren Morley

Age: 21

Occupation: Political science student at Victoria University of Wellington.

Family/relationship: I’m flatting at the moment.

Electorate: Wellington Bays

Who will you vote for? Party vote Opportunity. I haven’t quite decided my electorate vote, but probably Opportunity.

What appeals about the party? In my lifetime, I’ve seen quite quickly an erosion of social cohesion. People don’t seem to want to listen to each other anymore, and I’m not a fan of the sort of short-sighted policy-making that feels like people are just making policy to get votes and not thinking longterm. I’ve got quite a lot of life left – hopefully – so I’d like to see some longterm thinking around things that will benefit me and my children in the future.

What are the three biggest issues for you this election? Cost of living; I really do like the idea of a citizen’s income. Housing, because I would love to be able to buy a house at some point in my life. And innovation; I love Opportunity’s way of incorporating environmental and energy policy with job creation.

Do you discuss politics with your family and friends? Oh yeah, all the time. I’m sure they’re very sick of it. With my friends, I really appreciate that they quite often like to hear what I think. I don’t have a lot of friends who are in the same study area as me, so I enjoy those conversations where they want to listen. My mum is pretty mellow with this kind of thing, but my dad loves a good debate. That can be fun, even if it’s over FaceTime at the moment. I converted them to Opportunity at the last election, and my dad is actually out today in Kaipara ki Mahurangi putting up hoardings for the deputy leader.

Describe New Zealand right now in three words: Lucky but ungrateful. We’re not behaving how we used to; I don’t think we’re portraying ourselves as the world sees us.

If you had to get the face of one politician (past or present) tattooed onto your body, who would it be? I am a very big Jacinda fan, so I’d probably say Jacinda.

Will you vote on Election Day or beforehand? Before.

What will you do on election night? I hope I’ll be at the Opportunity election party down here in Wellington.

– As told to Lyric Waiwiri-Smith