Herald on Twyford’s Children Vote Proposal

The NZ Herald is scathing of Phil Twyford’s proposal to give children the vote through their parents:

The idea of giving children the right to vote – through their parents – is not new. Five or so years ago, a leftist British think-tank suggested it, along with lowering the voting age to 14. Now, the concept has popped up here in similar surroundings, through Labour MP Phil Twyford on his party’s Red Alert blog site. Not surprisingly, it has been roundly scorned.

I find it amusing that some MPs support a voting age of 14 but a drinking age of 20.

Worse still, it is obvious why the concept of a parent with eight children having nine votes has sprung from left-of-centre sources. Parties of that inclination tend to garner support from large families, if only because of the welfare packages. One person, nine votes would redraw the political landscape. Childless people would feel like second-class citizens. As proposals go, this is one of the more palpably absurd.

I mentioned in one of my blogs from DC that the aim of the “Takers” coalition was to get over 50% of voting NZers dependent on the state, so they would be incentivised to vote for parties promising to take more and more money from other people and give it to them. Twyford’s proposal, as the Herald concludes, is part of that aim.