‘The future scares me’: why unemployment has become biggest election issue for young New Zealand voters

As mainstream parties vie for votes with promises of jobs and economic growth, young people may take more convincing

Thirty minutes north of New Zealand’s capital, raucous laughter is tumbling out of a nondescript building in Naenae – an economically deprived suburb in Lower Hutt – into the car park of a tiny shopping strip.

Inside, 10 students aged between 15 and 24 are trying to better their chances of finding a job, with help from Youth Inspire, a not-for-profit that assists hundreds of young people each year into training, education or work.