‘Raised’ by Helen, now he can vote
Eighteen years after his first ‘‘political encounter’’, Max Long has voted in a New Zealand general election for the first time.
He was too young to remember when, in May 1999 as a 4-month-old baby, he was lifted up by then Labour Party leader Helen Clark. They met at the Plunket Society’s Banquet For Babies event being held at the Beehive in Wellington.
Fortunately, the moment was captured by a photographer, with the image being published in The Dominion newspaper. A few months later, Clark was elected prime minister.
After casting their advance election votes on Monday, Max’s dad, Jeremy Long, posted the news clipping on Twitter along with a photo of Max and the words ‘‘18 yrs later’’.
One of the first to respond online was Clark herself, simply stating ‘‘Love it!’’
Max said receiving her reply was ‘‘pretty cool’’.
‘‘I would have been about 6 or 7 when I came across the old newspaper clipping in a drawer at home,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s a cool photo, and funny because Helen Clark does appear to look a little horrified while holding me.’’
Since that time, Max has not been around any other politicians. ‘‘The closest was when John Key came to our school to talk at assembly, in 2015.’’
Nevertheless, the year 13 student at Ka¯ piti College, in Paraparaumu, does maintain an interest in politics and democracy. However, his peers don’t share the same civic engagement.
‘‘They seem to find it boring or difficult to understand, which it’s not really, once you start following it a bit,’’ he said.
‘‘I was keen to vote, too. Dad and I often talk about politics. I guess we’re alike in that and also both reasonably Left wing.’’
Max works as a waiter parttime at a Waikanae Beach cafe. Next year, he intends to work fulltime to save money, before going on to study business management at the University of Canterbury.