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In the lead up to the General Election, Critic sat down with three of the Young Nationals’ executive. President Sean Topham, Treasurer and Canterbury-Westland Chair Sam MacDonald, and Secretary Adam Roland were visiting to see the experience that is Castle Street on a Sunday morning.

Topham considers complacency the most dangerous attitude coming into the election, and with few days to go until the election, they are intent on making sure the Young Nats team is full of energy. MacDonald and Roland are also committed to the #3moreyears campaign and consider it invaluable to visit different areas of the country throughout the campaign.

“Young Nats are awesome; a great team. Great organisations are ultimately made up of great people … We’re going to work as hard as we can,” Topham notes. There is a tangible sense of confidence at being part of the incumbent party; upon reading Critic’s article on David Cunliffe, he commented, “Labour the strong lead? God I’ve heard it all.”

The Young Nationals play an important role within the larger party composition, and they actively lobby the internal party on issues the group deems important. Topham considers one of their greatest achievements this election campaign, to be their efforts in lobbying the government for greater youth mental health funding. Aware of the relationship between mental health services and teen suicide rates, in 2012 the Young Nats successfully pushed for a $62 million youth mental health package. The package had a notable focus on improving counselling services in schools.

Looking to the future, Topham wants to evolve the relationship students have with Studylink, an important aspect of the government’s role in aiding students with their education. “The Studylink experience is poor and outdated, and this needs to change,” he says. He also pledges to look into replacing the Nature’s Best hold music with something more upbeat, although Critic is sceptical of the potential outcome; Topham mentioned needing “more Dave Dobbyn.”

When asked about whom within the party they idolised the most, Topham explained it’s all about getting to know the MPs. He said he spent the most time with Nikki Kaye, but that the Prime Minister holds a special place in his heart. Roland landed on Simon O’Connor, and MacDonald chose Gerry Brownlee. All three found it difficult to say, as “the entire parliamentary team has been working hard.” “In the end,” mused Topham, the person they tend to idolise is “[the person] who you spend the most time with.”

All three executive members are critical of the Labour bus, noting that National “had [a bus] first … and it’s bigger.” When asked what plans they had for the bus after the election, Topham decided, in true Sean Topham style, he’s “going to hotbox it on the 21st.”