Young politician aims to revive youth wing
In 2023, Ethan Reille was hoping to become New Zealand's youngest politician.
Almost two years later, he is still knee-deep in politics.
Mr Reille, 20, is the Young Labour president and is an adviser to Labour's finance spokeswoman Barbara Edmonds.
If that did not keep him busy enough, he is also chairman of a charitable trust, the Social Change Collective, that focuses on engaging young people on social or environmental issues, and is studying a bachelor of psychology.
He said his aim with Labour was "revitalising" the youth wing.
After the general election in 2023, Mr Reille felt the party's youth wing could be more active and mobilised, he said.
"In opposition, it's really given us an opportunity to rethink how we represent young people."
Despite a disappointing result at the last election, he is optimistic about the future of the party.
"When I joined at the age of 15, it was the only party that I truly felt listened to young people and represented the values that I had.
"It was very clear we lost the majority of the young votes in 2023 and so it was sort of my mission to reflect on that and find out how we can win that back in 2026."
He said he was also not personally deterred from potentially running again.
"Being very young and knowing the way the seat normally votes, of course I was optimistic to try and win and hold my own, but at the end of the day, I knew the odds were stacked against me.
"I would do it all again in a heart-beat. There were no hard feelings, I was not discouraged.
"I've made it very known to a lot of community members that, if I am asked to by them then I would definitely stand again."
Mr Reille visited India last month with the Labour delegation that attended the Bharat Summit, a two-day conference focusing on youth politics, gender equality and climate change.
"It was really great to connect with a lot of world leaders and global politicians and even some retired politicians to really discuss the swing of politics that's occurring around the world.
"It's very clear the world has taken a very right wing swing and we're electing a lot for right and conservative leaders across the world.
"That's something that, coming from a more progressive and socialist party, we must be observing but also learning from and understanding why there's a swing that way."
Despite moving away, Waitaki was still very close to his heart.
"I miss home a lot and I do try to pop down every chance that I can.
"It's been really heartwarming to be in a different part of the country but still see so many updates from our community in Oamaru.
"There are some really great things that are still happening and it's great to see so many community leaders still sticking at it."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
7 hours ago
- Scoop
New Poll: Labour Becomes Largest Party, Economy Top Concern
Press Release – New Zealand Taxpayers' Union The Economy more generally is the most important issue to voters at 20.2 percent (+3.7 points), followed by the Cost of Living at 18.1 percent (-8.3 points), Health at 11.9 percent (-5.0 points) and Employment at 5.8 percent. Bad news for National in the latest Taxpayers' Union-Curia Poll as Labour would now be the largest party in Parliament, gaining three seats to 44. The Coalition would still just about cling on to power on these numbers. The poll, conducted between 07 and 09 June shows National drop 1.1 points on last month to 33.5 percent, while Labour are up 1.6 points to 34.8 percent. ACT is down 0.4 points to 9.1 percent, whilst the Greens are down 0.9 points to 8.2 percent. New Zealand First also drops 1.3 points to 6.1 percent, while Te Pāti Māori is down 0.6 points to 3.3 percent. Headline results and more information about the methodology can be found on the Taxpayers' Union's website at For the minor parties, TOP is on 1.8 percent (+1.3 point), Outdoors and Freedom is on 1.1 percent (+0.7 points), New Conservatives are on 0.7 percent (+0.7 points) and Vision NZ on 0.6 percent (+0.2 points). This month's results are compared to the last Taxpayers' Union-Curia Poll conducted in May 2025, available here at The combined projected seats for the Centre-Right of 62 is down 1 seat from last month. The combined seats for the Centre-Left is up 2 seats to 60. On these numbers, the Centre-Right bloc could still form a Government. National remains on 42 seats again this month, whilst Labour is up 3 seats to 44. ACT is unchanged on 12 seats, whilst the Greens are down 1 seat to 10. New Zealand First drops 1 seat to 8 seats, while Te Pāti Māori remains on 6. For the first time since October 2024, Cost of Living has been replaced as voters' top issue. The Economy more generally is the most important issue to voters at 20.2 percent (+3.7 points), followed by the Cost of Living at 18.1 percent (-8.3 points), Health at 11.9 percent (-5.0 points) and Employment at 5.8 percent. Commenting on the results, Taxpayers' Union Spokesman James Ross said: 'Labour taking the lead and growing concern over the economy should be a worrying sign for the Government in the first Taxpayers' Union-Curia poll since the Budget. Voters are losing faith in the managed decline on offer.' 'With inflation finally under heel, cost of living has slipped off the top spot for the first time in over three years. But lower interest rates don't make a sound economy on their own.' 'The so-called Growth Budget's only pro-growth policy offered a 1 percent boost to GDP over 20 years, spiralling debt and no credible pathway back to surplus.' 'Growth wins votes, stagnation doesn't.'
Scoop
12 hours ago
- Scoop
New Poll: Labour Becomes Largest Party, Economy Top Concern
Bad news for National in the latest Taxpayers' Union-Curia Poll as Labour would now be the largest party in Parliament, gaining three seats to 44. The Coalition would still just about cling on to power on these numbers. The poll, conducted between 07 and 09 June shows National drop 1.1 points on last month to 33.5 percent, while Labour are up 1.6 points to 34.8 percent. ACT is down 0.4 points to 9.1 percent, whilst the Greens are down 0.9 points to 8.2 percent. New Zealand First also drops 1.3 points to 6.1 percent, while Te Pāti Māori is down 0.6 points to 3.3 percent. Headline results and more information about the methodology can be found on the Taxpayers' Union's website at For the minor parties, TOP is on 1.8 percent (+1.3 point), Outdoors and Freedom is on 1.1 percent (+0.7 points), New Conservatives are on 0.7 percent (+0.7 points) and Vision NZ on 0.6 percent (+0.2 points). This month's results are compared to the last Taxpayers' Union-Curia Poll conducted in May 2025, available here at The combined projected seats for the Centre-Right of 62 is down 1 seat from last month. The combined seats for the Centre-Left is up 2 seats to 60. On these numbers, the Centre-Right bloc could still form a Government. National remains on 42 seats again this month, whilst Labour is up 3 seats to 44. ACT is unchanged on 12 seats, whilst the Greens are down 1 seat to 10. New Zealand First drops 1 seat to 8 seats, while Te Pāti Māori remains on 6. For the first time since October 2024, Cost of Living has been replaced as voters' top issue. The Economy more generally is the most important issue to voters at 20.2 percent (+3.7 points), followed by the Cost of Living at 18.1 percent (-8.3 points), Health at 11.9 percent (-5.0 points) and Employment at 5.8 percent. Commenting on the results, Taxpayers' Union Spokesman James Ross said: "Labour taking the lead and growing concern over the economy should be a worrying sign for the Government in the first Taxpayers' Union-Curia poll since the Budget. Voters are losing faith in the managed decline on offer." "With inflation finally under heel, cost of living has slipped off the top spot for the first time in over three years. But lower interest rates don't make a sound economy on their own." "The so-called Growth Budget's only pro-growth policy offered a 1 percent boost to GDP over 20 years, spiralling debt and no credible pathway back to surplus." "Growth wins votes, stagnation doesn't."
Otago Daily Times
13 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Poll shows Labour ahead of National, but coalition keeping power
Labour would be the largest party in Parliament - but the coalition would still cling on to power, according to a new poll. The latest Taxpayers' Union-Curia poll - the first the firm has conducted since the budget - sees Labour leapfrog National in popularity and parties outside parliament making slight gains. Party vote: Labour: 34.8 percent, up 1.6 percentage points (44 seats) National: 33.5 percent, down 1.1 (42 seats) ACT: 9.1 percent, down 0.4 (12 seats) Greens: 8.2 percent, down 0.9 (10 seats) NZ First: 6.1 percent, down 1.3 (8 seats) Te Pāti Māori: 3.3 percent, down 0.6 (6 seats) The centre-right would have a combined 62 seats, down one seat from the previous poll. The centre-left is up two seats to 60. For the minor parties, TOP is on 1.8 percent (up 1.3 percentage point), Outdoors and Freedom is on 1.1 percent (up 0.7 points), New Conservatives are on 0.7 percent (up 0.7 points) and Vision NZ on 0.6 percent (up 0.2 points). Preferred prime minister: In the preferred prime minister stakes, both Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins have taken hits, with Luxon staying slightly ahead of Hipkins. Christopher Luxon: 20.3 percent, down 4.2 percentage points Chris Hipkins: 18.5 percent, down 1.5 points Winston Peters: 8.0 percent, down 0.1 points David Seymour: 6.0 percent, down 0.7 points Chlöe Swarbrick: 5.6 percent, up 0.6 points Luxon is down 4.2 points from last month to 20.3 percent, while Hipkins is down 1.5 points to 18.5 percent. The poll was conducted by Curia Market Research Ltd for the NZ Taxpayers' Union. It is a random poll of 1000 adult New Zealanders, weighted to the overall adult population. It was conducted by phone (landlines and mobile) and online between Saturday, June 7 and Monday, June 9 2025. It has a maximum margin of error of +/- 3.1%. Curia is a long-running and established pollster in New Zealand, which has resigned its membership from the Research Association New Zealand (RANZ) industry body. Polls compare to the most recent poll by the same polling company, as different polls can use different methodologies. They are intended to track trends in voting preferences, showing a snapshot in time, rather than be a completely accurate predictor of the final election result.
