Anzac Day remains a special day for most New Zealanders. It's a time when we honour those who risked their lives for our freedoms.

One of those freedoms is our right to vote.

It's a right fewer and fewer people are exercising. In the last general election, about 800,000 eligible New Zealanders didn't cast a vote. About 23 per cent of people who were enrolled to vote in the Tauranga and Bay of Plenty electorates didn't bother. That's more than 11,000 people in Tauranga alone.

Why didn't they vote?

As I meet people in the Tauranga electorate, the sense I get is young people in particular are not interested in politics. It surprises and alarms me so many of those under the age of 30 that I've talk to, have never voted and have no intention of voting this year.

They tell me they just don't care about politics. But probe a bit deeper, ask them if they are happy with their pay rate, if they can afford to buy a house, if they are concerned about the environment – and they have plenty to say.

The problem seems to be a disconnect between what they understand by the word ‘politics' and their daily lives.

The relationship between decisions made in Wellington and life in Tauranga is not obvious to them.

My challenge to you is to convince the young people in your life to vote this election.

It is up to all of us to make informed choices about the direction in which we want to take our country. Whatever your political hue, honour our war veterans this year by encouraging everyone to exercise one of the fundamental rights they fought for.