Youth Parliament

This week was recess week in Parliament and while the elected MP’s were busy working outside the debating chamber our Youth MP’s eagerly took our seats in the house.

Each Member of Parliament chose one Youth MP who would spend two days getting a taste of life in Parliament.  The representative for our patch, Joseph Xulue, won his spot in the house through an essay competition I ran in conjunction with the Times Newspaper.

During their time in Parliament the students gained a firsthand account of the day-to-day activities of Parliamentarians, including Question time, Legislative debates, General debates and Motions.  I understand they also had a pizza and movie night which is definitely not part of day-to-day life in Parliament.

Joseph took part in the Commerce Select Committee which addressed the topical issues of whether copyright infringement is hurting NZ music and how artists can use new media to get their music sold rather than stolen. 

Below is a photo of Joseph (second from the left in the back row) listening attentively to one of his fellow Youth MP’s.

- Parliament run by youth : Article from Pansy Wong [MP Botany]