Youth Parliament 2013 has been a great success and I am proud of the contributions made by my representative Gursharn Kaur of Westlake Girls High School.
This special event has taken place in Wellington for almost 20 years, and the seventh Youth Parliament truly engaged our young people in leadership, and also the Parliamentary process.
I think it’s our wonderful that young New Zealander’s can have the opportunity to represent different MPs, from different areas and from different communities across New Zealand.
I have enjoyed speaking with Gursharn about her experiences, and particularly about some of the preconceptions she had before coming down to Parliament.
I want to share her thoughts with you.
“Youth Parliament had a great atmosphere but it is an environment mixed with a sense of huge responsibility. I used to think that working in Parliament would be a pretty easy job – now I know how wrong I was. It is very tough job to do.”
“My first day in Youth Parliament began with a Powhiri and the officially opening by New Zealand’s Governor General, Lt Gen The Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae. His Ecellency gave us such inspiring speech making me more excited about my journey to Parliament.
“I was very excited about discussing legislation in my select committee – I was prepared for my challenge. During this process we met people from different organisations with an interest in our legislation. It was interesting because we got chance to ask questions and learn the point of view – each had a very different vision.
“As a Youth Member of Parliament – and being part of the official Government – we were debate the legislation in the Chamber … but it was so hard for us to make a final decision!
“I also really enjoyed our social event – I got to meet Hon Nikki Kaye, Minister of Youth Affairs, and Deputy Prime Minister Bill English. We all had huge smiles on our faces because we met our role models.”
As you can see, Gursharn had an amazing time in Wellington and has really learned from the experience. I really look forward to working with her and the community over the next year.
I am sure that among this group there will be a number of future MPs and it is events like this really kick start grass roots leadership in our communities. I will continue to work hard to ensure that that our young people receive opportunities they work hard for, and with this ensure New Zealand’s bright future.