As some of you may know, Youth Parliament 2022 was held last week on Tuesday and Wednesday, and I was lucky enough to be one of the 120 Youth MPs involved.

Youth Parliament is an event organised by the New Zealand Ministry for Youth Development every three years that aims to get young people involved in New Zealand democracy and its processes. Each MP currently in Parliament selects a Youth MP that has a good connection with their local community, and that they think can represent the views of their community well. These Youth MPs meet in Parliament for two days and discuss issues that matter to them and the young people in their area, as well as work in their communities leading up to the event.

Youth Parliament is split into four main sections. Firstly, Youth MPs all choose a select committee similar to those that MPs are in, and there they discuss a topic of relevance. I was in the primary production select committee, and the enquiry focused around improving and ensuring sustainability in the primary sector. The inquiry, as a whole, heard from submitters and came to a variety of recommendations which are then able to be implemented by the government, or be used to inform their policies. You can check out all of the other select committee reports HERE.  

Youth MPs are also able to speak in one of three formats - question time to ministers, Legislative debate about a mock bill, or General debate about something that they are passionate about. I chose to speak in the general debate on Wednesday about access to mental healthcare in rural areas, and you can view my speech HERE. I encourage you to watch all the other amazing speeches on NZ Youth Parliaments page as well - everyone gave speeches about so many huge issues which are impactful for New Zealand Youth!

Overall, It was an incredibly challenging but rewarding three days in parliament, and I greatly encourage those of you who are going to be aged between 16 and 18 in September 2024 to apply that year yourselves! And for everyone, you should all read some of the amazing articles that have been (and still are being) written by the incredible youth press gallery HERE.