Diverse topics covered in record-breaking competition

Students from Beverley Hills Primary School, Southern Cross Grammar and The Mac.Robertson Girls’ High School have taken out the top prizes in this year’s competition, awarded by the Victorian Parliament to students who recorded a 90-second response to the question, ‘What would you say to parliament if you were an MP?’ 

The competition attracted 1463 entries from more than 240 metropolitan and regional schools, surpassing the previous record of 1126 entries in 2024.

The key issues raised by students included environment and climate change (295 entries); health, mental health and wellbeing (253 entries); and education (197 entries).

Three members of parliament were among the judging panel: Michael Galea, Cindy McLeish and Rachel Payne. All the judges were impressed by the quality and creativity of the entries received.

The Alicia Katz Award, named after the first woman to run for the Parliament of Victoria, was won by Yackandandah Primary School for an inspiring contribution to the Parliament Prize through their strong commitment to a diverse range of issues.

An award ceremony will be held at Parliament House in August.

Full list of winners

Grades 5 and 6

First: Tanvi Vangala
Beverley Hills Primary School
‘A sock-solid solution to bullying: The PAIR rule’

Second: Harry Neall
Bellaire Primary School
‘Why we need more humanities lessons in primary school’

Third: Evie Foley
Coburg North Primary School
‘Shortage of water taps’

Years 7 to 9

First: Shiven Prakash
Southern Cross Grammar
‘Second-hand, first choice’

Second: Grace Medlicott
Peninsula Grammar
‘First aid classes in schools’

Third: Kala Petronijevic
Cheltenham Secondary College
‘Making blind tennis accessible’

Years 10 to 12

First: Aashini Rastogi
The Mac.Robertson Girls’ High School
‘Thinking beyond the algorithm - AI & education’

Second: Rapha Kempler
John Monash Science School
‘Why blood donation should be about safety, not sexuality’

Third: Amelia Tsilfidis
Melbourne Girls Grammar
‘Upgrading V/Line for all Victorians’

The Alicia Katz Award

Yackandandah Primary School