Tuesday, 28 November 2023

Members statements

Melton electorate students

Steve McGHIE (Melton) (14:51): The Victorian youth are the future of not only this state but this country, therefore it is so important that we as members of Parliament engage with youth and seek their input on legislation that will impact them where appropriate. This year for International Youth Day I invited secondary school students across Melton to write to my office expressing the issues that are important to them. We had over 60 students from Kurunjang Secondary College and Staughton College write in to our office. It was remarkable to see so many students wanting to engage with politics, and it is without a doubt that there are some future leaders within the Melton community. I thank all the students for writing to me and sharing their thoughts.

I was also lucky enough to welcome Pulak Gupta from Southern Cross Grammar to my parliamentary office to complete her work experience in the last sitting week. I asked her to write about her experiences over the week, and here is what she wrote:

Parliament is not a scary –

place.

… I found the environment at Parliament to be welcoming to students and guests to learn and engage.

I witnessed Steve providing support during the RSPCA visit training the MPs’ dogs, and a cooking class based on benefiting the environment.

There were many presentations she witnessed in Parliament, including from our fishing industry.

During question time I witnessed discussion not too different to some of the discussions I have with my friends, but with a bit more exaggeration.

After this amazing experience I encourage other young people to engage with Parliament as our generation is the future of this country.

I thank Pulak for her joining me in Parliament last sitting week and wish her all the very best for her bright future ahead. I encourage all of my parliamentary colleagues to engage with the youth of their electorates, as they provide insightful perspectives and a willingness to engage with politics.