Wednesday, 1 November 2023

Members statements

Electorate office interns and volunteers

John BERGER (Southern Metropolitan) (09:47): Today I rise to commend the work of three remarkable young people. The first is Benjamin Seskis. Benjamin was a semester 2 intern in my office thanks to the parliamentary intern program. As part of the program, Ben wrote a report entitled Improving the Engagement of Older Australians in the Democratic Process. I asked Ben to write this report as I know that in the online age older people often struggle to access resources that government provides them, from polling stations to Services Australia and more. I hope to use this report to better engage older Australians in my community of Southern Metro.

The second person I want to talk about is Parvathy Balakrishnan. Parvathy was a semester 1 intern in my office and wrote a report entitled Regulating the Gig Economy: Risk Incentives and Regulatory Trends. As everyone in this place knows, I come from the Transport Workers’ Union, and as a former branch secretary I know the troubling trend of gigifying the transport sector, so I greatly appreciate the contribution Parvathy has made to this space. As well as writing this report, Parvathy also volunteered once a fortnight in my office, where my team showed her what a day is like in the life of a political staffer. I hope she found it to be beneficial.

The third person I want to thank is Tali Reich. Tali volunteers in my office most Wednesdays, and her presence is greatly appreciated. She lives in Malvern, just around the corner, and her energy, intelligence and insight into the community are a great asset when I see her.