Wednesday, 11 September 2024

Department of the Legislative Council

Report 2022–23

Michael GALEA (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (17:43): I rise to speak on the Department of the Legislative Council’s annual report 2022–23 and specifically the work of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. Of the many programs the CPA runs, one of the largest and most successful is the Commonwealth Youth Parliament, which brings together young people aged 18 to 29 from right across the Commonwealth in a mock Parliament setting. Last week saw the 12th CYP, which took place in Wellington, New Zealand. Along with the member for Warrandyte in the other place, I had the privilege of attending as a mentor for the participants.

Set in the fictional jurisdiction of Okifenua – pronunciation debatable – the more than 60 participants were randomly allocated into four parties, which included two parties in a coalition government, an opposition party and a minor party. They debated a bill which provided for the resettlement of people affected by the adverse effects of climate change. It included second-reading debates, committee meetings, an amendment-stage debate and speeches by party leaders. The week also included a question time, which proved to be quite robust. My advice on how to use points of order as a parliamentary tactic seemed to be taken up rather too well, and I was strangely proud as well to see that the Australian delegation were responsible for most of the troublemaking and the interjections throughout the week. We also saw a unique political culture develop in a very short space of time. Rather than shouts of ‘Hear, hear!’, members indicated their agreement by loudly slapping the tops of their desks. It was very effective, although I suspect you might not be too pleased to see it come in here, President.

The participants were from all corners of the Commonwealth, from jurisdictions big and small, and to say that we as the mentors were impressed by them would be an extreme understatement. If I had the time, I would love to name each and every one of the participants that I got to meet and support. In every session I was resoundingly impressed by the intellect, wit, spontaneity and good humour which was displayed. I will, however, give a very brief shout-out to Torin, who very kindly gifted me this blended tie, representing his home of the Falkland Islands.

One of the most impressive things about the Youth Parliament was just how realistically it reflected a genuine parliament, so much so in fact that the major governing party even had a leadership spill on the final day. I am not exactly sure why they came to the mentor from the Australian Labor Party to ask how to execute that spill, but I am sure that there is a reason. I also understand that when the parliamentary staff were discussing the spill in the office, some of their colleagues overheard and did not immediately realise that the prime minister they were talking about was the youth PM and not the real-life New Zealand Prime Minister. Fortunately all was cleared up before word got out, but amidst all the drama, both the outgoing and incoming prime ministers handled themselves with a dignity and a grace that is a credit to the both of them. It became an all-too-real lesson in parliamentary democracy for the young members. I understand that the participants walked away from the experience having learned lots, having made new friendships and inspired to use what they learned in the week to go out and make a positive impact on their communities and indeed our Commonwealth, be it inside or outside of the political arena.

None of this could have happened without the support of Avhni and her team from the CPA, and most of all from the incredible staff of the New Zealand Parliament, who made the event such a big success, including Amber, Rose and AJ, to name just a few. I would like to thank them for their generous hospitality to me, Nicole, the New South Wales Legislative Council President Ben Franklin and all of the young members. I am very excited to see the impact that these very bright people will have on the world.