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Have your say > Speak out > Putting Young people's Voice on the Political Table
Putting Young people's Voice on the Political Table
One of the ways you can get your voice heard by government and be part of the decision making process is to share your opinion on a new law or change an old one. This is called making a submission to a select committee.
Activate, a youth advisory group for the Ministry of Youth Development
present oral submissions to select committees on bills which, if made
law, would have a big impact on young people. They use online and
face-to-face questionnaires to get the thoughts and opinions of young
people around New Zealand so their oral submissions are about lots of
young people’s thoughts on the topic. Some of the submissions they have
rocked up and given to the politicians on different select committees
have been on the Minimum Wage Bill, Sale of Liquor Bill and the Section
59 Bill (the one people thought was about smacking kids).
Tai Ahu is a 20 years old member of Activate. Read about his experience of speaking to select committees.
“Having given three oral select committee presentations now, I have
found the process to be not only a challenge but also very interesting.
At first, I was concerned about the formality of presenting to a select
committee, but have discovered that these formalities are not barriers
but are part of necessary process.
The first submission I did with Activate was about raising the age that
you can buy alcohol, I wore casual cargo pants and a white jacket and
was very self conscious having to speak formally to all of the Members
of Parliament!
Having watched the presentations before mine, I was worried that select
committees were only interested in hearing stats and facts and figures,
and would not be interested in what ‘some young person’ had to say on
the issue. I soon realised that select committees seldom get the chance
to hear from young people about their opinions, thoughts and
experiences. I found that the MPs were genuinely interested in
everything I had to present and say. The second and third occasions I
went along to Parliament to present to a select committee, I began to
get used to presenting and was better able to relax and consider
questions and responses more carefully.
In summary, although it is a scary process to be part of, I found the
experience of presenting to select committees on very relevant issues
to young people very rewarding.”
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