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Youth parliament > Press gallery > Article on the General Debate by Storme Sen
Article on the General Debate by Storme Sen
The General Debate at Youth Parliament 2007 began regally, doused in a ceremonious air befitting the concept of Parliament, with Youth Parliamentarian Philip Wiley’s opening speech urging the youth to “make an impact on life” and provide the world with hope in its future leaders.
 By Storme Sen
The General Debate at Youth Parliament 2007 began regally, doused in a
ceremonious air befitting the concept of Parliament, with Youth
Parliamentarian Philip Wiley’s opening speech urging the youth to “make
an impact on life” and provide the world with hope in its future
leaders.
However, the General Debate soon loosened up its formalities, coming to
resemble an actual debate between politicians, with Youth
Parliamentarians calling Points of Order to wish a fellow member happy
birthday, references to mirth-provoking song lyrics such as “I believe
the children are our future” by Whitney Houston and various other
celebrities such as Jamie Oliver.
The most comic speech of the day was said loudly and proudly by opinionated Youth Parliamentarian Edward Brownlee.
Accusations against Phil Goff, currently the Minister of Defence in New
Zealand, proclaiming that he “slithered off to Afghanistan to fondle
terrorists” were greeted by raucous laughter throughout the entire
chamber, heated debate and even a Point of Order in which delegate
Brownlee was asked to apologise.
The Madam Speaker overruled the Point of Order, mildly amused and declaring it simply “robust debate”.
The general debate started off softly but soon rose to a crescendo of
fiery insults hurled across the room and shouts of “Order!” when the
topic turned to the extra benefits Maori receive in comparison to the
rest of New Zealand’s population. The controversial topic caused a
blatant divide between the Parliamentarians with the Maori delegates
defending themselves against all the rest.
The Maori scholarships, extra money for having Maori blood, and special
Maori seats reserved in Parliament and Universities is, according to
Youth Parliamentarian Shaun Kennedy, “the simple act of segregation”.
Fellow delegate Shaun Ritchie provided strong arguments in agreement
with Kennedy, saying that “positive discrimation is still
discrimination” in answer to speeches that claimed Maori had a right to
these extra privileges.
Needless to say, finishing the debate off with this controversial topic
left the Youth Parliamentarians disappointed that their one general
debate was over.
A useful aspect of the General Debate, besides its comic value, was
that it provided the Youth Parliamentarians with an opportunity to tell
Members of Parliament, the Press and also members of the public who
come to watch the debate, what issues concern them, their opinion and
perhaps suggest ways in which the problems may be solved.
The heated discussions concerning a variety of topics, from NCEA to
free sexual health appointments to obesity in New Zealand, in the
debating chamber portrayed the maturity and calibre of the candidates
chosen to represent their electives.
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