Youth parliament > Press gallery > Interview with Hon Nanaia Mahuta by Sarah Harvey

Interview with Hon Nanaia Mahuta by Sarah Harvey

Despite criticism over the cost of the operation, Youth Development minister Nanaia Mahuta believes Youth Parliament is relevant and makes young people understand their country’s parliament.

By Sarah Harvey

Young people were concerned with issues more important than where their next party was going to be and were eager to be a part of the decision making process, she said.

Hon Mahuta spoke to Youth MPs, including six Otago MPs, in the beehive theatrette as part of the second day of Youth Parliament, in Wellington, yesterday.

Youth MPs had chosen “meaty’’ issues such as youth gangs and drugs and as their main issue for the parliament had chosen climate change.

This showed that young people were concerned with more than the “right here, right now” mentality, she said.

Hon Mahuta had noted the amount of debate over race issues in the first day in the parliamentary chamber and said while it was sometimes superficial, the youth MPs realised that race was the basis of most debates, she said.

She realised there had been criticism over the purpose of running such an event but said if they did not, there would not be a new generation of young people to take over parliament.

She hoped the Youth MPs would go back to their hometowns and try and make a difference by actually deciding to make change, be it at their school, church, community or sporting group.

Youth Parliament would continue to evolve, with the next event in 2010, hoping to have the Youth MPs elected online by their peers, she said.

Five other members of parliament Ron Mark, Pita Sharples, Metiria Turei, Nicky Wagner and Judy Turner spoke to the Youth MPs about how they became a member of parliament.

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