Youth parliament > Press gallery > Youth Press Gallery Diary 2007 by Storme Sen

Youth Press Gallery Diary 2007 by Storme Sen

Being a young journalist with an addiction to writing (I mean it, if I didn’t write I would get withdrawal symptoms and probably be crouched, twitching, in the far corner), being told that I was chosen as a Youth Press Gallery Member for 2007 was a dream!

By Storme Sen

Day 1
In the days leading up to Youth Parliament all sorts of outlandish, paranoid thoughts careened though my mind, each more preposterous than the next as I sorted through piles of research to prepare for the big event.

The actual flight down to Wellington was my first hurdle, you might say, as I had never been down to Wellington and had never flown by myself before, not to mention I was terrified of getting lost-in the small domestic flights terminal no less.

I was shortly seated between two of my nine Press Gallery colleagues, who turned out to be really nice people. The one I conversed with like an old friend, and the other (a guy) was happy to listen to his pink disc man and randomly burst into song or talk to himself. We found out that this was, in fact, a regular occurrence and was much needed when the atmosphere in our workroom got a bit too serious.

Upon arrival at Parliament, we were taken on a tour around the building. The edifice is rich in art and the inner Beehive even contains a recreational center, complete with a heated indoor pool and a spa! Almost makes you want to be a politician. We were also repeatedly told that the rooms were frequently used for functions and parties, and to never EVER touch the chairs (To do so was considered sacrilege, chairs are serious business).

I somehow couldn’t imagine austere MPs dancing drunkenly, but then again, the debating chamber is often brought alive by less than proper behaviour. Which made me wonder, if the rules for parliament allow such behaviour in the debating chamber, why then is there a rule (Only being asked to be enforced now) that prohibits the press from reporting it? Don’t we have a right to know how our politicians conduct themselves? I for one think that we have a right to know what kind of personalities the people that we vote for have.

Our day began earlier than the Youth MPs with a journalism workshop. We had the opportunity to hear the backgrounds and wisdom of prominent political journalists and press secretaries, like Duncan Garner from TV3.

They were really amazing people and you could tell they were masters at what they did. Just looking at them, you could tell that the Press Gallery (political journalists who sit in the section called the press gallery above the debating chambers to report on the debates) stuck together when it came to their rights as reporters being threatened, however, each was extremely competitive with everyone else simultaneously. It’s not simply observing, it’s strategic. They are friends with people, but always for a reason. Hey, that’s politics.

After that we got to mingle with the Youth Parliamentarians that had just arrived, specifically, find the ones we had been matched up with to write about.

Everyone was nervous, with most of the youth there knowing nobody. It was wonderful to see people take a chance and randomly offer a handshake to the others around them. I found my MPs, and a lot of other people along the way.

These people were not only friendly, but also engaging and intelligent. Most were eager to be interviewed and written about, but some were annoyingly paranoid. We’re talking, “Don’t write that down!” “Are you recording this?” “Don’t speak to her, she’ll write something bad about you!” annoying. If I were on the job, I would be legally inclined to say so. Although, a little of the paranoia was justified I suppose because ultimately the Press control image. Ah, the stigma of a journalist.

The opening ceremonies were arduous but beautiful, with much Maori culture in them. We had to sing a song I didn’t know in response, but I tried (Hummed or moved my lips accordingly) and I could appreciate the beauty of Maori singing. In between all of this we were briefed, briefed, briefed on our stay there.

You might’ve guessed but I’ll tell you what my job entailed anyway. It was to interview people, write articles on various things and observe and report on debates. Sufficit to say we were all exhausted from the plane and the day, all looking forward to our beds in the luxury Nomad’s backpacker rooms.

However, someone had gone to inspect the backpacker’s and decided it wasn’t good enough. So we suddenly found ourselves on a marae, very confused. Of course all of us were taken off guard, but dinner was fun anyway with more new people to meet and the night was fine with the exception of noise. Do not try lugging an enormous bag, in heels, up two flights of narrow stairs. Just don’t.

Day 2
Sincere apologies all round from our caring Youth Press Gallery officials for the semi-ramshackle night. Some of us were billeted (placed with home stays), chose to stay with friends, or even on the marae. The day started with yet another (but thankfully the last) opening ceremony/official welcome.

Then the real work started. First was my Select Committee meeting, each of the Press Gallery was assigned one. Mine was on whether we should allow the therapeutic cloning of stem cells in New Zealand and that day we had various experts come in to present their argument to us.

There was an array of people, ranging from scientists to religious zealots. This was perhaps the most frustrating part because I had to write notes on what they were saying but couldn’t actually ask them any questions of my own or debate their logic, unless I managed to catch them outside the room which was rare because they left A.S.A.P. They probably saw me coming.

Furthermore, any member of the Press Gallery is only allowed to be present in the committee room when the public is allowed to be present, so vital information might be missed! At least the corridor I sat waiting in for this time echoed when I sung to myself.

Lunch was something everyone at Youth Parliament looked forward to- the food was really delicious. This was also a time for the journalists to utilise for interviews. But since Youth Parliament had just begun, I thought it pointless to start then and got to know as many people as I could.

Then came Question Time, a protocol put in place by the government to make any of its members accountable for their actions. At YP, questions from the Youth MPs that begged answers were asked of the Ministers of those departments. Unfortunately, because the questions were of such a high calibre, the Ministers got to prepare their answers in advance. Straight after that was the general debate, which started off shyly but ended in heated arguments, insults and shouting from the Youth MPs, eye-candy for any journalist.

Then came time to go home with my new billet. Now, during the day I had met interesting people, some of them extremely opinionated. One such person that proceeded to lecture me was a Youth MP that was for the banning of abortion, to which I am opposed. Naturally we had our own big private debate, and naturally I just knew I was going to have the same billet as him because fate worked in mysterious ways. I did. Along with his friend who was also for banning abortion.

Although we hardly agreed on anything and argued most of the time, I respected them for their intelligence and good hearts. Ironically, both were Head boys for their schools and it was interesting to note the different things that they dealt with everyday. Neither was less important or good at his job, but one had to deal with drug abuse and gangs on a daily basis, while the other just had to uphold uniform rules.

Day 3
Today was a much more lax day. We had less debates and hence ample time to interview the Youth MPs or write up our articles.

That day, a scandalous and unfortunate photo from within the debating chamber had been published in a newspaper. It was of a group of Youth MPs all at that moment blinking and one was yawning, the caption was, “Must be something in the seats.” Now, although it was slightly funny, looking back it’s quite demeaning and unnecessary.

Youth Parliament is about so much more and it’s an awesome event for young people.

The exciting thing for the day was the Social Event! Held at a small café/bar, it featured a ukulele band which was not only comical, but surprisingly really good music.

The YP coordinators also got up on stage and sung karaoke, any adult doing this to the sound of ukuleles is something everyone has to see before they die, trust me.

The Youth Press members, however, left this extravaganza early for our own special dinner at a Turkish restaurant a few streets down. This was very cool because for the first time on the trip I had the opportunity to properly speak to my colleagues. Some of them were actual journalists who gave me advice (the best excuse for a sick day is Diarrhoea, no one will ask questions!) and the rest of the time we just loosened up and enjoyed the dinner.

Day 4
The portion of the day that stole the show was the debate over the Legislative Bill. This bill was, in essence, concerning global warming and New Zealand’s contribution to the fight against pollution.

There were good speeches and even swearing at some of the speeches made during the debate, however that is an entirely different article. As soon as the formal closing of YP ended, we all rushed to our buses to catch our flights home, some of us running.

The only regret I have is that I had no time at the end of YP to obtain everyone’s contact details. I was also really sad that YP was over so soon, the days just flew like time didn’t even exist. My ride home was bumpy due to the bad weather but all I could think about was Youth Parliament. It was all that I’d hoped it would be, and as cliché as it sounds, I’ll never forget my experience in Wellington.

I’m even beginning to miss the opinionated people.

Top of page