Next week, these six Westbourne Grammar students will be running the state.
Well, almost.
Year 11 students Kiara Gashi, Isabelle Mountford, Luke Stack, Jackson Young, Laura Bishop and Brigitte Tattersall will experience first-hand what parliamentary life is like when they take part in this year’s YMCA Youth Parliament.
The students, who are members of the school’s debating team, are among 20 teams from across the state that will spend three days debating proposed legislation and taking part in a range of leadership activities.
The students will have the opportunity to challenge another team’s legislation, and each will be given the chance to speak in Parliament for two minutes on a topic of their choosing.
Luke said the team would put forward a bill that aimed to minimise the impact of methamphetamine usage on Victorian communities.
If the bill is passed, the students will get to discuss their bill with the relevant ministers.
Jackson said the prospect of making a difference was exciting.
“It will be good to prove to people that our generation isn’t as apathetic as we’re believed to be,” he said. “There’s the stereotype that our generation is uncaring, cold, detached and self-centred … we want to prove to people that we’re not.”
Brigitte said the school came up with three potential bills – including one for compulsory mental health screening in high schools and having youth representatives in local councils – and decided to go with the methamphetamines bill due to current concerns about the drug.
