Year 11 and 12 students Killara Heywood, Lachie Rodriquez, Matila Sowter, Patrick Henderson and Xander Griffiths made their way to Melbourne for the YMCA Youth Parliament during the recent school holidays.
Not only was the college the only regional public school to participate in the program, but three of the students also came home with awards.
Matilda is now a parliamentary recognised best debater, Xander was acknowledged for his growth with a spirit of camp award, and Lachie took home a recreation award for his effort in camp activities.
Following her award, Matilda said she had been contacted by two political parties who offered to endorse her as a member of parliament.
At 16, she has already been involved in politics through work experience and advocacy, and is mapping out her political aspirations.
“I want to have a career before politics, as I feel as though career politicians aren’t respected as much,” Matilda said.
“Youth Parliament is such a great opportunity for those who want to break into the political field.”
Over a week, the students got hands-on experience in the parliament, debating bills and making speeches alongside members and young people from across the state.
They were based at a camp in Bacchus Marsh and made three visits to parliament, with busy days of tours and activities in between.
The team’s bill, which was decided collectively in the previous school term, was focused on increased regularity and accessibility to rural public transport.
Patrick delivered the main speech for the bill and received strong support, with a vote on it passing 46-2.
With lived experience of how poor public transport can be in Victoria, he said having the opportunity to communicate the team’s message was important.
“There are so many big regional cities with public schools. We’re the only public school that did this,” Patrick said.
“If our team wasn’t there, then our bill wouldn’t have been there, and it wouldn’t be as much of an issue in the eyes of the government.”
The bill will now be passed on to Youth Minister Natalie Suleyman, and may be considered in policy or for legislation.
While seeing parliament in action was a drawcard, Lachie and Xander admitted they were hesitant to join the program initially.
However, both said they learned more about the political process and had great experiences, such as visiting Government House and making new connections.
“It is a very good opportunity ... not just for the parliament side of things, but also the social side,” Xander said.
“We met so many people, and got a lot of skills in public speaking, and even speech writing I got much better with.”
Lachie, who chose to speak during an open floor debate on one of the proposed bills, said the program’s social aspect increased his self-assuredness.
“It really built my public speaking skills, and just talking to people in general, because the whole week is conversations ... so you build a lot of confidence,” he said.
“It also made it really interesting talking to everyone, because everyone was from completely different places.”
It was the college’s first year participating in Youth Parliament, which was made possible by a scholarship and advocacy efforts from Matilda.
The college will look to join the program next year, and Lachie and Xander said they were keen to be involved again.
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