Parliament comes to Prep

Nelson College Preparatory School was transformed into Parliament last Friday, with a social media ban for under 16-year-olds being the debated Bill.

The Parliament Outreach Programme education team visited the school to host a mock debate with four MPs, including MP for Nelson Rachel Boyack (Labour), MP for Whanganui Carl Bates (National), and List MPs Nancy Lu (National) and Shanan Halbert (Labour).

Students were assigned roles, including Speaker of the House, Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, Sargeant at Arms, and Clerk.

After plenty of intense debate, the decision was made in favour of the Government, and the Bill was passed by a clear majority.

Year 8 student Lachie Mackay, who was the Leader of the Opposition, says the topic for the debate was influenced by the the Australian Parliament’s decision to ban social media for people under 16.

“We thought it was a good topic; a lot of people have different opinions so there’s a lot to argue about. We also had a Zoom call with two of the parliament people and they were telling us a few topics we could choose from.”

Speaker of the House, Louis Neubauer, said before the debate he was preparing himself to “be neutral” while other students formulated their arguments by writing notes and speeches.

Some Year 9 students from Nelson College also participated, and at the end of the debate, the students had a Q&A session with the MPs.

Making Parliament more accessible is the focus of the Outreach Programme, bridging the gap between The Beehive and regional New Zealand.

William Robinson, 12, says it was “exciting” to have real MPs there, who gave the students a taste of the parliamentary atmosphere by joining in.

“It’s a bit bizarre how they gave up their time to fly to Nelson to come and teach us about it. It’s not something I’d think they’d do. I thought they’d stay in The Beehive and do their stuff.”

The team also ran a mock debate with Clifton Terrace School students during their Nelson visit.

List MP Nancy Lu says the visits are a great way for students to learn about Parliament and its processes.

“It was great to be able to engage with students and for them to learn through a hands-on simulation approach.”