Media release

12 March 2019

Rt Hon Trevor Mallard, Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives, will lead a cross-party group of MPs to engage with youth in Christchurch in his second national outreach programme.

The ‘Parly to the People’ visit to Christchurch on Friday 15 March follows on from the Speaker’s successful first outreach to South Auckland in September 2018.

Speaker Mallard said it’s important to continue taking Parliament out of Wellington.

“Everyone in New Zealand is invited to have their say at Parliament, and democracy works best when more people get involved. We want all New Zealanders to know they can easily engage with Parliament, no matter their age or background,” he said.

“Outreach programmes such as this are our way of demonstrating that all communities have a voice at Parliament, and that Parliament belongs to them.”

During the one-day programme, the group will:

Visit Linwood Avenue School, where Year 5 and 6 students will learn about how things work in the House of Representatives, including an interactive debate with Mr Speaker and MPs
Host an informal BBQ at the University of Canterbury and meet with the Vice-Chancellor
Participate in a Youth Voices session at the University, run by youth leadership organisations such as the Pacific Youth Leadership and Transformation group. This will involve Q&As with the MPs and workshops on how to make Parliament more engaging and accessible to youth

The delegation consists of Rt Hon Trevor Mallard, Rt Hon David Carter, Matt Doocey MP, Jan Logie MP, David Seymour MP, and Poto Williams MP.

ENDS

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