Youth Affairs Minister Laila Harré is going on-line to find out what's on the minds of young New Zealanders.

"Whether that's pets or politics I want to hear first hand what young people have to say," Ms Harré says.

"It's very important that people in a position of power are listening to young people and not just making decisions about them in distant offices."

Ms Harré is hosting the first Alliance chat session on Monday March 13 from 7.30pm.

The chat room can be found at www.alliance.org.nz/chat.html or accessed through Alliance website, www.alliance.org.nz.

If successful the chat room will be repeated with other Alliance Ministers and MPs.

Ms Harré hopes the first session will prompt discussion on issues like the youth minimum wage review and the Alliance aim of scrapping tertiary education fees.

"I'm reaching out through a medium that a lot of young people have access to and are more likely to respond to than traditional means," Ms Harré says.

"This is another step towards my goal of getting young people more directly involved in decisions which impact on their lives."

For further comment contact Claire Hall, press sec,
(04) 471-9902 or 025 270 9001

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