By Lyric Waiwiri-Smith
A cohort of kids willing to challenge democracy prove they鈥檙e more than ready to replace the adults.
Echo Chamber is The Spinoff鈥檚 dispatch from the press gallery, recapping sessions in the House. Columns are written by politics reporter Lyric Waiwiri-Smith and Wellington editor Joel MacManus.
A walkout in the House, claims of censorship and rogue MPs on rogue press conferences: youth parliament didn鈥檛 need long to prove it can be as much of a circus as the one meant for adults. Tri-annually, pint-sized progressives and tories in the making (as well as their young peers in the fourth estate) spend three days in parliament (following a four-month training programme) to learn up close what democracy is 鈥 although if you asked this year鈥檚 cohort of teens, they might be more likely to tell you what it isn鈥檛.
General debates held on Tuesday and Wednesday gave all 123 youth MPs a chance to highlight the issues that matter most to them, whether that鈥檚 mental health and the environment, or boy racers and 鈥渂acking the farmers鈥 鈥 some of these teens are already so entrenched across party lines you might expect some kind-of Scooby-Doo mask-off to reveal it was Grant McCallum all along. Youth MPs are supposedly non-partisan and aren鈥檛 expected to parrot the belief of the parties they鈥檝e been mentored under, but when in Rome, act like the emperor.
There were claims of censorship and 鈥渇ear-based control鈥 from some youth MPs (who are also part of the advocacy group Make It 16), but in the end, everyone got their say 鈥 even if some teens felt others should have had more vetting in the end. As was the case for Jermaine Del Mondo, youth MP for Winston Peters, whose challenge in the House to look past race 鈥 much like his mentor might say 鈥 caused a partial walkout (although no one could really leave, you see).
The drama continued on Wednesday morning, with Karen Chhour鈥檚 youth MP Jerry Wei having his three-minute speech last for 10 thanks to the opposition MPs raising multiple points of order in an attempt to shut him up. There was supposedly a walkout planned for him, but the progressive youth MPs felt it would just give him the satisfaction 鈥 clearly the youth parliament works, because it didn鈥檛 take them long to learn the fine art of politicking.
Suffice to say, some potential future leaders have already made themselves heard. Nate Wilbourne, youth MP for Labour鈥檚 Damien O鈥機onnor, had one of the strongest speeches on Wednesday morning after going off-script and directly calling out ministers Penny Simmonds, Tama Potaka and Shane Jones for putting 鈥減rofit over papat奴膩nuku鈥. Later, Terangitukiwaho Edwards, youth MP for Te P膩ti M膩ori Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and son of Ng膩tiwai chairman Aperahama Edwards, earned a standing ovation for his impassioned speech on prioritising mokopuna-led solutions in state care.
The mock question time kicked off just before midday, with National MP Barbara Kuriger as the speaker, and only a handful of ministers 鈥 James Meager, Penny Simmonds, Louise Upston, Casey Costello and Chris Bishop 鈥 taking oral questions. This activity seemed to provide two learning points: for the government youth MPs, how to pass off patsies to your colleagues to ensure good PR, and for the opposition youth MPs, how to argue back.
When Vashika Singh, youth MP for Helen White, asked RMA minister Bishop how he planned to incorporate the Treaty into the Planning Act and Natural Environment Act, she was told straight up by the minister that he had no commitment to doing that. Bishop wasn鈥檛 a popular man that session 鈥 his answer to a question on housing targets from Esha Ram (youth MP for the Greens鈥 Steve Abel) caused a few youths to rustle in their seats and attempt supplementaries, which the speaker denied.
Sam Allen (youth MP for National鈥檚 Hamish Campbell) then offered to 鈥済uide鈥 Kuriger through the speaker鈥檚 rulings, which she ignored for time purposes. 鈥淲e are not having supplementary questions, and that鈥檚 the last point of order I鈥檓 going to take on that issue,鈥 Kuriger declared, before the voice of Thomas Brocherie, youth MP for the Greens Lan Pham, popped up for the hundredth time: 鈥淧oint of order, Miss Speaker 鈥︹
Bishop was next questioned by Louis McSporran, youth MP for NZ First鈥檚 Jenny Marcroft, on how he would 鈥渋ncentivise and support鈥 the revitalisation of rural areas through infrastructure, and a rebel youth MP in the Labour benches held up a note to the House in protest. 鈥淒ISSAPOINTED IN NAT鈥 it read, causing Wei to raise a point of order: would the speaker consider removing the member from the House?
Later, outside the chamber, a group of NZ First Youth MPs 鈥 and friends from other branches of the coalition 鈥 held a last-minute press conference on the parliament steps. They weren鈥檛 happy with the narrative playing out in the media about censorship 鈥 we鈥檙e not being censored, nor would we like the right to vote, they told reporters. It was 鈥渄angerous鈥 to let a minority group (as in, the youth MPs from Make It 16) purport to speak for the nation, an Act Party youth MP claimed.
Their attempt at winning back the narrative was immediately stifled, as the press conference spurred an off-the-cuff argument from the Labour and Greens-aligned youth MPs walking past. It was probably the debate the teens would have liked to have had in the House 鈥 with each other, in verbal fisticuffs, and no expectation to be non-partisan.
Parliament is a place that often feels like a high school simulator 鈥 and for three days this week, it was the real thing. Even if half of these teens still think they shouldn鈥檛 have the right to vote until they鈥檙e a bit older, they鈥檙e already perfect for the role of politician.