Once every parliamentary term a Youth Parliament is held. Each MP gets to choose a young person to represent them over a six month period from March to August 2022 with a short stint in Parliament itself.
Applications are currently open for young people aged 16 – 18 years who would like the opportunity to advocate for their communities and debate the issues they are passionate about on a national platform. 120 young people will be selected to be Youth Members of Parliament (MPs). They will have a chance to connect with the MP they represent, engage with peers, work on self-initiated projects and attend Youth Parliament on 19 and 20 July 2022.
Applications are also invited for young people aged 16 - 24 years who would like to be part of the Youth Press Gallery. Member of the Youth Press Gallery will report on the activities of Youth MPs and have the chance to learn from some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s best political journalists.
Like New Zealand Parliament, Youth Parliament will benefit from a range of voices, so people with diverse backgrounds, abilities, and identities are encouraged to step forward. Pastoral care will be provided, and accessibility requirements, such as NZSL interpretation/translation, will be provided for.
To find out more and to apply, visit the Youth Parliament 2022 webpage.
Christchurch Central
Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb has reached out to DPA to say that he would be very interested in having an application from someone from the disabled community representing him:
"In seeking nominations / applications for this position I am asking young people to:
Write up to 500 words telling me about the community or communities that you come from and how you would serve them if you were representing them in Parliament.
Nominees need to be 16 to 18 years of age (inclusive) on 12 November 2021 and looking for ways to become active in their community or region (even if a candidate has not had experience with politics or activism before, they can still have the opportunity to be chosen as your youth MP). It would be great if they were interested in issues affecting young people, politics and/or social change.
They will need to be able to manage the time commitment of being a Youth MP from 1 March 2022 to 31 August 2022, including the Youth Parliament event on 19 - 20 July 2022.
Nominations can be sent to chchcentral@parliament.govt.nz and should be received by 5pm on November 5".