18-07-2025
Empowering youth voices is crucial for NZ's future
Some of the 143 youth who travelled to Wellington for Youth Parliament.
One-hundred and forty-three youth travelled to Wellington for Youth Parliament from July 1-2. This included 123 Youth MPs and 20 Youth Press Gallery. The energy was electric!
Chelsea Reti, born and raised in the Far North, mokopuna o Te Aho Matua, stood as my Youth MP. Reti, with our other tai tamariki (youth) of the North, came with their heritage, their culture and their communities, ready to participate and share their unique northern perspectives.
In Youth Parliament our representatives participated in working groups akin to select committees, addressing issues such as gambling harm, sport and recreation, te reo Māori and other critical systems and issues facing Aotearoa. For Reti, it was retirement income. These are important issues in our communities today and will be in the future. As our youth shared many times in Youth Parliament, today's decisions will be inherited tomorrow.
Our Youth MPs also had the opportunity to ask questions of ministers and make general debate speeches in the House. For Reti, it was a question to Minister Louise Upston on the issue of child poverty, asking what measures the Government is taking to reduce child poverty in our communities – something very relevant for the Far North and rural communities.
There was a lot of coverage in the media of Youth Parliament, where our youth expressed concerns at the feelings of being censored in their general debate speeches. In liaison with officials and our youth, it was important to highlight the desire for our young people to express themselves authentically but also maintain safety, as matters such as privilege do not apply in Youth Parliament. The general debate speeches were fiery, passionate and on point, which brought local issues into national thinking.
