National Schools Constitutional Convention

Late last term, one of our College Captains, Minh Trinh, travelled to Canberra to attend the a Schools Convention. He has been kind enough to provide us with a summary of his time there.

On the 24th of March, I, alongside 112 other secondary school students, descended upon the nation’s capital of Canberra to partake in the 31st National Schools Constitutional Convention. Among being one of 25 Victorian delegates having the pleasure to attend, I was also fortunate enough to meet some of the most passionate student leaders from other states and territories in the country. Hearing not only their incredible achievements and passion for politics, but also how student leadership ran at their schools was eye-opening for my own leadership aspirations.

The three-day convention was jam-packed with incredible activities. From touring the breath-taking design of Parliament House to taking a tour into the past at the Museum of Old Democracy, it was so mesmerising to see Australia’s historic roots and how it has shaped the nation we live in now.

Among the activities, I had the pleasure to meet amazing Members of Parliament including Hon. Jason Clare MP (Minister for Education), Hon. Dr Jim Chalmers MP (Treasurer), and Victorian locals - Hon. Richard Marles MP (Deputy PM/Minister for Defence) and Hon. Alice Jordan-Baird MP who is my federal member of Parliament.

My highlight of the trip was watching Question Time in the House of Representatives. Question Time in the Lower House is a dedicated time where members of the executive are given questions from either the Opposition or members of their own party. Within the first 15 minutes, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, The Hon. Milton Dick, removed two members of the Opposition under Section 94a. Of course, the chamber erupted into chaos and laughter for what seemed like every single minute. If I had to describe Question Time in the Lower House, it would be a group of children arguing over the smallest of things.

I was fortunate enough to meet the Governor-General of Australia, the Hon. Sam Mostyn AC. As the vice-regal officer representing the monarchy, I asked her “How important is it for young people to participate in democracy and politics?”. And she answered with one word “critical”. Her answer was extremely insightful for me as it pushed me to continue nurturing my interest in politics, and I couldn’t be more grateful to have met her.

However, the most important feature of the program was the referendum topic. “Should Section 53 of the constitution be amended to prevent the Senate from blocking supply?”. We heard from engaging keynote speakers who gave history behind the referendum topic and provided their own perspectives on whether Section 53 of the constitution should be amended. Among these presentations, I also got the chance to provide my own perspective of whether the amendment should go ahead or not in various ‘soapbox sessions’. In the end, the referendum ended in a cumulative ‘No’ result, beating the ‘Yes’ result by an impressive one vote for the national majority.

I would like to acknowledge the Victorian supervisors who gave up their time and energy to supervise all 25 Victorian delegates:

· Martin Box – Leongatha Secondary College, Leongatha

· Lauren Old – Overnewton Anglican Community College, Taylors Lakes/Keilor

· Amanda Morrison – St Joseph’s College, Mildura

I thank them for their commitment to supporting all 25 VIC student delegates in their learning and encouraging us all to be curious.

Minh Trinh
College Captain