A visit to the old school

Last week I visited my old school, Campion College in Gisborne. The purpose of my visit was to talk to the students about life as an MP, the political process, and to interview students who wished to be considered for selection as a member of the Youth Parliament to be held over two days in July. I had approached the visit with some trepidation; my memories of my time at the school are mixed at best, and I received an indignant letter from one teacher following my failure to join the standing ovation given to Helen Clark in parliament. I was to be very pleasantly surprised. I received a warm welcome from the principal who, like me, is an old boy – albeit a couple of years “less old” than me. I spoke for about 20 minutes to a largely attentive group of seventh formers (alright, “year 13’s”, but that doesn’t have quite the same ring.) I told them about Youth Parliament, an opportunity for 120 young people to live the life of a parliamentarian for two days, complete with a debate in a mock House, question time, and attendance at Select Committees. I concluded by inviting any who were interested in being my nominee to stay behind for a quick chat. I had thought there might be little if any interest in taking part in something that, for them, must seem arcane and remote from their lives. I need not have worried. Seven eager and articulate young people lined up for consideration. To be fair, I asked them all similar questions: what they thought a pressing political issue of the day was; depending on their first response, I asked them to point to another issue, social or economic issue of the day. The most common responses were the pending(?) rise in GST, and the proposed increase in penalties for cruelty to animals. One thing that surprised me was the range of political views in a general sense, and even the fairness of a rise in GST. A number of the students were aware of my involvement in ”three strikes”, and to my surprise, a third or so thought it was a very good idea. I do not think they were being sycophantic, although I am obviously on a different wavelength from students of 16 or 18. It was reassuring to field one question from what we would have called “the class smart arse”, clearly eagerly awaited by others who knew it was coming. Plus ca change, plus ca meme chose. Selecting my Youth MP is not going to be easy. I invited all who remained interested after the interview to send me 600 words on “Why I would make a good Youth MP”. One keen fellow had already done so before I boarded the plane at 5.30. I will await the rest with great interest. If the senior students of Campion College Gisborne are anything to go by, we all have some room for optimism.