The 23rd National Schools Constitutional Convention

Nadine Alshammary of year 12 and I were fortunate to attend the 23rd National Schools Constitutional Convention in Canberra from Tuesday 20th to Thursday 22nd March. The event is funded by the Commonwealth government and involves 140 students and 20 teachers from all over Australia coming together to discuss a Constitutional issue. This year the topic for debate was section 44 of the Commonwealth Constitution which restricts a person from becoming a member of the Commonwealth Parliament because they may have dual citizenship. The Minister for Education and Training, Senator Simon Brimingham spoke to the students about his views on the topic. This topic has been the focus of media attention for most of 2017 and now 2018. In between the serious debate at Old Parliament House we visited Government House, the home of our Governor General , the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove, The Senate, where we met Senator Penny Wong the leader of the Labour party in the Senate, and The High Court was our venue for the official dinner. This convention is a Legal Studies teacher and student’s dream, to be amongst our three arms of government the Legislature (Parliament), Executive (Government) and Judiciary (High Court).

By the end of the Convention the students voted on changing section 44 and the majority agreed it should be changed. Everything that was discussed will be combined in a Communique and presented in the Commonwealth Parliament. It was a pleasure and privilege to be witness to some great young minds and politicians of the future.