21st consecutive
Local
Parliamentary Convention
On Friday 14th August, Lalor Secondary College hosted its 21st consecutive Local Parliamentary Convention at the Plenty Ranges Arts and Convention Centre.
Forty-one of our Year 11 Legal Studies students, alongside 150 student delegates from Rosehill Secondary College, Copperfield Secondary College, Mill Park Secondary College, Mernda Central College, Lalor North Secondary College and Thomastown Secondary College came together to debate this year’s Convention topic ‘Australia’s immigration numbers. Benefit or Burden?’
The Victorian Students’ Parliamentary Program, through which we host the Local Parliamentary Convention, is a national program that encourages young people to engage with democracy, civic participation and informed debate.
This year, we were privileged to welcome four distinguished keynote speakers who shared their perspectives on this important contemporary issue: the Hon. Andrew Giles MP, Minister for Skills and Training and Federal Member for Scullin; A/Prof Andrew Clarke, University of Melbourne; Jana Favero, Deputy CEO of the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre; and Jonathan O’Brien, Lead Organiser of YIMBY Melbourne.
Following the keynote presentations and healthy discussion amongst table groups, student delegates had the opportunity to share their ideas, learnings and perspectives before participating in a mock plebiscite. The outcome was an overwhelming ‘yes’ vote, with student representatives determining that immigration is a significant benefit to Australia.
We would sincerely like to thank Corey Jewell for his continued support and commitment to Lalor Secondary College’s involvement in this program and for encouraging opportunities that enable valuable learning experiences for our students. I extend this genuine appreciation to Christine Sakellaris, Sally Ryan and Sam Kotsopoulos for their extensive time, effort and dedication to the planning and success of the day. A very special thank you to Maria Stipcevic for capturing the day and to Mary Snowball for her help and assistance.
I would also like to acknowledge Daniel Planksen, Kayla Dugdale and Dawn Boyce for their supporting work in the day’s preparation. The event would not be possible without the generous contributions of our staff.
Our Year 11 students, Chloe Tran and Fatimah Al Janabi, did an exceptional job fulfilling their Master of Ceremonies role. We congratulate them on this achievement! We also recognise Ning Le as a participant of the National Youth Parliament as the Youth Member for Scullin who also played an important role in facilitating the afternoon session. Thank you to our media student helpers who were outstanding in capturing the day’s highlights.
Finally, I congratulate all our students who participated in the Convention with enthusiasm and engaged in a contemporary issue through thoughtful and respectful conversation.
Wishing you the best for the remainder of the term,
Renee Cerra.
