Parliament Convention
Victorian Parliamentary Convention 2026
On Wednesday 20 May, five students from Nossal travelled to the Parliament of Victoria, where we debated the topic of “Should governments regulate the use of facial recognition technology?". We followed the order for how a bill was passed and turned into a law and we got to sit in the legislative assembly hall where real laws were made!
Firstly, we had opening statements where each school stated where they stood on the topic. We then had two keynote speakers talking to us to further our understanding of the topic. The speakers were thoughtful and we loved listening to their insight in their respective fields.
Our first speaker was Professor Neil Selwyn, a professor from Monash University who has spent 30 years researching the integration of digital media into schools, universities, and adult learning. Our second speaker was Emma Stephens, the Acting Assistant Commissioner for Policy at the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner (OVIC), the organisation responsible for overseeing information privacy, freedom of information, and data security in government-related agencies.
Talking to Professor Selwyn after his presentation, we learned that Nossal High was one of the first schools in Australia to trial biometric lockers. However, the project was later shut down by OVIC due to concerns surrounding privacy and the handling of biometric data.
The convention turned out to be a great day filled with information on the way parliament works, collaboration with schools from across the state and fiery and humorous comments in the soapbox session at the end of the day, in which all students were given the chance to provide their own opinion and rebut others opinions on the topic.
We were given the chance to sit in the same places as the governing body of the state of Victoria and even managed to get a photo in the premier's chair. Alongside the well-planned activities and exciting proceedings, the convention also allowed us to bolster our knowledge about the process a bill follows from its initial creation all the way through the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council to being given royal assent.
The day provided all five of us the opportunity to take what we had learnt in school and apply it in the real world; in the same way the leaders of our state are. For most of the day, we resided in the Queens Hall and Legislative Assembly, which offered us an immersive experience in the great beauty, history and power that is the Victorian Parliament.
On behalf of all the Nossal students attending the Parliamentary Convention, we would like to thank Mr Sacco so much for his flawless running of the day, from ensuring we all knew what we were doing and where we were supposed to be to stimulating discussion among students, teaching us amazing new things and just for making sure we made the most of the day and enjoyed our experience.
By Kevin Hewavitharana and Cody Tang
(Year 10)