Leadership Program

Visit to NSW Parliament House

As apart of the NSW Secondary School Leadership Program, Matari and I, along with Mrs Donaldson, travelled to Sydney. On Tuesday afternoon we drove to Wagga and then flew to Sydney. During the evening we enjoyed a delicious dinner at Spice I Am, before exploring Vivid Sydney, which was a bit of a flop considering the weather.

On Wednesday morning we attended NSW Parliament House where we participated in a leadership forum with Members of Parliament from across the Sate, hearing their perspectives on leadership and their roles as leaders. We also met with our local Member for Cootamundra, Steph Cooke, who spoke to us about her role in Parliament and the issues affecting our local communities. A highlight of our day was watching Question Time in both the Legislative Assembly (Lower House), and the Legislative Council (Upper House), which provided great insight into Parliamentary proceedings. The Legislative Assembly was particularly entertaining as several members were “sent out” of the chamber, this made for entertaining viewing. The Speaker certainly earned his pay that day.

We were then fortunate enough to have lunch with the President of the NSW Legislative Council, Ben Franklin, and Steph Cooke in the President’s Dining Room, where we had opportunities to discuss our post school aspirations and community issues. Following this we walked to Government House, where we toured the residence and were addressed by Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley, Governor of NSW. She discussed leadership, community engagements and her role as Governor which was very insightful. We were very privileged to speak with her personally following her address. 

This experience was a fantastic opportunity to develop our understanding of leadership, responsibility and government, as well as being able to represent Narrandera High School alongside other student leaders across NSW.

Hannah Beer 

School Captain