March 11, 2013
South Burnett councillor Damien Tessmann will be packing his bags soon and heading off to spend at least two weeks in the United States after being selected to take part in a special exchange program for young political leaders.
The bipartisan Australian Political Exchange Council (APEC) aims to develop young Australian political leaders by providing opportunities for them to gain insights into the political systems and cultures of other countries.
In return it offers delegates from participating countries a chance to learn about Australia and its political system.
Damien will be taking part in the 29th Australian Delegation to the United States of America, which will leave Australia on April 13.
The itinerary for the visit is yet to be finalised but he’ll be visiting Washington to talk to both Democrats and Republicans to learn more about the political dynamics of the United States.
To be selected, he had to supply a curriculum vitae and demonstrate potential for a senior leadership role with a political party.
Damien has always been a political junkie and – in his own words – has had “a lifelong love of the conservative side of politics”.
He joined the National Party at the age of 16, the youngest age allowed.
He ran for council (unsuccessfully) in 2004 before being elected President of the Young Nationals in 2006, the youngest person to ever hold this role in Queensland.
In 2006, he also contested the State seat of Maryborough for the Nationals, and was on the State Management Committee when the Nationals merged with the LNP in 2008.
That same year, he was elected to the new South Burnett Regional Council as the representative for Division 3.
Damien, who is now 26, is also President of the recently formed South Burnett Branch of the LNP, which has been created from a merger of the Kingaroy-Kumbia and Nanango-Yarraman-Kooralgin branches.
After his exchange visit concludes, Damien hopes to extend his US visit by another two weeks so he can travel to Wisconsin to study the dairy industry, and then maybe fly to California to visit the official Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
At the end of the exchange he will prepare a report which will be published on the APEC website.
