{"id":358780,"date":"2025-03-21T19:31:08","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T09:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=358780"},"modified":"2025-03-21T19:31:08","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T09:31:08","slug":"student-mps-explore-democracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2025\/03\/21\/student-mps-explore-democracy\/","title":{"rendered":"Student MPs Explore Democracy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Member for Nanango Attorney-General Deb Frecklington and Speaker Pat Weir with student MPs and the replica mace … the mace represents the authority of Parliament; the original is made of gold-plated sterling silver and contains 32 gemstones\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

March 21, 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

Students from seven State schools gathered at Kingaroy Town Hall on Thursday for a special Youth Parliament, designed to let them experience how democratic processes work.<\/p>\n

Queensland Speaker Pat Weir officially opened the proceedings and then chaired its first and closing sessions.<\/p>\n

Mr Weir congratulated all of the students for taking part.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a member for a regional electorate outside Brisbane, I know how important these events are for students who are unable to visit Queensland Parliament House with their school,\u201d Mr Weir said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI thank the youth members for all of their hard work in preparing for this event and for delivering impactful speeches on topics that matter to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a great privilege to preside over and observe the Kingaroy Youth Parliament, and I trust that the students involved today will become more actively engaged in Queensland\u2019s democratic process, inspired by their participation.”<\/p>\n

Seventy-one students participated as Youth MPs. Other students assisted as Parliamentary Officers, including the Youth Sergeant-at-Arms who escorted Mr Speaker with a life-sized replica mace.<\/p>\n

Also in attendance were Member for Nanango, Attorney-General Deb Frecklington and the Member for Callide Bryson Head.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Youth Parliamentarians debated two motions, the first relating to provisions for healthy Queensland schools, and the second about sporting partnerships between schools and local representative sporting teams.<\/p>\n

Students then had the opportunity to speak on matters of importance to them and their community.<\/p>\n

The State Schools which took part were Coolabunia, Gin Gin, Moffatdale, Nanango, Taabinga, Windera and Yarraman.<\/p>\n

[All photos courtesy of the Queensland Parliamentary Service]<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Speaker Pat Weir with Coolabunia State School students<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Speaker Pat Weir with Moffatdale State School students<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Speaker Pat Weir and Cr Jane Erkens with Nanango State School students<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Speaker Pat Weir and Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington with Taabinga State School students<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Speaker Pat Weir with Yarraman State School students<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
A Coolabunia State School student addresses the Kingaroy Youth Parliament<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Students were spread around Kingaroy Town Hall just like MPs sit on both sides of the House in Parliament<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students from seven State schools gathered at Kingaroy Town Hall on Thursday for a special Youth Parliament, designed to let them experience how democratic processes work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":358782,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[21],"yoast_head":"\nStudent MPs Explore Democracy - southburnett.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Students from seven State schools gathered at Kingaroy Town Hall on Thursday for a special Youth Parliament, designed to let them experience how democratic processes work.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2025\/03\/21\/student-mps-explore-democracy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Student MPs Explore Democracy - 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